Analysis from Pro Football Networkhttp://www.profootballnetwork.com
The 2025-26 NFL Schedule has been released and it's a thing of beauty. As the expression goes, the NFL doesn't miss, and this year's schedule is no different (unless you're in Los Angeles).
As the dust settles and the social media teams battle it out for who did it best, who won the schedule release in May? And who has some work to do this season?NFL's Biggest Winners from the Schedule Release
So here's how we got to this point. The 2025-26 schedule was released and we've input each game into our system and we've calculated some things.
One of the things we looked at was travel miles, obviously, for all 32 teams. We also looked at marquee moments, pivotal games, and rivalry games in favorable locations. Then we looked at the holidays and when divisional games were booked.
From there, we looked at the favorable early stretches, the tough late-season windows, and where each team's bye week landed.
All of this to say, trust me, this is well thought out when it comes to who won the NFL's schedule release for the 2025-26 season. Let's get to the list.Buffalo Bills
The Bills have the second-least travel miles this season, on the road for just 10,546 miles this year. Save for their little travel, according to multiple metrics, the Bills' strength of schedule is also the easiest.
They open with arguably their toughest game of the season with a home game against the Baltimore Ravens. They then travel to the Jets before a three-game homestand. Buffalo plays four of their first five at home and play just two away games in the first seven weeks.
They also knock out half of their divisional games within the first five weeks and don't play the Jets again until the regular-season finale and the final game at Highmark Stadium against their hated rivals. It's only fitting that their Week 18 matchup is against what will likely be an overmatched New York team by early January.
Making matters even better for the Bills is the fact that their hardest three opponents -- Baltimore, Kansas City, and Philadelphia -- all come at home and are all spaced out by at least seven weeks.
It's a favorable matchup that should put the Bills staring down the barrel of a potential 14-3 or 15-2 record if all goes to plan.Washington Commanders
The Commanders have a unique schedule. They open up with three away games in their first five weeks and five games away from home in the first eight contests. However, they're repaid with the fact that the only time they leave the DMV area in the entire month of November is for a trip to Spain to play the Dolphins.
If they can escape a tough opening season stretch of travel, their standalone contests will put them in the forefront of every NFL fan's eyes. Washington plays:Thursday Night Week 2 (@ Green Bay)Monday Night Week 6 (vs. Chicago)Monday Night Week 8 (@ Kansas City)Sunday Night Week 9 (vs. Seattle)International Game Week 11 (vs. Miami)Sunday Night Week 13 (vs. Denver)Saturday Trio Week 16 (vs. Philadelphia)
The Jayden Daniels Effect is real and this team got a favorable slate of marquee matchups in favorable sites. Sure, they travel to Minnesota, New York, and Philadelphia down the stretch, but odds are, the most meaningful game in the month of December will be their home game against the Eagles in Week 16.
It'll all be about getting through their early-season slate as the middle to end of their season sets up nicely for a lot of eyes to watch a lot of Washington wins.Green Bay Packers
Yes, the Packers play a tough schedule this year. But that doesn't mean it can't be favorable for them. With the opponents they have to face, it could have been much worse in Green Bay this season.
For starters, the Packers only travel 12,929 miles, ranking as the seventh-fewest miles. It also helps that, save for their divisional road games that are unavoidable, their road trips are against teams that shouldn't present too much of a problem for them. Early-season trips to Cleveland, Dallas, and Arizona could yield a 3-0 record.
Also, a season-opening homestand against two of their toughest opponents makes for some must-see TV and what should be heavily trafficked games in Green Bay against Detroit and Washington to start the year. Yet, the Packers don't play a home game for a month after their September 11th showdown with the Commanders.
Week 8 will also mark what should likely be a home-away-from-home game down in Pittsburgh if the Steelers sign Aaron Rodgers. Just under 700 miles away, you better believe that Rodgers' signing with the Steelers would drive Packer Nation, literally, to the Steel City.
With Philadelphia and Baltimore visiting at home, in November and December, respectively, and in primetime spots (likely), all eyes will be on Green Bay more than just a handful of games this year. And Packers' fans, isn't that how you wanted it?Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals have the least amount of travel, and as the saying goes, it's not even close. The Bengals travel just 8,753 miles on the year and open with three road games in the first four weeks and four in the first six weeks.
Getting through the road stretch will be tough -- but with trips to Cleveland, Minnesota, Denver, and Green Bay early, the season lessens in difficulty down the stretch.
Much to the dismay of fans, however, all eyes will be on the Bengals in Week 13 when they match up against the Ravens on Thanksgiving's night cap before playing the same Ravens' team just 17 days later in Week 15. A primetime road game against Baltimore isn't quite in the favorable section, but the good outweighs the bad on the schedule for Cincinnati.
Outside of that, there are several winnable stretches for Joe Burrow and Co. With a bye week ahead of their trip to Pittsburgh and home games against the New York Jets and New England Patriots, sure to be favored their way, the Bengals could be right back in contention with the Ravens for the AFC North.Biggest Losers of the 2025-26 NFL Schedule ReleaseDetroit Lions
It's a tough schedule for the Detroit Lions, there is no tip-toeing around that. The Lions open with a road trip to Green Bay and follow that up with their home opener against Chicago. However, the road is ridiculously stacked after that.
The Lions travel to Baltimore on Monday Night in Week 3, head back home for a game against the Browns before a back-to-back road stretch against the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs before getting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night at home.
Following a bye week, the Lions play the Vikings and then have another ridiculously tough two-game road stretch against the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles. But it doesn't stop there.
In December, the Lions travel to Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Chicago in three of their final four weekends. And sandwiched in between that stretch? A potential game against an Aaron Rodgers-led Pittsburgh Steelers team.
If history is any indicator, that doesn't spell a lot of success for the Lions.Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Yes, Baker Mayfield has weapons and the defense got re-tooled. But with a new offensive coordinator in, you would've liked to ease into the 2025 season a bit better than the Bucs do this year.
With back-to-back road games to start the season, the Bucs welcome the New York Jets and defending Super Bowl champ Eagles to close out September. They then travel across the country to Seattle before returning home and hosting the 49ers.
They are then on the road to Detroit and to New Orleans before a much-needed bye week in Week 9. But it's not any easier after that.
Tampa travels to Buffalo and Los Angeles in consecutive weeks in November before an easier stretch to end the year with four division games in their final five weeks.
The early season looks tough for the Bucs, but if they can pull off some Mayfield Magic once again, the back-half of the season could prove more fruitful than their first eight weeks of action.Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have a tough one. First off, they knock out their bye week in Week 5 after home games against the Bucs and Commanders and road trips to Minnesota and Carolina.
But once October hits, there's no looking back. Atlanta has to host the Bills, travel to San Francisco, host the Dolphins, travel to New England, and then travel to Berlin before returning home to play Carolina, all without a bye week or rest.
Then they have back-to-back road stretches against New Orleans and New York before Seattle comes to town and then back on the road with trips to Tampa on a short week, and then to Arizona before back-to-back home games to close it out.
Overall, that's back-to-back two-game road trips with no break, an international game without a bye week for rest, and two coast-to-coast trips without the luxury of a bye week for rest or even short weeks to provide some reprieve for the Falcons in 2025-26.