The official announcement when it comes to the entire 2025 NFL schedule comes out later today. The league has released little snippets here and there, whetting the appetites of anxious fans and football prognosticators who will comb a team’s slate and give you an instant prediction for each club’s 17-game excursion.
There’s obviously great interest in the first overall pick in April’s draft. The Tennessee Titans opted for University of Miami signal-caller Cam Ward. In his first season as the team’s head coach, Brian Callahan suffered through a 3-14 campaign, the franchise’s worst showing since a 2-14 showing back in 2014 under Ken Whisenhunt.
Titans bring a six-game losing streak into 2025
Apparently, Callahan and company are slated to open the season away from home in 2025. The good news is that the Titans actually owned a better road record (2-7) than in Nashville (1-7). All kidding aside, the opponent is coming off its first postseason appearance since 2015.
The Denver Broncos have made steady strides under head coach Sean Payton. The team had finished last in the AFC West three straight years (2020-22)—losing at least 10 games in each of those campaigns—prior to the Super Bowl XLIV champion’s arrival in 2023. The Broncos finished 8-9 during his first season, and then jumped to 10-7 this past season—grabbing a wild card berth. While Denver made a quick exit via a 31-7 loss to the Bills, rookie quarterback Bo Nix was impressive.
While the team’s young signal-caller got plenty of attention and it was certainly warranted, the Broncos’ defense was a much-improved group. A year after giving up the fourth-most total yards in the league and finishing 30th in the NFL in rushing defense, Vance Joseph’s unit finished seventh in total defense, and only two clubs allowed fewer yards per game on the ground.
The really bad news for Ward? No team in the league got to opposing quarterbacks more than Denver, which finished with an NFL-high 63 sacks in 2024. Keep in mind that the Titans’ quarterbacks Will Levis (41) and Mason Rudolph (11) were sacked a combined 52 times. Tennessee features a new-look offensive front via free agent additions Dan Moore Jr. and Kevin Zeitler at left tackle and right guard, respectively. Meanwhile, 2024 first-round pick JC Latham moves to right tackle. This unit needs to gel sooner than later.