Super Bowl Ricks is in the book. This means one thing.
2025-2026 The NFL season has begun.
Yes, the other sports are full-fledged at the moment (including F1 so you can make a shameless plug of all the F1 coverage you can see here), but the NFL is a 365-day giant. The 2025 Scouting Combine is a few weeks away and the NFL Draft is here before you know it.
What happens after the draft? Complete 2025 NFL Schedule Release. This will likely start with the opening game of the traditional Thursday night season. Philadelphia Eagles.
Who might travel to Lincoln Financial Field for that game? Thanks to the NFL scheduling formula, Philadelphia is set to host these eight teams next season. Washington, Dallas, New York GiantsChicago, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, etc. Los Angeles Rams.
For those hoping for a Super Bowl LIX rematch, the Eagles are scheduled to play in Kansas City next season. I'll also be playing Philadelphia. Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers On the road, there are two attractive options that are not available in traditional home openers.
So, given these eight options, let's rank them from the least to the most likely ones.
8. New York Giants
Traditionally, the NFL has avoided putting split games in this place. It was in 2019 that the two division rivals ran and squared to open the season Chicago Bears host Green Bay Packers To celebrate the league's 100th season. Before that, I watched the opening game of the 2012 season. Dallas Cowboys We'll play against the New York Giants.
I'll talk about this soon.
But they seem like the least likely option as the New York Giants go through a rebuild cycle and other attractive matchups are available.
7. Las Vegas Raiders
yes, Las Vegas Raiders With Pete Carroll having a new coach, it will be an interesting team to track what's heading into the upcoming season. However, questions at the quarterback have left the Raiders buried in reconstruction mode, except for Splash, who signs this offseason (the Raiders have the second most effective cap space in the league), and the league There is a better choice for opening the season.
6. Dallas Cowboys
Again, given the history of the league that shunned divisional games to open the season, sending the Dallas Cowboys to Lincoln Financial Field to start the season doesn't seem like an option. To be fair, there are some fascinating stories to track this offseason with Dallas. This starts with new head coach Brian Schottenheimer, with Mika Parsons' contract status and Duck Prescott's return from injury.
However, if the league wants to place division games on its schedule to open up a season, there are far better options.
5. Denver Broncos
Now we are somewhere…
Denver Broncos It surprised many when he scored the playoff spot behind rookie quarterback Bonnix. Now over Effective cap space is $30 millionthe Broncos can start building around him, and it could become a truly attractive team heading the Broncos into the 2025 season.
A few years ago, the league placed another attractive team on an upward swing into the opening game of the season: Detroit LionsWho will be upset? Kansas City Chiefs Two seasons ago in that game.
This is a similar move by the league.
4. Los Angeles Rams
The divisional round rematch, where you can see Matthew Stafford and the Rams travel to Philadelphia to begin the season, could also be appealing to the league. This might be your favorite if the other teams aren't planning on playing against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
3. Chicago Bears
Caleb Williams and Roma Odunze were added to the draft, and there was a lot of excitement around the Chicago Bears last year. There was an introduction to the bear Hard knock And some, including this author, considered it a sneaky playoff team.
Of course, it all went off track when the Bears lost 10 straight games. Matt Eberflus was out and the bears were looking for a new head coach for this recruitment cycle.
But Ben Johnson is coming from Detroit – undoubtedly each of the last two employment cycles is the hottest head coaching candidate – excitement is back in Chicago. Is that enough to watch the bears open up the season?
Probably not, but they are options.
2. Washington Commander
If the NFL could break the tendency to not place departmental games in this place, if this is big then the commander would be a wise choice.
Not only is this a rematch in the NFC Championship Game featuring two of the game's young and dynamic quarterbacks with Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels, but the commander is in a position to load this offseason. Washington has the third most effective cap space available in the league, and rumors have already swirled around the movement of players like Myles Garrett and Deebo Samuel.
If the commander has a big offseason, this is worth breaking that rule.
1. Detroit Lions
However, when the league is formed, the Detroit Lions look like a logical choice.
For many, the Eagles Lions were set to become an NFC Championship game this season until the manager entered Detroit and shocked the Lions in the Division Round. But there's a lot of plot around Detroit going next year, with both Johnson and Aaron Glenn set out to get a head coaching job. Dan Campbell will reclaim many players after injuries that took a dent in the team this season, including pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
If the opening game isn't Washington-Philadelphia, Eagle Slion seems likely to be a pick.
