Ranking 10 Best Revenge Games on 2025 NFL Schedule
The NFL released its 2025 schedule on Wednesday evening, and you can bet more than a few teams and players have circled certain dates on their calendars.
Though players and coaches often insist they treat every opponent the same, "revenge games" are a thing in the NFL. Whether it's because an individual is looking to best his former franchise or because a team is looking to avenge a particularly painful loss, some games just carry extra motivation.
Sometimes, the timing and location of a contest also elevate the "big-game" feel of a grudge match.
With this in mind, and the schedule set, let's rank the top 10 revenge games on the 2025 slate based on factors such as recent results, projected storylines and stakes.
10. New York Jets at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1 of 10
Week 3: Sunday, September 21
There's still a chance we see Aaron Rodgers face his former team as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers in their 2025 season opener.
Until/unless the 41-year-old actually signs with Pittsburgh, though, Haason Reddick may be the ex-Jet we most want to see face his former team.
Why? Because Reddick's 2024 season with New York was bizarre. The Jets acquired the two-time Pro Bowler from the Philadelphia Eagles in a trade but did not work out a contract extension before doing so. He held out for much of the season while angling for a new deal and failed to make much of an impact once he took the field.
The two-time Pro Bowler produced just one sack and seven QB pressures in 10 games. Of course, not much went right for any Jets players during a season in which the team fired both its head coach and general manager.
Players like Rodgers, Davante Adams and D.J. Reed would probably enjoy a chance to show up one of the league's more dysfunctional franchises. Reddick will get that opportunity and, perhaps, help reestablish his NFL value against New York—though, he's said all the right things about moving forward with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"I know that everybody is worried about last year, but last year is last year, right? I'm here now. Different mindset, different space, just ready to put the past behind me," Reddick said, per ESPN's Jenna Laine.
With a high-flying offense led by Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans and Bucky Irving, Tampa is already a fun team to watch. Add a Reddick revenge game to the mix, and this becomes one of the few "must-see" Jets games of the 2025 season.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Chargers
2 of 10
Week 10: Sunday, November 9
The idea of Najee Harris facing his former team was a lot more intriguing before the Los Angeles Chargers used a first-round pick on running back Omarion Hampton.
The North Carolina product is likely to be a high-volume back for Jim Harbaugh beginning in Week 1. Harris, who signed with the Chargers after four years in Pittsburgh, may be more of a complementary back for much of the season.
However, we can expect Harris to lobby for, and receive, a sizeable workload when the Steelers come to town.
Though he was never a truly elite back in Pittsburgh, he was incredibly steady, rushing for over 1,000 yards in all four seasons. Yet, the Steelers allowed him to walk in free agency, and, according to Harris, may have fallen short of maximizing his potential before letting him go.
"We just didn't know anything on offense, really," Harris told Chris Hayre of KCAL News (beginning at the 5:53 mark). "We didn't have any identity. We had a young guy coming in at quarterback. I really didn't have nobody to almost learn from, on the offensive side."
This may not be a revenge game in the mold of Saquon Barkley versus the New York Giants in 2024, but Harris will probably want to make Pittsburgh look foolish for letting him go. He'll get a chance to do it on Sunday Night Football.
The Chargers will probably be looking for a piece of the Steelers anyway, as Pittsburgh was one of only two teams (along with Tampa) to beat L.A. by double digits during the 2024 regular season.
Add in the coaching matchup of Harbaugh versus Mike Tomlin, and this is one we can't wait to see.
8. Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills
3 of 10
Week 9: Sunday, November 2
We're pretty much obligated to put any matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs on a list of top revenge games. Why? Because Kansas City has consistently ousted Buffalo from the postseason.
Since Josh Allen's second year as a starter (2019), the Bills have made the playoffs in all six seasons. Four of those postseason trips were ended by the Chiefs, and it happened twice in the AFC title game.
Last year's 32-29 loss in the AFC Championship Game was particularly painful—though, perhaps not as painful as the 2021 overtime loss that prompted the NFL to revise its postseason overtime rules. In January, Buffalo had the ball near midfield at the two-minute warning but failed on a 4th-and-5 before allowing Kansas City to pick up a first down and kneel it out.
All of that happened after Allen appeared to pick up a 4th-and-short earlier in the fourth quarter, only to have it ruled short.
"It looked like he got to it. That's all I can say," head coach Sean McDermott told reporters after the game. "...We're up one point at the time. A chance to go up maybe multiple scores at that point. It's a big call. It's absolutely a big call."
You can bet Buffalo will be looking to pick up a win over its biggest postseason rival and the stakes and storylines will be high. Yet, we can't rank this revenge game too highly.
The Bills have gotten "revenge" in the regular season before. In fact, they've won their last four regular-season games against Kansas City, including a 30-21 victory last November. This will be a game to watch, but it won't mean much if Buffalo doesn't get it done against the Chiefs in the playoffs.
This will still be a fun one, though, and it'll be a late-afternoon game most fans won't want to miss in Week 9.
.jpg?w=256 "Cowboys Schottenheimer Football")
.jpg?w=256 "49ers Future Football")
7. New York Giants at Denver Broncos
4 of 10
Week 7: Sunday, October 19
Had the Cleveland Browns not executed an even worse trade in the 2022 offseason, we'd probably still be talking about how much the move to add Russell Wilson was a flop for the Denver Broncos.
Wilson had two mostly unforgettable years in Denver and struggled to mesh with head coach Sean Payton in his second before he was dumped last offseason.
Payton and the Broncos were so eager to move on from Wilson that they ate $85 million in dead money to rip off the band-aid.
The 36-year-old would almost certainly like to prove he can still play like the perennial Pro Bowler he once was. We assume he'd also love to show Payton and the Broncos that moving on from him was a mistake. Payton, we'd imagine, would love another opportunity to show it wasn't.
A head-to-head matchup between Wilson and the Broncos was slated for last season, but we never got to see it.
A calf injury sidelined the signal-caller for the first six games of 2024, so it was Justin Fields who led Pittsburgh to a 13-6 victory over Denver in Week 2.
Now that Wilson is with the New York Giants, we may finally get to see him clash with Payton's Broncos. While New York also added Jameis Winston and rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart to its quarterback room, Wilson is expected to be this season's starter.
"Russ will be our starter," head coach Brian Daboll told reporters after the Giants drafted Dart.
We can reasonably expect Wilson to still be in the starting lineup in Week 7.
This figures to be a spicy matchup regardless of which side you're rooting for. Wilson might just prove that his time in Denver, and toward the end of last season in Pittsburgh, were outliers in his Hall of Fame career. Peyton might look to embarrass his former quarterback the way he embarrassed his former team during last year's 33-10 blowout of the Saints in New Orleans.
Either way, this matchup might be one of the only reasons to watch the Giants in 2025, at least until Dart takes over.
6. Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders
5 of 10
Week 6: Monday, October 13
In last year's draft, the Chicago Bears selected Caleb Williams at No. 1, while the Washington Commanders took Jayden Daniels at No. 2. And the rookie quarterbacks faced off in Week 8 in a game that became a pivotal point in the 2025 season.
Chicago entered the game with a 4-2 record, and Williams appeared to be on his way to a signature win when Daniels stole the spotlight and the game.
Williams and the Bears took over with a little more than four minutes remaining, drove down the field and scored a go-ahead touchdown with less than 30 seconds remaining. However, Daniels' 52-yard Hail Mary pass as time expired was caught by Noah Brown, which gave Washington the victory and erased any momentum Chicago had built during the early portion of the season.
The Commanders went on to reach the NFC title game, and Daniels was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Bears, meanwhile, didn't win another game until Week 18, and head coach Matt Eberflus was fired roughly one month later.
"How [then-HC Matt Eberflus] handled it at that time, for that game, was, I think, one of the things that throughout the locker room people talked about and were annoyed by," Williams said in an interview with Brian O'Keefe of Esquire (h/t Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times).
It's impossible to blame Washington for the disaster that was the second half of Chicago's 2024 season, but you can bet players like Williams and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson—who was seen taunting fans on the final play—would love to "avenge" that momentous loss on Monday Night Football.
And the Bears might just be able to do it. While Williams never played up to his draft status as a rookie, Chicago hired an offensive coach in Ben Johnson, revamped its offensive line and added pass-catchers Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III in the draft.
If nothing else, Round 2 between the top two picks in the 2024 draft should make this one appointment viewing.
5. Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs
6 of 10
Week 2: Sunday, September 14
Super Bowl rematches are always fun, and this year's game between the Chiefs and Eagles will be no exception. Kansas City will look to avenge a loss that prevented the team from becoming the first franchise in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.
Of course, it's fair to wonder how much Kansas City's focus on a potential piece of history clouded the team's preparation for Super Bowl LIX. The Chiefs struggled to make a competitive contest out of the big game, and they never seemed to adequately adjust to what Philly was doing offensively and defensively.
Make no mistake, Super Bowl LIX was far more lopsided than its 40-22 final score might indicate. Mahomes, playing behind a suspect offensive line, had a particularly forgettable game (3 TDs, 3 turnovers).
"I let y'all down today. I'll always continue to work and try and learn and be better for it," the quarterback posted on X after the game. "...We will be back."
Players like Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce will want another shot at the Eagles, as will head coach Andy Reid—if for no other reason than to build a bit more confidence ahead of the postseason. And this should be an entertaining game, as Philly and Kansas City remain two of the NFL's top title contenders.
However, this one ranks a bit lower than some might expect. Simply put, the stakes won't be as high as they will be for some other games on our list.
Yes, the Chiefs and their new-look offensive line will have a shot at redemption against one of the toughest teams on their schedule. But this game may not have a massive impact on either conference race—aside from records and common-opponent tiebreakers, of course.
Plus, either team could walk away with a convincing victory and still find it relatively empty. A Week 2 game isn't going to clinch a No. 1 seed for either squad, and for the Chiefs, a win won't change what happened in Super Bowl LIX.
It could, however, help Kansas City feel better about its chances of reaching and winning Super Bowl LX.
4. Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
7 of 10
Week 1: Sunday, September 7
While the Bills have gained a reputation for failing to get past Kansas City in the postseason, the Baltimore Ravens haven't had any better luck.
Baltimore fell against Kansas City in the 2023 AFC Championship Game and was ousted by Buffalo in the divisional round in January. Both were painful losses, but the most recent might feel the most regrettable.
The Ravens found the end zone with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and had an opportunity to tie it with a two-point try. However, tight end Mark Andrews failed to secure Lamar Jackson's pass. Buffalo then recovered the ensuing onside kick, picked up one first down and escaped with a 27-25 victory.
"It's impossible to adequately express how I feel. I'm absolutely gutted by what happened on Sunday," Andrews wrote in the caption of an Instagram post after the game. "I'm devastated for my teammates, my coaches and Ravens fans."
While beating Buffalo in the regular season won't erase what happened in January, Andrews, Jackson and every other member of the Ravens organization will be fired up to earn a "revenge" victory.
They'll get an early opportunity, as this game will kick off the 2025 Sunday Night Football schedule.
Fans can expect television producers to replay Andrews' fateful drop multiple times during the lead-up to the game. They can also expect media members to repeatedly bring up the fact that Allen edged out Jackson in the 2024 MVP voting.
The Ravens, and their fans, can certainly argue Jackson was more deserving of the MVP award. His numbers were more impressive, almost across the board, than those of Jackson's 2023 MVP campaign.
Neither team will want for motivation, as this will be an important matchup between AFC contenders—and fans should always be stoked for a Jackson-Allen showdown. However, this one might just mean a little more for Baltimore.
3. Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders
8 of 10
Week 16: Saturday, December 20
What's better than a late-season standalone game between bitter division rivals? How about a game between two of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL and a rematch of the latest NFC Championship Game.
That's what fans will get when the Commanders host the Eagles in Week 16. This is a game that could carry significant consequences in the race for the NFC East crown and the top seed in the conference. It's also a game that could allow Daniels and the Commanders to earn a little revenge.
Washington was arguably the biggest surprise of the 2024 season, thanks largely to Jayden Daniels' fantastic rookie campaign. He helped a team that won just four games the previous year reach the NFC title game—where it was promptly squashed by Philadelphia.
While Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (one passing TD, three rushing TDs) played well enough against his younger counterpart, this was a game Philly physically dominated on the ground.
Saquon Barkley rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns, while the Eagles notched seven rushing touchdowns in a 55-23 blowout.
The Commanders, of course, were a rebuilding team, and head coach Dan Quinn hoped to use his latest loss as a learning experience.
"To be on this journey with these guys and to see the connection that they've built. There's a lot of lessons that we're going to take from this year that we'll use for years to come," Quinn told Fox Sports' Tom Rinaldi after the game.
However, you can bet Quinn—who also spent three years battling the Eagles as the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator—would love to get a little revenge in front of a home crowd late this season.
With notable new pieces on both sides of the ball—including Deebo Samuel, Laremy Tunsil, Javon Kinlaw and Will Harris—Quinn and the Commanders may do just that in Week 16.
2. Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
9 of 10
Week 2: Sunday, September 14
OK, so this one might be lower in the stakes department, as only one participant is expected to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender. However, Ben Johnson's return to Detroit to face the Lions should make for one of the most anticipated games of the season.
For those who tuned out during the early offseason, Johnson was hired to be the Bears' head coach after three seasons as Detroit's offensive coordinator and six total seasons with the franchise. He quickly made it clear he wanted to keep competing within the NFC North.
"I wanted to stay in this division,” Johnson told reporters during his introductory press conference. “I know this is the toughest division in football right now."
For the Lions, this game will provide an opportunity to best a longtime coach who decided that leaving for a bitter division rival was a good idea. Of course, that's only part of what makes this a "revenge" game.
Let's not forget it was a loss in Detroit on Thanksgiving that ultimately cost Matt Eberflus his job last season.
For anyone who has forgotten how that game ended, Chicago had a 1st-and-10 at the Detroit 25-yard line—well within range of a game-tying field goal—with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Somehow, a comedic series of errors and horrendous clock management caused the game to end with the Bears still holding a fourth down and a timeout.
Johnson may be thankful for that Thanksgiving game, since it helped create the opening he filled in Chicago. However, Williams and the Bears will be eager to vindicate themselves for their lack of execution and awareness under Eberflus—issues that weren't limited to a single game.
They'll have an opportunity to do exactly that by following their new head coach into his old stomping grounds and trying to beat one of the top teams in the conference in a high-profile divisional battle.
While this game is buried in the early afternoon slate, it should be one of the best of Week 2.
1. Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs
10 of 10
Week 4: Sunday, September 28
Games between the Ravens and Chiefs are always thrilling because they feature Jackson and Mahomes, arguably the two most electric quarterbacks in the game today.
These two franchises have also had some exciting battles over the years that have included some incredible finishes. In 2021, for example, the Ravens won after recovering a Chiefs fumble on the Baltimore 34-yard line with just over a minute remaining in the game to preserve a 36-35 victory.
In the 2023 AFC Championship Game, Kansas City escaped with a 17-10 win after forcing two fourth-quarter turnovers at or inside the goal line.
The Ravens had a chance to avenge that AFC title game loss in the 2024 season opener. However, that game featured a memorable finish that probably still haunts Jackson and tight end Isaiah Likely.
Likely caught what was originally called a touchdown as time expired in a 27-20 game. After review, though, he was ruled out of bounds with just a fraction of his shoe on the back line.
For Baltimore, it was a sense of redemption ripped away at the final moment.
"I thought it was a touchdown," Jackson said, per ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "I still think it's a touchdown."
Jackson and the Ravens will be back in Kansas City this year with a chance to avenge their last two losses to Mahomes and the Chiefs. Making the game just a bit spicier is the fact that Baltimore now employs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who spent the second half of last season in K.C.
This matchup will pretty much have it all: two elite quarterbacks, two explosive offenses, two Hall of Fame coaches, two aggressive defenses, a compelling recent rivalry and serious AFC playoff implications. Baltimore or Kansas City (twice) has claimed the conference's No. 1 seed in each of the past three years.
For the two teams involved, this game won't mean as much as a potential rematch in the postseason. For fans, though, it's shaping up to be the biggest revenge game of the 2025 schedule and a true can't-miss contest.
.jpg?w=480 "Cowboys Schottenheimer Football")
.jpg?w=480 "49ers Future Football")
.jpg?w=480 "Saints Falcons Football")
.JPEG?w=600 "Every NFL Team's Biggest Draft Needs")
