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The 2025 NFL season is the 106th season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season began on September 4, 2025, with reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia defeating Dallas in the NFL Kickoff Game, and is set to end on January 4, 2026. The playoffs are scheduled to start on January 10, and will conclude with Super Bowl LX, the league's championship game, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8.

2024 Season

The 2024 NFL season was the 105th season of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 5, 2024, with reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City defeating Baltimore in the NFL Kickoff Game. The regular season concluded on January 5, 2025. The playoffs started on January 11 and concluded with Philadelphia defeating Kansas City in Super Bowl LIX, the league's championship game, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 9.

2023 Season

The 2023 NFL season was the 104th season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season began on September 7, 2023, with defending Super Bowl LVII champion Kansas City losing to Detroit in the NFL Kickoff Game, and ended on January 7, 2024.

The playoffs started on January 13 and concluded with Super Bowl LVIII, the league's championship game, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on February 11, 2024. Kansas City defeated San Francisco in overtime, becoming the first team since the 2004 New England Patriots to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

This was the first season since 1935 in which every team in a division (in this case the AFC North) finished with a winning record.

2022 Season

The 2022 NFL season was the 103rd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 8, 2022, with the defending Super Bowl LVI champion Los Angeles Rams falling to Buffalo in the NFL Kickoff Game, and ended on January 8, 2023. The playoffs started on January 14 and concluded with Super Bowl LVII, the league's championship game, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on February 12, with Kansas City defeating Philadelphia.

The former Washington Redskins, after two seasons of using the placeholder name Washington Football Team, were renamed the Washington Commanders prior to the start of the season.

The week 17 game between Buffalo and Cincinnati was canceled after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered a nonfatal cardiac arrest on the field of play. It was the first regular season game to be canceled and not rescheduled since the 1987 NFLPA players' strike.

2021 Season

The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games. The regular season started on September 9, 2021, with defending Super Bowl LV champion Tampa Bay defeating Dallas in the NFL Kickoff Game. The regular season ended on January 9, 2022. The playoffs started on January 15 and concluded with Super Bowl LVI, the league's championship game, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on February 13, with the Los Angeles Rams defeating Cincinnati.

2020 Season

After a decades-long controversy, the Washington Redskins retired the use of their name and logo and adopted the temporary placeholder name Washington Football Team, up until their official name change to Washington Commanders for the 2022 season.

The season was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; the most prominent changes were the cancellation of all preseason games and the 2021 Pro Bowl, the suspension of international games for the year, an allowance for players to opt out of playing the season without violating their contracts (66 players opted out), the playing of games with either a greatly reduced audience or no fans at all, and the postponement and/or rescheduling of multiple games due to numerous positive COVID-19 tests among players and staff. Despite these changes, all 256 regular season games were played within the original 17-week span with no cancellations.

This was also the final season played under the 16-game schedule, as the schedule was expanded to 17 games in 2021.

2019 Season

The 2019 NFL season was the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 54th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 5, 2019, with the NFL Kickoff Game, in which the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears. The season concluded with Super Bowl LIV, the league's championship game, on February 2, 2020, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, in which the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers 31–20 to win their second Super Bowl championship. This was also the final NFL season with the 12-team playoff format, as two more teams were added to the annual NFL playoffs as of the 2020 NFL season.

The 2019 season was also the last season for the Oakland Raiders after playing in Oakland for 47 non-consecutive years before their relocation to Las Vegas for 2020 with the completion of Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders were previously approved for relocation in March 2017 but spent the last two seasons at RingCentral Coliseum.

The 2019 season was also Tom Brady's final season with the New England Patriots.

2018 Season

The 2018 NFL season was the 99th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 53rd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 6, 2018, with the NFL Kickoff Game with the defending Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Atlanta Falcons. The season concluded with Super Bowl LIII, the league's championship game, on February 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, in which the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13–3 for their sixth Super Bowl championship and their third title in five years.

2017 Season

The 2017 NFL season was the 98th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 52nd of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 7, 2017, with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the defending Super Bowl LI champion New England Patriots in the NFL Kickoff Game. The season concluded with Super Bowl LII, in which the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots 41–33 to win their first Super Bowl title, and fourth NFL championship, in franchise history, and making the NFC East the first and currently only division where every team has won a Super Bowl.

For the second time since the league expanded to a 16-game season, a team finished winless in a full season, as Cleveland lost all 16 of their games this season. The last team to do so was the 2008 Detroit Lions.

For the second consecutive year, a team relocated to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, as the former San Diego Chargers announced their intent to do so in January 2017. This was the first time that the Los Angeles metropolitan area had two teams since 1994.

2016 Season

The 2016 NFL season was the 97th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 51st of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 8, 2016, with the defending Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers in the NFL Kickoff Game in a rematch of the Super Bowl. The season concluded with Super Bowl LI, the league's championship game on February 5, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston with the New England Patriots defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–28. For the first time since the 2003 NFL season, neither of the previous season's Super Bowl participants made the playoffs.

The former St. Louis Rams moved out of St. Louis, Missouri and returned to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, its home from 1946 to 1994. This was the first time an NFL team relocated to another state since the Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee in 1997.

After playing in San Diego for 56 years, the 2016 season was the last season for the San Diego Chargers before their return to the city of Los Angeles for 2017, where the franchise was based for their first season in 1960.

This would be the first season in which the Super Bowl went into overtime, and the last until 2023.

2015 Season

The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL), and the 50th in the Super Bowl era. To celebrate the 50th season of the Super Bowl, a gold-plated NFL logo and other various gold-themed promotions were used throughout the season. It began on Thursday, September 10, 2015, with the annual kickoff game featuring the defending Super Bowl XLIX champion New England Patriots defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers. The season concluded with Super Bowl 50, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 7, 2016, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers 24–10.

During the 2015 season, the Oakland Raiders, the St. Louis Rams, and the San Diego Chargers announced their intentions to relocate back to Los Angeles in the ensuing off-season (all three teams had previously resided in the city at various points in their history). NFL owners eventually only approved the relocation of the Rams, by a vote of 30–2 on January 12, 2016. Thus, 2015 ended up being the Rams' last season in St. Louis.

2014 Season

The 2014 NFL season was the 95th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 49th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on Thursday, September 4, 2014, with the annual kickoff game featuring the defending Super Bowl XLVIII champion Seattle Seahawks hosting the Green Bay Packers, which resulted with the Seahawks winning. The season concluded with Super Bowl XLIX, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 1, 2015, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, with the New England Patriots defeating the Seahawks 28–24, in one of the closest games in Super Bowl history.

Some notable events of the season include every team losing at least 4 games, the Carolina Panthers going to the playoffs despite having a losing record, the NFC Championship Game where the Seahawks would make a comeback against the Packers, and Super Bowl XLIX where the Patriots would intercept the ball at the one yard line and win the game.

2013 Season

The 2013 NFL season was the 94th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 48th of the Super Bowl era. The season saw the Seattle Seahawks capture the first championship in the franchise's 38 years in the league with a lopsided victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, the league's championship game. The Super Bowl was played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, February 2, 2014. It was the first Super Bowl hosted by New Jersey and the first to be held outdoors in a cold weather environment. The Seahawks scored 12 seconds into the game and led the rest of the way on the back of their Legion of Boom defense. The Seahawks ultimately defeated the Broncos 43–8.

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was named the regular season's Most Valuable Player (MVP) by the voters of the Associated Press (AP) for a record fifth time after compiling passing stats including regular-season records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. Manning also was named the Offensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career. Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Scoring reached historic levels throughout the league in 2013. As a whole, the league set records for total points scored, points scored per game, and touchdowns and field goals scored. The Broncos set a new standard for team scoring in the regular season with 606 points. Ten other teams each scored over 400 points, the greatest number to surpass that benchmark in a single year until 2020.

The regular season got underway on Thursday, September 5, 2013, with the Broncos hosting the defending Super Bowl XLVII champion Baltimore Ravens in the annual kickoff game. The game presaged the Broncos' historic offensive production with a strong performance by Peyton Manning in which he tied a league record in throwing seven touchdown passes and led the Broncos to a win. The game was the start of a disappointing season for the Ravens in which they would finish out of the playoffs with an 8–8 record, thus ensuring there would be no repeat Super Bowl winner for a record-tying ninth straight season. The regular season wrapped up on Sunday night, December 29.

The playoffs began with the wild card round which took place the first weekend of January 2014. The league's propensity for scoring did not abate in the post-season, as exemplified by the Indianapolis Colts' wild come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs' opening game. The Conference Championship games featured the top seeded teams in each conference, the Seahawks in the NFC and the Broncos in the American Football Conference (AFC), hosting the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots respectively. Both home teams prevailed to set up just the second Super Bowl matchup of No. 1 seeds in the past 20 seasons.

2012 Season

The 2012 NFL season was the 93rd season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 47th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, with the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants falling to the Dallas Cowboys in the 2012 NFL Kickoff game at MetLife Stadium, and ended with Super Bowl XLVII, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 3, 2013, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, with the Jim Harbaugh-coached San Francisco 49ers facing the John Harbaugh-coached Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens won the game 34–31, which marked the first time two brothers were head coaches for opposing teams in the championship game.

2011 Season

The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field and ended with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on February 5, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis where the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21–17.

Due to a labor dispute between league owners and players, a lockout began on March 11 and ended on July 25, lasting 130 days. Although it initially threatened to postpone or cancel the season, the only game that was canceled was the August 7 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

The 2011 season saw an unprecedented amount of passing offense: Three of the nine highest passing yardage totals of all time were established: No. 2 Drew Brees (5,476), No. 3 Tom Brady (5,235), and No. 9 Matthew Stafford (5,038); Eli Manning threw for 4,933 yards, which places him 14th all time. It also saw Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers establish the all-time single-season best quarterback rating of 122.5. Further cementing the modern NFL's reputation as a "passing league" was that, for the second consecutive year, the league overall set a record for most average passing yards per team per game, with 229.7, breaking 2010's record by more than eight yards per game. (For comparison, the league-wide average rushing yards total finished the 2011 season at 57th all-time.)

A subplot of the 2011 season was determining who would have the worst record, and therefore "earn" the right to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft. Stanford senior quarterback Andrew Luck was seen as the best quarterback prospect in years. Fans of some teams that started the season with numerous losses (notably the Indianapolis Colts) were openly rooting for their teams to "Suck for Luck."

2010 Season

The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 45th of the Super Bowl era.

The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, the Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings.

Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, was named NFL MVP for the 2010 season. In Super Bowl XLV, the league's championship game played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–25 to win their fourth Super Bowl, spoiling the Steelers' chance for a seventh title. This season also marked the first full-length season in which a team with a losing record made the playoffs, when the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7–9 record. One week later, the Seahawks dethroned the defending champion New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round, to become the first ever sub-.500 playoff team to win a postseason game.

2009 Season

The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season.

The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10, with the reigning Super Bowl XLIII champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Tennessee Titans in overtime. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium with the New Orleans Saints defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31–17 in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Colts and Saints began the season 14–0 and 13–0 respectively. This was the first time in NFL history two teams started 13–0 or better.

2008 Season

The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League (NFL), themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."

Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the Arizona Cardinals 27–23 and winning their NFL-record sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Conversely, the Detroit Lions became the first NFL team with a winless season since the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season, finishing their season 0–16. Their 0-16 record would eventually be matched by the 2017 Cleveland Browns. For the first time since the NFL expanded to the sixteen-game season in 1978, three teams won two or fewer games: the Lions, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the St. Louis Rams. Previously two teams won two or fewer games in 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1992, and 2001. Also, for the first time since the 1985 Denver Broncos, a team finishing with an 11–5 record missed the playoffs — the defending AFC champion New England Patriots.

The regular season began on September 4 with the defending Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants defeating the Washington Redskins.

This was the last NFL season to air on analog television, as the Digital television transition in the United States, which required all full-power stations to covert to digital, began on June 12, 2009.

2007 Season

The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30. The campaign kicked off with the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts defeating the New Orleans Saints in the NFL Kickoff Game.

The New England Patriots became the first team to complete the regular season undefeated since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. Four weeks after the playoffs began on January 5, 2008, the Patriots' bid for a perfect season was dashed when they lost to the New York Giants 17–14 in Super Bowl XLII, the league championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on February 3.

For the first time, two divisions (the NFC East and the AFC South) had no team finish with a losing record.

2006 Season

The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006.

The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Miami Dolphins in the NFL Kickoff game.

The NFL title was eventually won by the Indianapolis Colts, when they defeated the Chicago Bears 29–17 in Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium at Miami Gardens, Florida on February 4, 2007.

2005 Season

The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005, to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the United States, as well as the New Orleans Saints being forced to play elsewhere due to damage to the Superdome and the entire New Orleans area by Hurricane Katrina.

The playoffs began on January 7. The New England Patriots' streak of 10 consecutive playoff wins and chance at a third straight Super Bowl title was ended in the Divisional Playoff Round by the Denver Broncos, and eventually the NFL title was won by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21–10 in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on February 5 for their fifth Super Bowl win. This also marked the first time that a sixth-seeded team, who by the nature of their seeding would play every game on the road, would advance to and win the Super Bowl.

The season formally concluded with the Pro Bowl, the league's all-star game, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 12.

This was also the final full season for Paul Tagliabue as commissioner.

2004 Season

The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004, to January 2, 2005. Hurricanes forced the rescheduling of two Miami Dolphins home games: the game against the Tennessee Titans was moved up one day to Saturday, September 11 to avoid oncoming Hurricane Ivan, while the game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, September 26 was moved back 7½ hours to miss the eye of Hurricane Jeanne.

The playoffs began on January 8, and eventually the New England Patriots repeated as NFL champions when they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24–21 in Super Bowl XXXIX at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on February 6. It would mark the last time a team won back-to-back Super Bowls until 2023 (that team being the Kansas City Chiefs).

2003 Season

The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

Regular-season play was held from September 4, 2003, to December 28, 2003. Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire, Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergency shelter, and thus the Miami Dolphins–San Diego Chargers regular-season game on October 27 was instead played at Sun Devil Stadium, the home field of the Arizona Cardinals. This was the first season in NFL history where every team won at least 4 games.

The playoffs began on January 3, 2004. The NFL title was won by the New England Patriots when they defeated the Carolina Panthers 32–29 in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 1.

2002 Season

The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL).

The league went back to an even number of teams with the addition of the Houston Texans; the league has remained static with 32 teams since. The clubs were realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each. Also, the Chicago Bears played their home games in 2002 in Champaign, Illinois, at Memorial Stadium because of the reconstruction of Soldier Field.

The NFL title was won by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they defeated the Oakland Raiders 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, on January 26, 2003. It is the last Super Bowl held in January and the last to be hosted in San Diego.

This was the first season to feature the "Equipment NFL" logo on the Yoke of the jerseys.

On November 10, during Week 10, a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field ended in a 34–34 tie, the first NFL tie game since November 23, 1997, when the New York Giants and Washington Redskins ended in a 7–7 draw. No more games would end in a tie until 2008.

2001 Season

The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the NFL's week 2 games (September 16 and 17) were postponed and rescheduled to the weekend of January 6 and 7, 2002. To retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXVI, were rescheduled one week later. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20–17 at the Louisiana Superdome.

This was the last season with 31 teams as the Houston Texans were introduced as an expansion team the following season. It was also the final season to feature the AFC Central and NFC Central divisions, as they were realigned into the AFC North, AFC South, NFC North, and NFC South the following season.

2000 Season

The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants, 34–7, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000. It would be the last NFL season to date to start on Labor Day weekend. It would also be the last time until 2015 that CBS televised the late afternoon games in Week 1, because both Week 1 of the NFL season and CBS's coverage of the U.S. Open tennis finals would take place on the same day beginning next season.

1999 Season

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1998 Season

The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League. The season culminated with Super Bowl XXXIII, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34–19 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. The Broncos had won their first thirteen games, the best start since the undefeated 1972 Dolphins, and were tipped by some to have a realistic chance at winning all nineteen games. The Minnesota Vikings became the first team since the 1968 Baltimore Colts to win all but one of their regular season games and not win the Super Bowl. After no team had won 14 regular season games since the 1992 49ers, three teams went 14–2 or better for the only time in a 16-game season.

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