Highlighting AFC East blockbuster games of 2025 season

The NFL released its complete schedule for the 2025 season on Wednesday. Here is the blockbuster game (and another intriguing matchup) for every team in the AFC East.

Buffalo Bills | Complete schedule

BLOCKBUSTER | vs. Chiefs, Nov. 2 (Week 9): For the sixth time in as many years, Bills quarterback Josh Allen will face the Chiefs in a regular-season game. Allen has a 4-1 record against Kansas City in the regular season but is 0-4 against them in the playoffs, including a 32-29 defeat in last year’s AFC Championship Game.

ALSO INTRIGUING | vs. Ravens, Sept. 7 (Week 1): Easily the best matchup of opening weekend, NFL fans get to see two of the league's best quarterbacks square off once again on Sunday Night Football.

Ravens quarterback, and former NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson, threw for a career-high 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024 but was runner-up to Allen for last year’s award. Baltimore led the league by averaging 424.9 yards per game while scoring the third-most points (30.5) per contest in 2024. The Bills averaged 30.9 points per game before beating the Ravens 27-25 in the divisional round of last year’s playoffs.

Miami Dolphins | Complete schedule 

BLOCKBUSTER | vs. Commanders, Nov. 16 (Week 11):  This year, Miami and Washington will meet at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in Spain.

When the teams last met in 2023, the Dolphins beat Ron Rivera’s Commanders 45-15. After replacing Rivera with head coach Dan Quinn, Washington made it all the way to last year’s NFC championship Game, where they fell to the Super Bowl champion Eagles. 

Quinn’s last trip to the big game came in 2016 when his Atlanta Falcons lost to Bill Belichick’s Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Back then, Quinn had a 33-year-old offensive assistant named Mike McDaniel, currently the Dolphins’ head coach. Perhaps they’ll reminisce over some post-game vino before leaving Spain’s capital city.

ALSO INTRIGUING | vs. Ravens, Oct. 30 (Week 9): Jackson has four career games with a perfect passer rating (158.3) since joining the Ravens. His first came in a 59-10 win against Miami to open the 2019 season. His last also came against the Dolphins in a 56-19 victory to end the 2023 regular season.

With running back Derrick Henry signed to a two-year, $30M contract extension on Wednesday, Baltimore’s high-powered offense will be a challenge for Miami’s fourth-ranked defense on Thursday Night Football.

New England Patriots | Complete schedule

BLOCKBUSTER | at Buffalo Bills, Oct. 5 (Week 5):  If the Patriots want to get back to the top of the AFC East, they’ll have to get past the Bills, who are 7-3 against New England in their last 10 games.

This game will be one of three primetime games for the Patriots this season after playing in just one last season. New England actually ended the 2024 season with a 23-16 home win against Buffalo, snapping a six-game losing streak when another loss would have guaranteed them the top pick in this year’s draft.

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye sat out that game but has a great chance to upset his division rival with four-time Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs catching passes against his old team in the Patriots' final game at Highmark Stadium.

ALSO INTRIGUING | at Tennessee Titans, Oct. 19 (Week 7): New head coach Mike Vrabel started his head coaching career with the Tennessee Titans in 2018, leading the team to four winning seasons on the way to being named AP Coach of the Year in 2021.

He was replaced with former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan in 2024 after a pair of losing seasons in 2022 and 2023. The Week 7 matchup will be Vrabel’s first trip back to Nissan Field, where he’ll look to contain Titans quarterback Cam Ward, the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

New York Jets | Complete schedule

BLOCKBUSTER | vs. Steelers, Sept. 7 (Week 1): New York will start the 2025 season by playing the former team of their new starting quarterback. Of course, Pittsburgh could say the same if Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers as expected.

The Jets moved on from Rodgers in the offseason in favor of Justin Fields, who started the first six games for Pittsburgh before being benched in favor of Russell Wilson. Rodgers went 6-12 with 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns for New York and looked nothing like the player who previously won four NFL MVP awards.

In reality, neither team looks to be very good this season but just imagine how Jets fans would react to Rodgers’ not-so-triumphant return to MetLife Stadium wearing a Steelers jersey.

ALSO INTRIGUING | vs Broncos, Oct. 12 (Week 6):  No matter the score, Jets owner Woody Johnson can’t lose when his team travels to play its fourth game in London and fifth international game overall. 

As part of the league's Global Markets Program, an initiative that grants international marketing rights to specific NFL clubs, the Jets are permitted to build brand awareness and fandom through events and commercial opportunities in London. 

Last season, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix lost to new Jets quarterback Justin Fields in his second NFL start. Two weeks later, he pulled out a 10-9 victory over New York despite completing just 12 passes for 60 yards. This time, he’ll look to give Johnson a run for his money across the pond.