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00:00We welcome you to our number two bright and early here on this
00:03Thursday morning on the early line on sports grid. He is
00:07down the right side. I am Ben Stevens on a Wednesday evening.
00:11We got it baby. The full NFL schedule release for the 2025
00:15campaign all 18 weeks all 17 games for all 32 NFL franchises
00:21for 2025 officially and fully unveiled on a Wednesday night.
00:27Earlier in the week, we had the marquee matchups a couple of
00:30games that will dot your prime time slates all throughout 2025
00:34holiday games prime time games season debuts, but now
00:39everything the exact date time and where the game is going to
00:44be played. We know now DRS the rest advantages. How many days
00:49in a row are you going to have to be on the road all of that
00:52good stuff that the oddsmakers use to set their lines on a
00:57week-to-week basis, which thus informs what you should do when
01:01you look at a preseason win total preseason division
01:04conference or Super Bowl price all of that good stuff that has
01:09been ironed out now around the National Football League and for
01:12the next 40 plus minutes. It's what we react to here on this
01:17Thursday on the early line. Yes, and I do like where the NFL
01:21tries to control the landscape and the narrative 365 days per
01:25year. But let me ask you this question. Is there a need for a
01:28schedule release show and I ask this like did anybody actually
01:32last night go at 8 o'clock. I'm tuning into the NFL Network to
01:36watch the schedule release like we don't need that like, you
01:39know, we do need selection Sunday half-hour show to let me
01:41know exactly where these teams are in the anticipation that you
01:44have now unless there were no leaks and you would just say,
01:47okay, here's the schedule coming out. You can't really do that
01:51because it's just a schedule. We're not like saying, you know,
01:53at the end of the NFL football season. We have a television
01:55show to let you know where they're seated and what stadium
01:57they're playing in and the anticipation that will come with
01:59that. So I do get a kick out of the NFL making it a big deal,
02:02but everybody knows the important games before the
02:04schedule release show. So what's the point of the schedule
02:07release show? I actually think the NFL band should basically
02:09have the entire month of May. All they do is slowly leak out
02:12the schedule couple games every day marquee game every day,
02:16but you know, wonder where the Eagles going to be in week 14.
02:18We'll find out today or just say like, you know, weeks one
02:21week to a 14-day stretch for two weeks week one week to week
02:25three week for you know what I mean? Each and every day those
02:28schedules get released, but I don't know. It's it's it's a
02:31problem that nobody really cares too much about rightfully. So
02:34I just enjoy hearing the games when they come out, but the
02:36schedule release show stop it man. You know, but he got time
02:39for that. Yeah, DRS. I think that's kind of where we fall
02:42now, right a few years ago. It was like the NFL trying to be
02:45ironclad. No leaks. No schedule releases nothing. You're going
02:49to tune in 8 p.m. Eastern and it's the first time you're
02:51going to learn where your favorite team is playing week
02:54number one. Basically by the time you get to 8 p.m. Eastern
02:57time on a Wednesday after the NFL and its TV partners start
03:01to release those marquee matchups Monday morning, Monday
03:04night, Tuesday morning, Tuesday night, Wednesday morning,
03:07Wednesday afternoon, and then if you're tapped into your
03:09favorite beat writers or any of those social media accounts
03:13that really focus on the scheduling in the NFL. You can
03:16know all 17 games that your favorite team or your most
03:19better rival is basically going to play. Do we need a schedule
03:23release show? No. Is the NFL King? Yes. Is there a better
03:27sports league than the NFL about making something that
03:30could be a fax or an email a television and primetime event?
03:35Absolutely not. That is why the NFL always deserves some
03:39praise. But DRS, let's start with what we saw yesterday.
03:43Notable NFL week one games. Of course, the season debut now
03:48just 113. I believe days away or 112 days away. Yeah, that's
03:56going to be the Cowboys and the Eagles in Philadelphia
03:59confirmed yesterday as we expected a divisional rivalry as
04:03well on that opening Friday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The
04:07Chiefs will be the road team against the LA Chargers in the
04:11Sao Paulo opener. Somebody in the NFL schedule office knows
04:16something because look at that other game. The Jets hosting
04:20the Steelers, Justin Fields against his former team, but
04:24that doesn't really move the new. Oh, oh, Aaron Rodgers, the
04:29presumed quarterback of the Steelers back in Met life
04:33against the New York Jets to open up a new season. Now, that
04:38might be something. Yeah, you take a look here, man. The NFL
04:42look, they miss on some things, but when they give you an
04:44opening week here and I absolutely love it. You know me
04:47Ben. I'm not a big proponent here of having overseas games. I
04:50didn't like when the Philadelphia Eagles went to,
04:52you know, Brazil to take on the Packers, but can you be more
04:55excited by just opening night, which is Thursday night, which
04:58for me again, Eagles fan, the banner comes down the Super
05:00Bowl trophies out there to kick off to the 2025 season.
05:03But even if the Eagles didn't win it, it's just there's
05:05something about opening night where they give you a marquee
05:07match up and that's like, oh man, that was so much fun. Now,
05:10I gotta wait till Sunday and they give you another banger on
05:14a Friday night in prime time just to get you lit for that
05:17weekend when you know, it's going to be great where there's
05:19no bye weeks. Everybody's playing on Sunday, Sunday night
05:22and then into Monday and you see those games pop up again.
05:25Eagles Cowboys Chiefs Chargers and you're right. The Steelers
05:28and the Jets. They did that on purpose because they understand
05:31the ramifications. If it turns out that both quarterbacks
05:34going up against their former teams at this point, trying to
05:37prove points, the Lions and the Packers for NFC North
05:40supremacy there, the bills and the Ravens on Sunday night
05:43football, man. This is like a marquee card that you could
05:46dream about. And yes, we're 113, 115, 116 days away. If you
05:51count the Sundays and Mondays, but just looking at the match
05:54ups in week number one, boy, that is going to be so much fun
05:58when it gets here. Yeah, DRS and it really is fun for us as
06:02well because although it might feel asinine to bet a bet right
06:06now for September 7th or 8th, it's still fun to get an early
06:10look at the odds because we have win total. We have
06:13divisional prices. We've got playoff numbers. Of course,
06:16we've had conference championship in Super Bowl 60
06:19odds out for a while, but you get a direct comparison based
06:23on the situation. This team on the road, this game in prime
06:27time blah blah blah against a divisional foe, a conference
06:32contender, whatever it might be. For instance, the Chiefs are
06:35only a two and a half point favorite in Sao Paulo against
06:38the Chargers. It's technically an LA home game, but it's a
06:42neutral game in Brazil. So you're saying on a neutral field
06:46a KC team that has dominated their divisional opponents and
06:49has won the AFC West for nine straight years is laying less
06:53than a field goal. Maybe that gap not nearly as wide as it
06:57once was right. It's those pictures. The RS that we get
07:00with the scheduled release and the oddsmakers setting the
07:03early odds for those marquee matchups for the holiday games
07:06for the entirety of the week. One 2025 NFL slate that gives
07:10you an even further picture at what we're seeing for a new
07:13year in the National Football League. You're right about that
07:16too. And you look at that game in Brazil. Let's go into the
07:19intricacies of what we saw last year in Brazil is exciting. You
07:22go down. There was actually good weather, but the field was an
07:25abomination, which led to a lot of points in that game, which
07:28is great. Last time. I saw the Chiefs in an abomination field.
07:32They beat the best team in the NFL was the Philadelphia Eagles
07:34Ben. So I look right now and you say you don't want to lay a
07:36wager on that game. Do you know if you can't get a pass rush,
07:40which you won't be able to get pass rush in that game, excuse
07:42me, because everybody will be falling down. Yeah. Give me the
07:46over in that game immediately on Friday night for prime time
07:50action between the short Chiefs and the Chargers. How about
07:53that? Yeah, I love a DRS and that over is already out the
07:58number right now between Casey and LA 44 and a half, right? Not
08:03a bad look. If you feel that strongly about it based on what
08:06we had seen in the opening game for the Brazilian opener a
08:11season ago. How about Sunday night football? Because DRS what
08:14really stands out to me about where the AFC stands right now.
08:18The Chiefs not the rating Super Bowl champions for the first
08:21time since 2022 to begin a season, but still the reigning
08:25AFC champions who have gotten the better of the Ravens, the
08:29Bills, the Bengals, and yet both Baltimore and Buffalo 50 cents
08:34shorter than Kansas City to win the AFC as of right now kind of
08:38a head scratcher. In my opinion, Buffalo a slight favorite
08:42against the flock that opening Sunday night. Yeah, plenty more
08:45for the NFL. So as we look at the NFL schedule release, we
08:50know the entirety of 2025 for the National Football League,
08:54all 272 NFL regular season games, all 17 games, 18 weeks
09:01for all 32 NFL clubs. Donnie, I do want to look at something
09:05because again, we know the dates. We know the times. Great
09:08exciting. You have the full picture. You can plan your
09:11travel if you are a diehard fan, but I also enjoy it because
09:16you get the exact scenarios week to week. The oddsmakers use
09:20who has home field advantage, who might have the rest
09:23advantage, where is the game being played at what time of
09:27day? We know all of that now, and it's the oddsmakers using
09:30those edges to set their lines week to week. Bills, Ravens
09:35opening Sunday night of the year, Sunday, September 7th. If
09:40you look right now, it's not the Chiefs as the AFC title
09:44favorites, despite winning their third consecutive AFC
09:47crown this previous season. It's the Bills and the Ravens
09:51who are 50 cents shy as co-favorites right now of KC at
09:56plus 360. So how do they square off against each other? It's
09:59the Bills and ever so slight one and a half point favorite in
10:03Orchard Park, and the early money line is minus 116. The
10:07early money line, a combination of Donnie's two shows. There
10:11you go. It's beautiful, and also the expectations for the
10:14Buffalo Bills, and it is based on the schedule because I can't
10:17get enough of talking about just going over the landmines
10:20that the NFC East has, and there's good football teams.
10:22The commander's looking to take another step, and you say,
10:24wow, look who they play. The Eagles, hey, that's a 13-win
10:27football team. No, it's not. Did you see their schedule of
10:30what they're going through? Now, flip it over here to the
10:32AFC East, where I now look at the Buffalo Bills, and I haven't
10:34gone through everybody's schedule to say, okay, this is
10:3710 wins, this is 12 wins, this is 11 wins, all that stuff. But
10:40I look at the Bill's schedule and say, all right, let's just
10:42say they're at home. First game of the season against the
10:44Ravens, they win that. Then it's the Jets, Dolphins, Saints,
10:47Patriots, Falcons, who have Michael Pennix, the Panthers,
10:49who you'll hopefully take another step. Then it's the
10:51Chiefs at home, Dolphins again. We don't know what they're
10:54going to be. The Buccaneers, quality team. At the Texans,
10:57probably going to be tougher there. At the Steelers, we'll
10:59see if Aaron Rodgers is still around. Bengals at home,
11:01Patriots, Browns, Eagles, and the Jets to end the season.
11:04Like, that's one of those schedules that look like, okay,
11:06the wins are going to pile up for the Buffalo Bills as
11:08opposed to some other teams with much harder schedules. So
11:11the optimism for me is, do I love the Buffalo Bills roster?
11:15Not necessarily. Do I think they make the playoffs even
11:18before I saw the schedule? Absolutely. But now I look at
11:20this schedule and say, you might be looking at a team
11:23that's going to be fighting for that number one overall seat in
11:26the AFC to get home field advantage. I'm liking the
11:29Buffalo Bills from what I see from this schedule release.
11:32No doubt, DRS. The Buffalo Bill is also the strongest
11:35favorite of any team to win any of our eight divisions around
11:38the NFL, minus 230. The Bills have won the AFC East now five
11:43consecutive seasons, but they have failed to get to a Super
11:47Bowl in that time. And of course, two AFC Championship
11:50game appearances coming up short against Patrick Mahomes
11:54and KC. That's my issue with the odds. Baltimore plus 360,
11:5910 cents in front of Buffalo now, plus 370, who are 30 cents
12:03in front of Kansas City. I have no issue if you think this can
12:07finally be the year that Lamar Jackson and or Josh Allen get
12:11the better of KC and Patrick Mahomes, but you're not getting
12:15value. You are paying the premium. That doesn't make
12:18sense to me, and I think KC is being slightly disregarded. But
12:22when you look at the odds and when you look at the win totals,
12:26Donnie, four teams have a win total of 11 and a half in
12:30number. The reigning Super Bowl champs in the Eagles, the team
12:34they beat in that Super Bowl, Kansas City, and then those two
12:37frontrunners in the AFC Baltimore and Buffalo based on
12:41the juice on either side over or under who has the best win
12:45total in the National Football League entering 2025. That
12:48would be the Bills 11 and a half. The over juice at minus
12:52145 and his DRS just laid out. It is the schedule that we see
12:56now week to week game to game that allows that win total to
13:01look rather optimistic. In fact, our guy Warren Sharp, who
13:05does his strength of schedule based on projected win totals
13:09and factors in all the things the odds makers do home field
13:13advantage rest advantage. How many consecutive home games
13:16road games by week coming off that all of that take it into
13:20account. The Bills have the fifth easiest schedule DRS for
13:242025. How about some other notable regular season games
13:28like our Super Bowl rematch right from the start of the
13:31year. Week number two in Arrowhead, the Chiefs and the
13:35Eagles. Both teams, Donnie will have extended rest. The Eagles
13:39on the opening Thursday night of the year, a full 10 days in
13:42between that one and the Super Bowl rematch. The Chiefs have
13:45to come back from a foreign land in Brazil, but still the
13:49extended rest after opening their year on a Friday. Yeah,
13:52so it works out good for both teams. You should get a really
13:55full tilt action show. The Eagles are obviously the
13:57heavily favored to beat the Dallas Cowboys. If they do,
14:00hopefully the Chiefs win their game against the Chargers have
14:02both teams want to know in a marquee match up at 425 on a
14:06Sunday. It is an exciting intriguing one and you like it
14:08right off the bat. You don't want this to simmer for like
14:101415 weeks where maybe some players are injured that won't
14:13be there. You want this rematch right off the bat and you're
14:16going to get that which is exciting and it's in Kansas
14:18City. So that fan base has a chance to try to influence the
14:22outcome of that game. The Philadelphia Eagles make their
14:24bones about it. They'll be ready and they'll try to prove
14:26like that was no fluke in the Super Bowl. We're about to do
14:29it to you again in your own building. KC and ever so slight
14:33favorite minus 110 on that Moneyline home field advantage
14:37of course taken into consideration. The Eagles are
14:40reigning Super Bowl champs are the favorites right now at a
14:43plus 650 clip Super Bowl 60 out in Santa Clara, California. The
14:49Chiefs a bunch of marquee games as we would expect at home.
14:52Look at them. They're Chiefs against the Eagles Chiefs
14:55against the Ravens Chiefs against the Lions and then they
14:58have the Buffalo for that always highly anticipated
15:01regular season showdown. The Eagles get a chance to show
15:04their might atop the NFC hosting the Lions week 11 and
15:08then what a great game DRS second to last week of the
15:11regular season in Orchard Park. Probably snowy Western New York
15:15at that time between the Eagles and the Bills week 17. That's a
15:19good one. It is and that might mean a lot for both of these
15:22teams looking for maybe home field advantage or even just to
15:24get into the playoffs without tough to fill it up. The Eagles
15:26schedule is that'll be one of those measuring stick games
15:30that you have for either team who measures up and what those
15:32records are and it depends who wins it getting that extra
15:35momentum heading into the playoffs and could it be a
15:38precursor to a possible Super Bowl showdown that you might
15:42get a preview of right now. It seems very very likely DRS. He
15:47saw the week two Super Bowl rematch there between KC and
15:50Philadelphia. It does have a line set. The early lines are
15:54out for the entirety of week number one and then a bunch of
15:58marquee and holiday games, including international games.
16:02We'll talk about those next on the early line. The 2025 NFL
16:08schedule fully released on a Wednesday night. We continue to
16:11react to it here and show you what the early odds are saying
16:16about the outlook for all 32 NFL clubs come week number one
16:20and beyond back to the marquee matchups, the notable regular
16:23season games. Just want to point this out again. We have
16:26the early lines out for the entirety of our week one slate
16:31in early September. We also have the lines out for a few
16:34marquee matchup Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and
16:38the Eagles some holiday games as well, but like the week four
16:42game Donny between KC and Baltimore just because we got
16:45the schedule last night. The line isn't out the week 11 game
16:49where the Eagles host the Lions in Philadelphia. That line is
16:53not out on our lovely sponsor. The FanDuel Sportsbook just
16:56wanted to highlight that here. We do have some lines out even
17:00for games deeper into the season. If they are played on a
17:03holiday, here's our triple header on Turkey Day and our
17:07triple header on Christmas Day. Really great matchups on
17:11Thanksgiving Lions Packers Cowboys Chiefs Ravens Bangles.
17:18Now that is a Thanksgiving triple header of football.
17:23It is great. And again, the NFL when they need to strike the
17:26pose right here, like the Heisman, they're giving you the
17:29Heisman right now saying you want to enjoy your Thanksgiving.
17:32You met that like your family. You might just want to eat and
17:34go sit in the corner. This is your day to do it, which again
17:37for sure used to get treated to the Lions being absolutely
17:41horrendous for 30 years, ruining that first part. Like
17:44hey, you know what you're traveling to your family's
17:46house. You get in there. It's about the third quarter of the
17:48game. Hey, what's going on here? Detroit's down 40. All
17:50right, good. Let's wait for the Cowboys game where either
17:52cheer for them or cheer against them. But now you got a really
17:55good Lions team and a good Packers team and off the bat.
17:57You got to get to your family's house wherever you're going
18:00early to make sure you're there for that one. Then you get
18:02cheese from the Cowboys and the Bangles Ravens. That's as good
18:06a slate as you could have picked for a single game with
18:09three games that anybody could have said. I love it, man. That
18:12is such an exciting Thanksgiving day. It's such a
18:15good point DRS that early game for Detroit depending on where
18:18you live 1230 Eastern 1130 AM Central 930 on the West Coast.
18:24If you're nursing a bad hangover from blackout Wednesday
18:27Thanksgiving Eve, you might sleep through the opening half
18:30not anymore with where the Lions stand and of course hosting
18:33their division rivals in the Green Bay Packers expected to
18:36be great this year as well. The only line out for Turkey Day
18:40is the Chiefs a four and a half point favorite in Big D
18:43against the Cowboys. I guess Thanksgiving also now includes
18:47Black Friday football. Yeah, it was a full touchdown favorite
18:50or at least six and a half with a juice at minus 120 against
18:54the Chicago Bears and then we get to the Christmas Day
18:57tripleheader NFC East. The commanders at home against the
19:02Cowboys the Vikings in a divisional game in the Twin
19:06Cities against the Lions and the Chiefs and the Broncos not
19:10just a tripleheader on Christmas. Sorry MBA, but a
19:14tripleheader of what could be crucial divisional matchups
19:18Donnie and Christmas is not. Oh yay Christmas. Yeah. It's also
19:22week 17 the second to last week of the regular season
19:26divisional races at stake in the hunt playoff graphics
19:30certainly will be impacted by those three games. So that
19:33Christmas is a Thursday now. I don't know if it goes under the
19:36rules because late in the season, they do tell you that
19:38you can switch a Thursday game because your point is right if
19:41we get Cowboys commanders for a playoff spot or seeding awesome
19:45lines Vikings Broncos. She's the same thing, but if we get
19:48where the Vikings were terrible with JJ McCarthy, can we get
19:52them out of there at that point or even the Broncos and Chiefs
19:54for the Broncos were expected to have a good season. It
19:57didn't have a good season, but maybe the Chiefs are at that
19:59point. But just looking on paper right now, the
20:01expectations are the Cowboys and commanders to be on
20:04possibly a playoff plane. Same thing with the Lions and the
20:07Vikings and more for the lines at that point and the Broncos
20:10and the Chiefs. So it's a good day also. So if you're the end
20:13the by the way, the shame of it at all is for the NBA that
20:16they hey, this is the start of our regular season in the
20:18showcase. That's got to hurt because that is one of those
20:21days that you sell to the network. You're going to get
20:23monster ratings and they just get slashed by 80% because the
20:28NFL decided they wanted that day as well, which is crazy
20:32work, but that's the way it is. Even last year when the NFL was
20:36like, hey, it's a Wednesday who cares? We're still playing.
20:39Yeah on Christmas this a short week of course, but at least a
20:44Thursday. You wonder what the NFL is going to do in like six
20:46years from now when we're back to a Tuesday and how that
20:50exactly look speaking of short week Thursday night games. By
20:54the way, we've got our entirety of what the prime video TNF
20:58short week game is going to or short week games are going to
21:01look like. We'll show you that on the other side. We'll talk
21:04some international games as well. VRS the odds are out for
21:09Christmas. The Commanders more than a field goal favorite
21:12three-and-a-half against the Cowboys. The Lions an early
21:15three-point favorite of the Twin Cities against the Vikes
21:18in KC four-and-a-half point home favorite against the
21:22Broncos. Plenty to discuss around the schedule next.
21:26Notable prime-time games throughout the 2025 NFL
21:30schedule. We continue to react to everything in this schedule
21:33unveiling here on this Thursday morning on the early line on
21:37sports grid DRS our technical first short week Thursday
21:41night football game comes week number two. I guess when you're
21:45fresher, it's better to play on a short week as opposed to like
21:49week number 14. The Packers will host the Commanders week
21:53number two in Lambeau a matchup between two teams expected to
21:57contend for the NFC divisional game Rams Niners week number
22:01five Chargers Vikings week eight. That's Jim Harbaugh
22:05against his college quarterback in JJ McCarthy. Now in the NFL
22:10the Texans in the bills week number 12 Lions Cowboys week
22:13number 14 Bucks Falcons, maybe an NFC South game that could
22:18have huge implications on that divisional title race coming
22:22late in the year week number 15 Donnie. I do find it
22:26interesting for the Vikings by the way when total for Minnesota
22:29entering this year eight and a half the over has a slight bit
22:32of juice. You could look at it one of two ways. Whoa. That's a
22:36steep drop off for a team that even with Sam Donald won 14
22:40games a season ago or you could say seems a little bit steep
22:46for a team led by a rookie quarterback de facto and JJ
22:50McCarthy that still has a ton to prove at the NFL level. How
22:54do you look at the Vikings this year Donnie? It's hard to look
22:57at the Vikings optimistically and say they're going to be
23:00just as good as they were last year with Sam Donald, but then
23:02you're saying to yourself. Well, there's a reason why they
23:04moved off Sam Donald and went to JJ McCarthy because they feel
23:07he gives them the best chance at the future and the future
23:10being the key word and also understand this like JJ
23:13McCarthy is a winner. He's got a strong arm. That's why he was
23:16drafted high and they probably think great things of them
23:18inside the building. But sometimes you got to go back to
23:21college football and say yeah, this kid was a gunslinger. This
23:24kid got after through for 4500 yards 5000 yards 50 touchdown
23:28passes like he is a gamer and he is a gamer a game manager
23:32here, which is not what you want for the Minnesota Vikings.
23:34Well, you got some high-powered weapons out there that you want
23:37to shoot that football down the field. Okay. You'll see he's a
23:40great offensive coordinator. Good head coach. I'm sure he'll
23:42make it work, but the optimism of yeah, they're a 10 win
23:45football team with a rookie quarterback rookie
23:48quarterbacks do one thing typically that's burn your
23:50money. Glass half full DRS Kevin O'Connell got Sam Donald to
23:54win 14 games. But again, you still got to be willing to take
23:58the drink and JJ McCarthy who the Vikings certainly believe
24:02in of course dispatching of Sam Donald and two April's ago
24:05moving up to make sure they got their guy in McCarthy at 10th
24:09overall. A lot of that is projection because what was
24:12proven collegiately was a great winner. The best win percentage
24:16of any quarterback making at least 25 starts in the last
24:20half century in a national champion to end his collegiate
24:23career in Ann Arbor, but not tasked with doing much on the
24:27offensive side of the ball. No odds out DRS for those Thursday
24:31games on a short week, but the Vikings do have three games
24:34already set with an early line Monday night to conclude week
24:38number one Minnesota a slight and I mean ever so slight by
24:42four cents road favorite inside Soldier Field for Ben
24:46Johnson's Bears debut as their new head coach. And then of
24:49course Minnesota making history in the ways that I'm not sure
24:52they really want to be known for the novelty that we discussed
24:55earlier in the week. First ever NFL team in history to play
24:59back-to-back international games, but in two different
25:02cities in Dublin first against the Steelers following Sunday
25:06in London against the Browns in both of those games. Donnie
25:10Minnesota two and a half point favorite against Pittsburgh in
25:13Dublin full touchdown favorite against a Browns team in London
25:17Cleveland, of course not expected to do much this year
25:19in 2025. How about that? You take a look at the advantages
25:23that they have you said well, they're overseas. That's not
25:25fair. It's back-to-back weeks. There are also two road games
25:28that you should be playing in opposing teams buildings with
25:30their fan bases that you're not going to get now so advantage
25:33for the Vikings where if you're looking at their team total,
25:36that's an anomaly that you don't really see from an NFL
25:39regular season schedule usually you lose a home game like oh
25:42we're going overseas. Like I hope that's not our home game
25:44or two of them at that point this time. It's none of them
25:47for the Vikings. So now you see the point spreads their
25:50favorite in both of those games. They probably wouldn't be
25:52favored against the Pittsburgh Steelers if that game was in
25:54Pittsburgh, but now they're the favorites because it's a
25:56neutral site. You win one of those games. You're happy you
25:58win two and they're two road games quote unquote. Whoa, you
26:01got something now. That's a plus two on the season right off
26:04the bat eight and a half to win total for the Bites this year.
26:08The over has a slight bit of juice. How about some notable
26:11Monday night football games for Monday night doubleheaders
26:15this year. By the way, I think week two week three week five
26:18week six or week six week seven the Lions in the Ravens in week
26:23three. That will be a great one in Baltimore Bengals Broncos
26:26week four Bears commanders. Of course a matchup of one versus
26:29two Kayla Williams Jada Daniels last year. The Hail Mary in
26:33Landover that broke the hearts of Tyreek Stevenson and Chicago
26:37Chiefs commanders just a couple of weeks after that in KC
26:41Eagles Packers Eagles Chargers week 14 a couple of teams DRS
26:46that we see Monday night or in prime time spots that are going
26:49to be looked at optimistically because of what they did with
26:53not that great of expectations the year prior. Of course, the
26:57commanders after getting to the NFC championship game for the
27:00first time in more than three decades with the sensational
27:03rook in Jaden Daniels and other great rookie quarterback Bo
27:06Knicks in Denver now in year number three under Sean Payton
27:10year two. Of course for Bo Knicks the Chargers a great
27:13first year under Jim Harbaugh. Can they take yet another leap
27:18those three teams Donnie a lot of prime time standalone marquee
27:22matchups for 2025. Yeah, you want the young exciting players
27:26that people just started to get to know you want to showcase
27:28them now and the expectations for the commanders are to have
27:31a big season last year getting to the NFC championship game
27:34after upsetting Detroit on the road. The people want to see
27:36Jaden Daniels. He's fun. He's got deep O's Daniel. They got
27:39an offensive should absolutely cook next year. No surprise
27:43that they're one of those pick me teams that say you know what
27:45we're going to take you now from just a regional team that
27:48you guys been buried for so long under the Dan Snyder
27:50regime. Now we're going to take you national with a team that
27:53you could be proud of respected and we'll put on some pretty
27:55good football on a night to night basis. I like the
27:57commanders and a lot of prime time spots fun team to bet fun
28:00team to watch 14 teams right now DRS with a minus money price
28:05even slightly in minus money to make the postseason that tracks
28:08right seven in each conference get to the playoffs seven from
28:12the NFC seven from the AFC a minus money price including the
28:17commanders at minus 128 sixth best number from NFC teams in
28:22front of the Green Bay Packers the San Francisco 49ers minus
28:26172 to get to the postseason. Can San Francisco bounce back
28:29from a dismal six win season in 2024 a lot of that due to
28:34injury. We had already shown you the international games
28:38released in full on Tuesday morning that seven game
28:41international slate but here it is once again Chargers Chiefs
28:45Sao Paulo Brazilian opener on that Friday the Chargers
28:49designated as the home team. The Chiefs are the slight under
28:53or the the slight road team but a slight favorite in that game
28:57Viking Steelers Vikings Brown as we said Broncos Jets in London
29:01Rams Jags in London those three London games three consecutive
29:05weeks a few weeks off from an international game. The Falcons
29:09in the Colts in Berlin the Commanders in the Dolphins in
29:13the first ever game over in Madrid DRS of those
29:17international games what intrigues you the most.
29:20Chargers and the Chiefs right off the bat on that Friday
29:22night. It's in prime time. We all get to enjoy it here. Not a
29:25Sunday morning shoehorn game that most people forget was even
29:28playing outside of their fan bases at 930 AM Eastern which
29:32means 630 out on the Pacific Coast here. I look at that and
29:35say Sao Paulo I love it. Why can't we just have a Friday
29:38night international game every single week. Now we're cooking
29:41with big actual ratings people that can watch it and will
29:44enjoy a Friday night football game. Donnie's first bet of the
29:49NFL season at least via a spread a money line or a total
29:53for a specific game over 44 and a half. Yeah that's a Paulo
29:58opener between the Chiefs and the Chargers. Again KC only a
30:02two and a half point favorite in a neutral site game DRS
30:06Kansas City has won the AFC West nine consecutive years and
30:11is yet only a minus 110 favorite to win the division again
30:16because of the comeuppance of the LA Chargers and the Denver
30:20Broncos. The Dolphins a slight underdog in that final
30:24international game against the Commanders. I think it's going
30:27to be a really interesting third year under or fourth year
30:30under Mike McDaniel in 2025. DRS in his first three years as
30:35a favorite the Dolphins 23 and seven straight up as an
30:39underdog five and 18 when they're not expecting to win
30:44they often don't.