The 2025 NFL Season is here and we’re excited for what’s to come. Week 1 features divisional rivalry matchups, a game in Brazil, and a potential championship showdown. We’re going to be breaking down each game and who we have coming out on top.
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
The first NFL Game of the 2025 Season kicks off with the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys. There’s a reason the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl and they somehow managed to get better this offseason. They lost Darius Slay, Josh Sweat & Bryce Huff but they added Zack Baun, AJ Dillon, Sam Howell, Jihaad Campbell, and Josh Uche. Howie Roseman just knows how to run a team, unlike the mess that is the Jerry Jones show in Dallas. Even before Jerry Jones traded away an all-generational talent in Micah Parsons, the Cowboys did not have a chance in this game. That trade was just the icing on the cake that they are in for a long season with their defense and Jones not doing anything to fix it. The Eagles take this one in commanding fashion.
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Kansas City Chiefs vs Los Angeles Chargers (Brazil)
In the 2nd ever NFL game to be played in Brazil, the Kansas City Chiefs will be taking on the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chiefs lost in the Super Bowl to the Eagles, badly. They are on a mission to avenge that national embarrassment. First, they need to get past the Chargers and they shouldn’t have much of a problem doing so. If Rashawn Slater & Najee Harris were both healthy for this game, this would be a different story. Slater is out for the year after an injury suffered this off-season. That was a huge loss to the Chargers and with the Chiefs having a fearsome group of pass rushers, it’s not only going to be a long night for quarterback Justin Herbert, without his best pass protector, but a long season.
Winner: Kansas City Chiefs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons made the decision to bench their starters during the preseason and it’s going to hurt them. When they’re starting a quarterback who has only started in 3 total games in his career and did not look good in those games. Penix Jr now enters his first week 1 and will drop to 1-3 as a starter as he hasn’t done anything to prove himself as an established starter in this league.
Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
The cross-state and division rivalry between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns kicks off this Sunday. It’s not much of a rivalry anymore as the Bengals have won the last 3 games. The Bengals are going to make that 4 in a row and dominate the Browns this weekend. The Browns have a questionable quarterback room, a questionable running back room, and a questionable team as a whole. They are an absolute mess right now and the Bengals are just going to steamroll them. The Bengals played their starters in preseason and are going to beat off the slow starts they’ve had over the past three years.
Winner: Cincinnati Bengals
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
This game feels like it’s going to be a mess.Last time, when these two teams faced, it was offense in spurts and feel like it’s going to be a repeat of that. The Dolphins have Achane set to play banged up, Tyreek playing banged up, and an awful secondary. For the Colts, they also have both Downs & Pittman set to play through injuries. It’s going to be a slow game with some explosive plays and the Dolphins are likely to have more of those and come out on top.
Winner: Miami Dolphins
Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots
The Patriots are one of my favorite teams to improve in 2025 and Drake Maye taking a massive leap in year 2. This game very well can end up in Maye and the Patriots favor, but we got a matchup featuring two clock managers in Mike Vrabel & Pete Carroll. Both coaches like to run the clock and the team that I feel more confident in being able to do that is the Raiders. Geno Smith was a great addition, Brock Bowers is the best offensive player in the game, and rookie Ashton Jeanty is going to hit them hard on the ground. It’s going to be a slow and well-fought battle for the Raiders to pull off the upset on the road.
Winner: Las Vegas Raiders
Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints gave up the 3rd-most yards on defense last year. They didn’t improve in 2025 and the Cardinals are going to steamroll over them. On top of that, Spencer Rattler is starting for the Saints and we all saw the catastrophe during the 7 games he played last year.
Winner: Arizona Cardinals
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets
In a crazy matchup of quarterbacks starting against their former teams. Justin Fields starts for the Jets and Aaron Rodgers is starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The better quarterback on the better team wins this one and that’s Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers.
Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers
New York Giants at Washington Commanders
On paper, the Washington Commanders should absolutely dominate the New York Giants. But, the Giants just always play the Commanders tough. It doesn’t matter what the Giants record is, they just have close matchups. The Giants are an improved team from last year with Russell Wilson at quarterback and the additions on the defensive side. It’s not enough to beat Washington, but they’ll cover the spread.
Winner: Washington Commanders
Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars had the worst pass defense last year and the Panthers had the worst rush defense last year. This game is going to be a battle of two of the worst defenses with offenses trending upwards. We’ll learn about each team and their outlook for this season. The Panthers have the brighter future long-term, but Jaguars have the edge in the short term with a more established quarterback in Trevor Lawrence.
Winner: Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos
#1 overall pick, Cam Ward is going to get his welcome to the NFL moment the hard way. In Ward’s NFL debut, he will need to face one of the best defenses in the NFL containing the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Patrick Surtain II. It’s going to be a long opening day, but the future is bright for Ward and the Titans. This is just one game and it will be good to get his feet wet against the elite, to prepare himself for more beatable teams to come this season.
Winner: Denver Broncos
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks won the last time they squared off against the 49ers, but in the previous 6 meetings, the 49ers won. When the game is played in Seattle, Brock Purdy is undefeated and he continues that trend. Despite the banged up wide receiver room, Purdy has a healthy CMC, a healthy George Kittle, and Ricky Pearsall on the verge of a year 2 breakout.
Winner: San Francisco 49ers
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
The Lions swept the Packers last year, but that was when the Packers did not have a top-3 defensive player in the league in Micah Parsons. It might only be less than 2 weeks since the Packers traded for Micah Parsons, but he’s a big enough force that he can completely change the landscape of the game. He’s going to make it difficult for Jared Goff and the Lions pass attack. Gibbs and Monty should still see significant touches, but the Packers pass defense holds Goff in check to give Jordan Love and the Packers a week 1 victory.
Winner: Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams
The Texans are without running back Joe Mixon and the Rams will be playing with a banged up Matthew Stafford. Both offenses are going to underperform as a result and the defenses are going to take advantage of that. Both defenses are in the upper half of the league and it’s going to be a low scoring defensive battle. The Texans have the slight edge on defense, but the Rams offense is better. We’ve seen Stafford play injured before and if it doesn’t appear to impact his play, then the Rams will come out on top.
Winner: Los Angeles Rams
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
Our favorite matchup of the week featuring two heavyweight teams in the Baltimore Ravens playing in Buffalo. The 2023 MVP vs. the 2024 MVP in Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen. Two elite quarterbacks, two elite teams, and a potential foreshadowing of the AFC Championship this year. This is going to be the game of the week and one of the best games of the season. Buffalo has the Bills mafia on their side, but is that enough to beat Lamar Jackson? Last year, the Bills narrowly beat the Ravens in the playoffs on a dropped two-point conversion by Mark Andrews. This game is going to also come down to the wire and the Ravens get their revenge. The Ravens have the better rushing attack and the better defense that prevails in this Sunday Night Thriller.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
If the Vikings still had Sam Darnold as their quarterback, I would say this game is a lock for them. They moved on from Darnold and gave their full trust in J.J. McCarthy who has yet to start a NFL game. He’s also recovering from an injury suffered in the 2024 preseason that kept him out for all of last year. The Vikings are also going to be without their #2 wideout in Jordan Addison who is suspended for the first 3 games. The Bears on the other hand, have a loaded offense with D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, & Colston Loveland. From a fantasy perspective, the Bears receiver room is one to avoid, but it’s strong for Caleb Williams to spread the ball around and pull out a massive win in head coach Ben Johnson’s first game.
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