Eagles opponents for 2025 NFL season opener, ranked by likelihood

Super Bowl LIX is in the books, which means one thing.

The 2025-2026 NFL season has begun.

Yes other sports are in full swing at the moment (including Formula 1, so allow me to make a shameless plug for all our F1 coverage which you can see here) but the NFL is a 365-day behemoth. The 2025 Scouting Combine is a few weeks away, and the NFL Draft will be here before you know it.

What comes after the draft? The release of the full 2025 NFL schedule. This will likely begin with the traditional Thursday night season opener, which will be hosted by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Who might make the trip to Lincoln Financial Field for that game? Thanks to the NFL’s scheduling formula Philadelphia is set to host these eight teams next season: Washington, Dallas, the New York Giants, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, and the Los Angeles Rams.

For those hoping for a Super Bowl LIX rematch, the Eagles are set to play at Kansas City next season. Philadelphia is also set to play the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers on the road, two fascinating options that are unavailable for the traditional home opener.

So, given those eight options, let’s rank them from least to most likely.

Traditionally, the NFL has shied away from putting a divisional game in this spot. The last time two division rivals squared off to open the season came in 2019 when the Chicago Bears hosted the Green Bay Packers to commemorate the league’s 100th season. Before that, the 2012 season opener saw the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Giants.

More on this in a minute.

But with the New York Giants going through a rebuilding cycle, and other enticing matchups available, they seem like the least likely option.

Yes, the Las Vegas Raiders have a new coach in Pete Carroll, which makes them an interesting team to track heading into the upcoming season. But with questions at quarterback the Raiders remain mired in rebuilding mode, and barring a splash signing this offseason (the Raiders have the second-most effective cap space in the league) there will be better choices for the league to open the season.

Again, given the league’s history of avoiding divisional games to open the season, sending the Dallas Cowboys to Lincoln Financial Field to begin the season does not seem like the choice. To be fair, there will be some fascinating storylines to track this offseason with Dallas, starting with Micah Parsons’ contract situation and Dak Prescott’s return from injury, along with new head coach Brian Schottenheimer.

But if the league does want to put a divisional game on the schedule to open the season, there is a much better option.

Now we are getting somewhere ...

The Denver Broncos surprised many when they clinched a playoff spot behind rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Now, with over $30 million in effective cap space, the Broncos can start to build around him, and that could make the Broncos a truly fascinating team heading into the 2025 season.

A few years ago the league put another fascinating team on the upward swing into the season-opening game: The Detroit Lions, who would upset the Kansas City Chiefs in that game two seasons ago.

This would be a similar move by the league.

A Divisional Round rematch might also be enticing to the league, which could see Matthew Stafford and the Rams make the trip to Philadelphia to kick off the season. Were it not for the other teams slated to take on the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, this might be the favorite.

There was a ton of excitement around the Chicago Bears last offseason, with the additions of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze in the draft. The Bears were featured on Hard Knocks and considered by some, including this author, to be a sneaky playoff team.

Of course, that was all derailed when the Bears lost ten straight games, beginning with a debacle in Washington when Chicago lost on a Hail Mary. Matt Eberflus was out, and the Bears were looking for a new head coach this hiring cycle.

But with Ben Johnson coming over from Detroit — arguably the hottest head coaching candidate each of the past two hiring cycles — the excitement is back in Chicago. Will that be enough to see the Bears open the season?

Probably not, but they are an option.

If, and this is a big if, the NFL were to break the trend of not putting divisional games in this spot, then the Commanders would be the smart choice.

Not only would this be a rematch of the NFC Championship Game, featuring two of the game’s young and dynamic quarterbacks in Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels, but the Commanders are in a position to load up this offseason. Washington has the third most effective cap space available in the league, and rumors are already swirling about moves for players like Myles Garrett and Deebo Samuel.

If the Commanders have a huge offseason, this would be worth breaking that rule for.

However, if the league stays true to form, the Detroit Lions seem like the logical choice.

For many, Eagles-Lions was going to be the NFC Championship Game this season, until the Commanders went into Detroit and shocked the Lions in the Divisional Round. But there will be plenty of intrigue around Detroit heading into next year, with both Johnson and Aaron Glenn departing to take head coaching jobs. Dan Campbell will get a ton of players back after the team was devastated by injuries this past season, including pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson.

If the opening game is not Washington-Philadelphia, then Eagles-Lions seems to be the likely pick.