Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will join for their fourth season as hosts of Thursday Night Football. 2024 had some heavy hitters. For example, a 35-34 AFC North showdown where Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson combined for over 700 yards. Or, a 34-31 nail biter between the Packers and the Lions. Amazon’s TNF viewership grew by 11% last year, totaling 103.1M million unique viewers across 16 games. The NFL would like to see that growth continue. As such, let’s take a look at every game the NFL has picked to be under the Thursday night lights for 2025, and see how they rank against each other.
16: Miami Dolphins vs Baltimore Ravens
Week 9 marks the third meeting between Baltimore and Miami in the past four years. The last time these two met, the Ravens dominated in a 56-19 blowout. The Dolphins are hoping they’ll avoid a one sided affair, but the cards just seem stacked against them. After losing Jalen Ramsey, their CB room is lackluster, and Lamar Jackson will make sure to take advantage of that. Their only hope in winning this game is their high-powered offense. However, Baltimore’s secondary is sure to keep their stars in check, and without Terron Armstead, the Fins will find issues with keeping Tua Tagavailoa upright against Nnamdi Madabuike and Co. While a shootout is possible, I expect this game to be another rout in favor of the Ravens.
15: New York Giants vs Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles will play against the Giants for their first (not counting the season opener) of six primetime games. Saquon Barkley will return to the Big Apple as an Eagle for the second time, hoping to recreate the 176 yard performance from his previous outing in New York. The real highlight of this game will be the battle in the trenches, specifically Philly’s o-line vs New York’s d-line. Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns and rookies Abdul Carter and Darius Alexander will be New York’s best shot at beating the champs. However, Russel Wilson being the starter does not bode well for the G-men. Wilson logged just 128 yards against Philly in 2024, and his blockers in Pittsburgh were much better than the ones he has now. As such, while the Giants defense could prove to be a challenge against The Eagles, their offense will most likely fail to overcome Vic Fangio.
14: Buffalo Bills vs Miami Dolphins
The first divisional matchup on TNF will be the Bills vs the Dolphins. The two teams met last year in primetime, when Buffalo took down their divisional opponent 31-10. With this being a week 2 matchup, it could be a fun one considering both teams will most likely be fully healthy. However, the Dolphins’ issues cannot be ignored. Josh Allen will enter this game with a career 12-2 record and 37 passing touchdowns against. While the Bills don’t have the greatest receiving core, Allen will likely have another MVP type performance against the Fins’ depleted secondary, leading his squad to an easy victory.
13: Seattle Seahawks vs Los Angeles Rams
Last year with the Vikings, Sam Darnold lost to just two teams, the Lions and the Rams. Now he’ll face the team that took him to the ground nine times in the wild card, twice a year. This game’s entertainment value as a close affair heavily relies on Seattle’s offensive line being able to protect Darnold. If not, Jared Verse and the rest of Los Angeles’ young pass rushers will make life difficult for Klint Kubiak’s offense. Whether first round pick Grey Zabel will be enough for the Seahawks o-line to be at least above average, remains to be seen. However, even if Seattle struggles to put points on the board, the chess game between Sean McVay and Mike MacDonald is sure to deliver.
12: New England Patriots vs New York Jets
This match is a true wildcard. Right now, there are more questions than answers regarding the state of both franchises. How will the Jets operate under first time head coach Aaron Glenn? How much has Mike Vrabel’s coaching style changed since his tenure in Tennessee? Will Justin Fields and Drake Maye deliver as franchise QBs? Will the top eight offensive tackles both teams selected help improve their offensive lines? The division rivals have more in common than one would think, but the answers to those questions can and will undoubtedly vary. Ultimately, the one aspect of the game that is likely to deliver will be the defenses on both sides. If the offenses improve, then this affair will be more deserving of a higher ranking.
11: Philadelphia Eagles vs Chicago Bears
Ben Johnson will see plenty of difficult matchups in his first year as head coach. Of those matchups, it doesn’t get much harder than against the reigning super bowl champs. The last time Johnson faced Philadelphia was back in 2022. In that game, his offense produced 455 yards against a Philly defense that allowed just 301.5 per game. The talented Eagles pass rush will try to get through Chicago’s reshaped offensive line in order to take down Caleb Williams, who was last year’s most sacked QB. There’s no telling how the new look Bears will perform this season, and by the time of this game we’ll have already had our answers.
10: Arizona Cardinals vs Seattle Seahawks
Week 4 sets up an early season NFC West bout between the Cardinals and the Seahawks. The two clubs were in the hunt for title of division champs for most of last season. This year, they both hope that they’ll finally reach their potential and make it to the postseason. For the Cardinals, it’s paramount that second year receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. get open against Seattle’s impressive secondary. Last season against the Seahawks, he caught just half of his targets in both games, Arizona will need better production in order to take their rival down. As for the other side of the ball, both teams hope that their play in the trenches will be improved. Otherwise, last year’s 2nd highest pressure rate allowing offensive line of the Seahawks would be lined up against Arizona’s 29th lowest pressure rate generating defensive line.
9: Cincinnati Bengals vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Good old AFC North football will be under the Thursday night lights again this season. Aaron Rodgers will suit up for the black and gold brigade against Joe Burrow and the explosive Bengals offense. Pittsburgh’s had an uncharacteristically active offseason. The additions of Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey to their defense can help with attempting to stop Cincy’s pair of receivers. Additionally, newcomers DK Metcalf and Jonnu Smith will likely get open against a defense that allowed an average of 348.3 yards per game in 2024. Flipping over to the Bengals offense, Burrow did see success against the Steelers D last year. He threw for over 275 yards in both games and had a total of 4 passing TDs. Considering the strengths and weaknesses of both offenses and defenses, it’s plausible that this match will be a shootout.
8: Houston Texans vs Buffalo Bills
Two top quarterbacks meet again after Houston took down Buffalo last year in a 23-20 affair. Josh Allen and CJ Stroud will duel it out for a game that could very well be a preview for a playoff match. They’ll have to work while being under constant pressure from the opposing team’s defensive line, both for different reasons. Allen will drop back and evade Houston’s elite duo of pass rushers in Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. Hunter generated 90 pressures and logged 12 sacks while his teammate had 11 sacks and 19 QB Hits. Meanwhile, Stroud’s issues stem from his blockers, who allowed a league leading 287 pressures last year. What makes matters worse for the former buckeye, is that the Texans traded away their best piece on the line in Laremy Tunsil.
7: Detroit Lions vs Dallas Cowboys
Dallas’ offense is one of the absolute best the game has to offer when Dak Prescott is fully healthy. With time to heal up from a torn hamstring, along with new weapon George Pickens, there’s no reason to assume that the Cowboys won’t be lighting it up this upcoming season. As such, with Detroit’s elite attack on the other side, this contest can be a fun one. Furthermore, two of the NFL’s best pass rushers will play in this primetime showdown, Micah Parsons and a healthy Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson will return after suffering a season ending broken fibula and tibia. Prior to that injury he was on his way to making a strong case for defensive player of the year.
6: Denver Broncos vs Las Vegas Raiders
The fact that a contest between these two is ranked as high it is should make it clear how good the AFC West is this year. Nevertheless, the Broncos are building upon a strong season, where they made the playoffs for the first time since 2015. The additions of Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw and rookie Jahdae Barron will make an already formidable defense even scarier. Their rivals in sin city saw massive change in the right places this offseason. Coach Pete Carroll and veteran QB Geno Smith will join the Silver and Black to right the ship. Their rushing attack, led by Ashton Jeanty, will battle against a Denver defense that ranked third in rush EPA allowed.
5: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Atlanta Falcons
Returning to the Thursday night spotlight are the Falcons and Buccaneers. The two delivered in their 2024 TNF game, keeping it close till the very end when KhaDarel Hodge sealed the victory for Atlanta with an overtime catch and run. While Kirk Cousins’ 509 yard performance most likely won’t be repeated, Baker Mayfield and Michael Penix Jr. in his second year are sure to make some highlight plays. With this being set in week 15, the outcome of this contest could greatly influence playoff seeding. Last season, the Bucs edged out the dirty birds for the title of NFC South champs. Therefore, with both rosters seeing improvement, this will probably be an entertaining high stakes affair.
4: Green Bay Packers vs Washington Commanders
Two NFC heavyweights will collide for 2025’s first TNF game. The Commanders will face their first challenge of the year when they head to Lambeau field to face the Packers. Both franchises head into this season with real super bowl aspirations, and are eager to cement themselves as contenders in the NFC. The two young teams will be led out by their franchise QBs Jordan Love and Jayden Daniels. They recorded similar stats last year, with Daniels’ 3568 passing yards and 25 touchdowns earning him title of offensive rookie of the year. Meanwhile, Love threw for 3389 yards, the same amount of touchdowns and just 2 more interceptions despite playing in two less games then Daniels. Additionally, while the match does take place early in the season, it can still have playoff implications later down the line.
3: Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco 49ers
The seventeenth meeting between Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan will be on the week 5 primetime slate. Shanahan’s squad was decimated by injuries last year, and incapable of stopping the run. The losses that resulted because of those aforementioned issues have made people turn a blind eye on San Francisco. With the additions of Robert Salah and Bryce Huff along with having the easiest strength of schedule, the Niners will bounce back quickly in 2025. As for LA, Matthew Stafford has a brand new shiny toy. Davante Adams will replace the often injured Cooper Kupp, providing yet another piece for Sean McVay’s offense. Fireworks go off whenever Shanahan and McVay are up against each other, this contest won’t be any different.
2: Los Angeles Chargers vs Minnesota Vikings
This ranking (as well as Minnesota’s entire season) relies on the fact that JJ McCarthy will be the answer at signal caller for the Vikings. However, after Sam Darnold recorded 4319 yards and 35 touchdowns threw the air while in Minnesota, the former Wolverine will have all the help he needs to blossom into a franchise QB. Speaking of Wolverines, his head coach in Michigan, who he won the National Championship with, will be on the other sideline. McCarthy and his assemblage of weapons will need to be at the top of their game if they want to find success against last year’s number one scoring defense. The job isn’t easy for Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense either. Brian Flores’ defense was one of the absolute best at getting to the QB, logging 49 sacks, 33 takeaways and 24 interceptions.
1: Kansas City Chiefs vs Denver Broncos
The NFL gave us a Christmas gift by scheduling the Broncos and Chiefs to brawl during TNF in week 17, for what could be the title of division champ. While Denver ending Kansas City’s nine year streak of AFC West title may be unlikely, this game will still be a high stakes contest with plenty of back and fourth. The Broncos came close to beating Mahomes and Andy Reid’s starting squad last season. If not for a blocked field goal in the final seconds of the game, the Broncos would have left KC with a win. Regardless, both clubs are going to go all out for this game. Reid and Sean Payton won’t be pulling any punches, and will dial up the best plays on their call sheets.
