It's been a wild 2025 offseason for Detroit, following a campaign that ended in disappointment. Not only did the Lions squander the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC by losing to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the 2024 playoffs, they also lost both coordinators, including offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who was nabbed by the rival Chicago Bears to be their head coach.
I would not blame Lions fans for taking Johnson's move to Chicago poorly, even if his ascension to the top job with another team has long felt inevitable. And I expect the two games between the Bears and Lions to be among the most contentious contests of the 2025 NFL regular season. After all, Johnson's former star receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, basically promised as much, revealing some of the good-natured trash talk he exchanged with his coach-turned-rival after Johnson was hired.
While this matchup did not make the list of my favorite REVENGE GAMES on the 2025 NFL schedule (the complete set of dates will be released later this offseason), one appointment on the Bears' slate did -- alongside plenty of other extra-spicy showdowns.
Without further ado, here are the high-stakes skirmishes I'm most excited for, pulled from the list of each team's opponents for the upcoming campaign:
The Eagles and Chiefs are likely to enter 2025 as the favorites in their respective conferences. And while a Super Bowl rubber match -- following Philly's defeat of K.C. in Super Bowl LIX and the Chiefs' win over the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII -- is certainly a possibility in February, we know these two teams will get it going during the regular season. Yes, I realize that doesn't carry the same punch as a title clash for all the marbles, but it should still be very entertaining -- kind of like one of those WWE matches where Cody Rhodes gives you reason to watch a non-championship fight. And it will be an opportunity for the Chiefs to score a point in the first half, unlike what they managed the last time out against the Eagles, so they have that going for them.
This has always been a spirited rivalry, but the stakes were raised last year when the Commanders made a surprise run to the NFC title game behind Jayden Daniels -- only to fall to Philly in a 55-23 laugher. I’m sure every team in the NFC East still wants to beat Dallas desperately, even with the Cowboys coming off a 7-10 record. But you know Dan Quinn is going to have his team ready for both matchups in this series, especially after Washington's Eagles-esque moves to beef up in the trenches this offseason.
Some might argue the Commanders’ run to the NFC Championship Game was the result of a butterfly effect that can be traced to Week 8 -- when they won on a Hail Mary after Chicago CB Tyrique Stevenson chose to engage with the Washington fans instead of covering his man. The Commanders went to the playoffs, while the Bears lost nine more consecutive games and fired their coach. This will also be the second career meeting between former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams and former No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels, with each fanbase claiming their quarterback is the best of the 2024 NFL Draft. Only this time, Daniels is an Offensive Rookie of the Year winner with a souped-up supporting cast, while Williams will have an O-line and offensive scheme built to help him reach his potential.
The Bills and Chiefs are embroiled in arguably the AFC's top rivalry -- though, with Kansas City having eliminated Buffalo from the postseason four times in the Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen era, it has become a little one-sided, like Notre Dame vs. Navy. All right, that might be a bit harsh, because the Bills do always seem to get the better of the Chiefs in the regular season, including their past four such matchups. Then again, those wins come with much lower stakes than their playoff showdowns. You'd think all that context might take some juice out of this game, because the true test won't come until the postseason -- but Mahomes vs. Allen will always be must-see TV. And Buffalo will surely want to shed any lingering memories of these teams' last encounter.
Let’s not forget the other team scrambling for AFC supremacy: the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens have gone on their annual quest to add wide receiver help for Lamar Jackson, landing on DeAndre Hopkins in free agency. Last season, Hopkins played for the Titans and Chiefs, who traded for him after Rashee Rice's season-ending injury. Well, played for feels generous, because the Chiefs didn’t really target Hopkins an awful lot (59 targets, 41 receptions and 437 yards in 10 regular-season games). Hopkins to the Ravens can still draw a headline, and the 32-year-old did top 1,000 receiving yards with seven receiving TDs with the Titans in 2023, but it’s been a while since Hopkins really put up some serious numbers. The days of D-Hop taking over games feel like they came and went eons ago. Maybe this tilt against his recent former team will motivate him.
We might as well complete the triangle. The Ravens were the No. 1 seed in the playoffs in 2023 and lost to the Chiefs at home in the AFC title game. Well, they did not fall to K.C. again in the 2024 playoffs -- but unfortunately for them, it was because they lost to the Bills in the AFC Divisional Round before they could get a chance to face Mahomes and Co. Baltimore did win the teams' regular-season meeting last season, but I'm not sure how much that changed the tone of a series in which the Ravens have dropped three of the past five games (including playoffs). And then there's this added wrinkle: Josh Allen just kept Lamar Jackson from claiming his second straight (and third total) MVP award. I get the feeling everyone is going to bring it for this one.
OK, so it might be kind of hard to see why the Bengals would want vengeance here at first glance; the teams have played just twice since Joe Burrow was drafted in 2020, and Cincinnati won both games, including in Week 17 last season, when the Bengals ground out an overtime win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. This is actually about what happened the next week, when the Broncos beat the Chiefs -- against whom Cincinnati fans might also be holding a grudge, for resting a bunch of starters in that game -- to snag the No. 7 seed in the AFC and prevent Burrow and Co. from reaching the postseason. This is not to take anything away from what the Broncos did, going out there with their rookie quarterback and winning a bunch of games last season. But I also see why the Bengals would be miffed to miss a playoff trip during their window with Burrow, which could make this matchup pretty intense, especially for the fans.
Cooper Kupp was a Super Bowl MVP for the Rams, who released him this offseason to ... sign Davante Adams? I didn’t realize Aaron Rodgers is actually L.A.'s new QB now. Kidding. Adams was pretty good last year with the Jets (67 receptions, 854 yards and seven TDs), so this really is a smart move for the Rams. On Kupp's end, though, I could see how the 31-year-old, who returned to his roots in Washington when he signed a three-year deal with the Seahawks, would want to show the only NFL team he's ever played for to this point that he's still got it. And he'll have two chances to do so during the regular season.
Even with the aforementioned Kupp coming aboard, the Seahawks will have plenty of receiving targets to go around after cutting Tyler Lockett and trading DK Metcalf to the Steelers, presenting an opportunity for Jaxon Smith-Njigba that I -- a JSN fanboy who also manages him in my dynasty fantasy league -- welcome. I do question how moving on from Metcalf, a superstar who won't turn 28 until December, will impact Seattle's offense. And while Metcalf ultimately did secure both the exit he wanted and a four-year, $132 million extension from Pittsburgh, he would no doubt love to put up a dominant stat line against his old team. As luck would have it -- at least for this piece -- he'll get his chance when the Steelers and Seahawks lock up this season.
Well, I think we’re running low on revenge-game options when we’ve resorted to Panthers vs. Cowboys. I mean, OK, there surely is still beef stemming from the 1996 NFC Divisional Round playoff game in which Carolina prevented Dallas from facing the Packers in the NFC title tilt. But really, the storyline here is Rico Dowdle -- the former undrafted free agent who became one of the only consistent offensive producers for the Cowboys last season -- joining the Panthers. I know Carolina gave a lot of money to Chuba Hubbard in November, but the team did have to prepare for the absence of 2024 second-round pick Jonathon Brooks, who suffered a torn ACL in December, and there is an apparent vision for how Dowdle fits in. Dallas still needs offensive help, though, even after patching the hole at RB with Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders. What I really would have loved was for the Cowboys and Seahawks to match up this fall, given the very public feud that erupted between DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons after the former signed with Seattle. The only problem? They aren’t scheduled to face off in 2025, which means it would have to happen in the playoffs. In other words, not likely.
