The 2025 NFL schedule has been out for a few days, but we still have more than two months before training camp, so there’s still ample time to look closely at those team schedules and analyze what’s ahead.

We set out to identify the toughest four-game stretches that any team will face over the course of 18 weeks this fall. We started by eliminating any stretch that includes a bye week. Then we used two different methods to quantify schedule difficulty: last season’s win total and current 2025 team win over-unders. Every year is different, but a combination of last year’s actual results and this year’s expectations seems like a fair metric.

Remember, the NFL scheduling model includes three games based on how a team finished in last year’s standings, so division champs play other division champs in those games and last-place teams face last-place teams and so on. Anything gained or lost there can easily be offset by facing an entire tough division, or a really easy one.

We came up with a “difficulty score” for each four-game stretch — combined 2024 wins for the four opponents, plus their combined over-under for wins, divided by 10. The highest score possible would be 10.3.

Who They Face: vs. Eagles, at Seahawks, vs. 49ers, at Lions
Difficulty Score: 8.6

The past two years, the Bucs have survived midseason swoons, losing six of seven games in 2023 and five of six in 2024 and still managed to bounce back and win the NFC South both times. This is a stretch where 2-2 might feel like a solid showing, with two long trips. Tampa Bay actually beat the Lions and Eagles in the first month of last season, so there’s a revenge aspect in play in addition to four tough opponents.

Who They Face: at Vikings, Steelers, at Eagles, at Packers
Difficulty Score: 8.7

Three road games in four weeks is tough against anyone, but this stretch is particularly rough considering the Vikings and Eagles each went 8-1 at home last season. It helps that it’s in the second half of the season, where a first-year coach like Ben Johnson will have his bearings and a young quarterback like Caleb Williams should be fluent in a new offense. After this stretch, the Bears get the Browns at home in Week 15, but then it’s three more doozies to finish the regular season (Packers, at 49ers, Lions).

Who They Face: vs. Eagles, at Broncos, at Eagles, vs. 49ers
Difficulty Score: 8.7

Getting the defending champs twice in three weeks isn’t fun, but neither is the entire 2025 schedule for the Giants, who face the toughest strength of schedule of any NFL team despite getting a last-place schedule. This difficulty score is higher than their first four weeks, which include games at Washington and Dallas, followed by the Chiefs and Chargers at home. Whether Brian Daboll goes with veteran quarterback Russell Wilson or hands the keys to rookie Jaxson Dart, it’s an uphill battle to find wins anywhere in the first half of the schedule.

Who They Face: vs. Chiefs, at Dolphins, vs. Bucs, at Texans
Difficulty Score: 8.8

This run opens with a rematch of the AFC Championship Game, one of the most anticipated games of the 2025 regular season. The Bills took one of their four losses at Houston last year, so that’s nothing to scoff at. Three of Buffalo’s four opponents before this are the Saints, Falcons and Panthers, so the Bills should come into the Chiefs game with a fair amount of momentum.

Who They Face: at Vikings, at Broncos, vs. Lions, at Packers
Difficulty Score: 8.8

The Bengals play the entire NFC North this year, a rough draw, and Cincinnati will have three of those games in a span of four weeks early in the season. Last year’s Bengals dug themselves a 1-4 hole that they never really got out of, and this year it’s crucial that they sweep two easier opponents to open the year — at Browns and vs. Jaguars — before they hit this stretch. If we were just doing the toughest three-game stretches, Cincinnati also has one of the worst: at Ravens, at Bills and home vs. Ravens from Weeks 13-15.

Who They Face: vs. Bills, at Ravens, vs. Dolphins, at Lions
Difficulty Score: 9.0

The home game against the Dolphins is a nice break, but it’s a Monday night, so it sets up a short week before the trip to Detroit, which could carry a lot of weight for both teams four days before Christmas. The trip to Baltimore might be the Steelers’ toughest division game, and the rematch is shortly after this stretch in the regular-season finale in Pittsburgh.

Who They Face: vs. Lions, at Chiefs, vs. Texans, vs. Rams
Difficulty Score: 9.1

Two weeks after opening the season in Buffalo, the Ravens face their toughest stretch of the season. It starts with a Monday night vs. Detroit, which means a short week before going to Arrowhead to play the Chiefs. That’s back-to-back games in less than a week against two teams that went 15-2 last year. The Ravens’ bye comes immediately after this run, and they have a rare scheduling quirk later in the season with three straight road games, followed by three straight home games.

Who They Face: at Ravens, vs. Packers, at Lions, vs. Vikings
Difficulty Score: 9.2

The Browns went 3-14 last year, and regardless of who they trot out at quarterback, it’s a tough start to the season. Their first eight opponents all have over-unders of 8.5 wins or more, and this stretch gives them three NFC North playoff teams from last year, with the Vikings game in London no less. By the time the Browns get to a Week 9 bye, you wonder how many quarterbacks they will have started, and whether Kevin Stefanski has survived those two months.

Who They Face: vs. Eagles, at Chargers, at Lions, vs. Ravens
Difficulty Score: 9.5

The NFC North might be the toughest division in the NFL this year, and the Vikings have only two division games in the first 10 weeks of the season. They still pull off this nasty stretch, which includes a road Thursday in Los Angeles after hosting the defending Super Bowl champs. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that their bye week comes immediately before this four-game stretch, though shortly after this, the Vikings have a separate run of four road games in five weeks.

Who They Face: vs. Eagles, vs. Chiefs, at Lions, vs. Vikings
Difficulty Score: 10.0

There were an unprecedented four NFL teams that won 14 or more games in 2024, and the Cowboys not only face all four, but they face them in four straight games, including two Thursday games. Based on 2024 records, those four went 58-10, easily the most difficult four-game stretch, and based on 2025 over-unders, they combine for 42 wins, one off the highest total. Three of the four games are at home, which helps, but getting the two returning Super Bowl teams in a span of five days is cruel.

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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Greg Auman