Ranking top 5 NFL teams with hardest strength of schedule in 2025 ft. Browns
The full 2025 NFL schedule was released earlier this week, complete with times and locations of all 17 games for each of the 32 teams. In addition to the listed opponents, when and where certain games are played will have an impact on the overall difficulty of a specific schedule.
Here are the five teams with the most challenging paths this year.
Most difficult 2025 NFL schedules
#5 - Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions, so, understandably, they have one of the most difficult schedules. They will play in five primetime games, including the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. They will also face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 to start a stretch of four consecutive opponents that made the playoffs last year.
#4 - Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are expected to start JJ McCarthy as their new quarterback this year. He has a brutal stretch to open the season, starting with primetime games in his first two weeks. That is directly followed by two consecutive international games in Dublin and London.
#3 - New York Giants
The New York Giants will hope to have a better season this year with head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen seemingly in the hot seat. They will have a difficult time doing so with the hardest strength of schedule based on their opponents' records from last year. They also face six playoff teams from last year in their first nine games, with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers in the mix during that stretch.
#2 - Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns have major questions surrounding their quarterback position, with Deshaun Watson expected to miss most of the 2025 NFL season due to an injury. They have a tough road ahead of them as they face off against playoff opponents in each of their first five games, including a trip to London to play the Minnesota Vikings.
#1 - Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions will play 11 of their 17 games this season against teams that made it into the playoffs last year. They also have three Thursday games, including on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Add in their five primetime games and they have the most difficult overall schedule.