If variety is the spice of life, the NFL’s prime-time schedule is typically the broadcast equivalent of an unseasoned chicken breast.
Few enterprises can match the league when it comes to commanding attention throughout the country. Of the top 100 live event broadcasts in 2024, more than two-thirds belonged to the NFL. While that figure was actually down from 93 a year ago, it reinforced that there’s no singular entity that can compete with the league when it comes to getting people to tune in.
But despite parity continuing to run strong in the standings, there’s hardly a level playing field when it comes to who is afforded the limelight. The most recognizable brands are sure to be featured heavily on the schedule, which leads to standalone windows being dominated by the likes of the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs and a select group of other organizations proven to be a sizable draw. And with teams no longer guaranteed at least one prime-time game per year, some franchises – typically those outside a major market and coming off an uninspiring season – can get the stiff-arm from the league’s schedule-makers.
With the NFL schedule set to be released Wednesday, here are five teams that deserve more prime-time games this season than they were allotted a year ago:
Washington Commanders
This might be your new prime-time darling for 2025.
Dan Snyder’s exit brought plenty of jubilation for Washington fans, but expectations were still relatively muted heading into the first year of an expansive reset. Maybe they shouldn’t have been. Behind Jayden Daniels’ almost immediate star turn and first-year coach Dan Quinn managing to get nearly every position group to overperform, the Commanders rocketed into the franchise’s first NFC title game appearance since 1991.
After bold trades to secure five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and dynamic wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., Washington has gone from scheduling afterthought to a likely main attraction.
With the opportunity to spotlight one of the league’s most exciting young quarterbacks in Daniels, expect the league to make the Commanders a fixture of the evening slate. The big-market rivalries of the NFC East will always prove alluring, but Washington’s schedule also features several matchups against other teams on the upswing led by promising young passers, such as the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos. And beyond the two divisional tilts against the defending-champion Philadelphia Eagles, taking on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium and hosting the Detroit Lions should help reveal whether Quinn’s crew is ready to affirm its place among the select few capable of seizing the conference crown.
Minnesota Vikings
For the last decade-plus, the Vikings have oscillated between NFC contender and also-ran, with the franchise not having posted consecutive playoff appearances since 2008-09. Counting on Minnesota to replicate – or improve upon – last season’s 14-win output might seem far-fetched, especially as the reins are handed to a second-year quarterback whose entire rookie campaign was lost to injury. But it’s a direction that reigning NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have embraced, and the league’s schedule-makers should follow suit.
After sitting out last season due to a torn meniscus suffered in the preseason, J.J. McCarthy figures to be the league’s ultimate quarterback wild card for 2025. Despite the uncertainty surrounding last year’s No. 10 overall pick in the NFL draft, the Vikings stood firm behind him this offseason by letting Sam Darnold leave after a career year. McCarthy was never tasked with serving as the offensive engine at Michigan, but he still led the Wolverines to a national championship while showing glimpses suggesting he was capable of more than what he demonstrated in limited opportunities.
Yet while McCarthy’s play will prove instrumental in determining the course of the season, the Vikings’ fate won’t hinge entirely on an unproven entity behind center. O’Connell’s steady hand as a play-caller raises the floor for the team, as does Justin Jefferson’s ability to stand out amid even the shakiest of circumstances. Meanwhile, Brian Flores might have one of the few defenses that could be described as appointment television given the unit’s knack for creating chaos.
The league seemed slightly wary of promoting Minnesota in the lead-up to last season, initially giving the organization just two prime-time slots. No such hesitance should be necessary this time around, as the Vikings have earned a wealth of exclusive windows as they navigate what could be the NFL’s most cutthroat division in the NFC North.
Chicago Bears
Good brand, bad football. For some time, that’s been the book on the Bears, who despite not having enjoyed a winning season since 2018 have typically been granted three or four prime-time windows per year.
The arrival of No. 1 pick Caleb Williams was supposed to change the outlook in Chicago for the foreseeable future. But a ‘Sunday Night Football’ snoozer in Week 2 against the Houston Texans served as a harbinger for another flop of a campaign, which featured Matt Eberflus’ historic in-season firing and a 10-game losing streak.
The latest promise of a new day should be met with the appropriate skepticism. But the extent of this overhaul merits excitement from a national audience.
With Ben Johnson taking over as head coach and play-caller, the Bears now have the mastermind of the league’s highest-scoring offense at the helm. And thanks to the interior offensive line being completely remade via veteran acquisitions, Williams now should be able to operate with far more comfort than he did during his debut campaign, in which his 68 sacks taken were the third most by any quarterback in a single season. He will first be tasked with mastering the intricacies of Johnson’s system, but the head coach has also voiced interest in tapping into the creativity and playmaking ability that helped Williams become the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and one of the most touted passing prospects in recent years.
While that’s a tantalizing layout for the NFL’s schedule-makers, it also poses a tricky dynamic. Put the team in prime time too early in the season, and the result might be a look at a project still under construction. Put them in late, and there’s no guarantee the group will be relevant in the postseason chase. Still, a fascinating collection of pieces certainly warrants widespread attention. A bump from last year’s total of three prime-time games seems like a virtual lock.
New England Patriots
While Robert Kraft was bullish about his plan to move on from Bill Belichick, the architects of the NFL’s schedule seemed to have more significant doubts. Despite the intrigue about how the franchise would chart a new course after parting with a legend, New England’s lone prime-time offering in 2024 was a Week 3 ‘Thursday Night Football’ showing against the New York Jets.
But with Kraft having replaced Jerod Mayo with Mike Vrabel in January and the Patriots having undergone an extensive personnel shift after a 4-13 thud of a season, maybe the league will buy into New England’s second attempt at a rebirth.
Understandably, there’s likely limited immediate appeal in showcasing an offense that finished in the bottom three for both yards and points for the last two seasons. But with at least modest improvements in protection and skill-position support, Drake Maye should be much better situated to show off the big-play flair that only occasionally glimmered in his trying rookie run. And with Josh McDaniels returning for his third stint as offensive coordinator with the organization – albeit under a new staff – Maye will have the benefit of working with someone capable of adapting the scheme to his unique talents.
Kraft has been clawing for a return to playoff contention, and that level might prove unreachable in Year 1 of the latest reset. But Vrabel and the rest of the current setup will provide a spark that has been absent since Tom Brady departed, and that might be good enough for at least a second prime-time slot.
Carolina Panthers
Yes, really. The Panthers were the lone team held out of prime time last year, with the Berlin matchup against the New York Giants serving as the franchise’s sole standalone window in 2024. And while Carolina likely won’t produce spiking Nielsen ratings as the franchise tries to figure out how to be merely competitive, they shouldn’t be fully shunned yet again.
After enduring what seemed like it could be a career-defining benching in Week 2, Bryce Young managed to not only make his way back to the starting lineup for good but also thrive. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft took advantage of his significantly improved protection to become a more assertive and efficient downfield passer. There was only so much room to grow with an underdeveloped receiving corps, but first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan could help Young continue his ascent by providing him with the jump-ball winner he has lacked in his first two years.
Limited improvements to a defense that ranked last in yards allowed per play (6.0) and scoring (31.4 points allowed per game) likely leave Carolina ill-equipped to navigate most of the shootouts it will inevitably face. But pitting Young against another promising young quarterbacks – maybe the Atlanta Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. or Maye and the Patriots – seems like solid ‘Thursday Night Football’ fare.
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