About the season
The 2025 NFL regular season (the 106th in league history) officially kicked off on Thursday, September 4, 2025,
with the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Dallas Cowboys. The 18-week, 272-game schedule
was characterized by a heavy international presence and significant rule changes aimed at increasing scoring
and player safety. The season eventually culminated in Super Bowl LX, where the Seattle Seahawks defeated the
New England Patriots on February 8, 2026.
A major highlight of the 2025 campaign was the International Series, which featured a record seven games played
outside the United States. This included historic firsts, such as the league's debut in Madrid, Spain, at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (Dolphins vs. Commanders) and a first-ever regular-season game in Dublin, Ireland, at
Croke Park (Steelers vs. Vikings). Other global stops included São Paulo, Brazil, for a Week 1 Friday night
pecial, along with games in London and Berlin.
Technologically, 2025 saw the end of the traditional "chain gang" for first-down measurements, as the NFL fully
implemented Hawk-Eye virtual tracking to determine the line to gain. Key rule changes also took effect, including
a permanent move to the "dynamic kickoff" (with touchbacks moving to the 35-yard line) and a shift in regular-season
overtime rules, which now guarantee both teams a possession even if the first team scores a touchdown—matching the
postseason format.
