New to the NFL? Here is your quick guide as the 2025 season gets under way on the road to Super Bowl LX…
Who won the Super Bowl last time?
The Philadelphia Eagles open the new season as defending Super Bowl champions after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans last February.
In doing so they denied Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs what would have been a historic third straight Super Bowl crown, enacting revenge for their loss to Kansas City at Super Bowl LVII two years earlier.
Where is the Super Bowl being held?
The NFL will host the 60th edition of the Super Bowl on Sunday February 8 at Levi’s Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California.
It will be the second time the Super Bowl has been played at Levi’s Stadium following on from Super Bowl 50 in 2016 as the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10, and the third in the San Francisco Bay Area after the 49ers beat the Miami Dolphins 38-16 at Super Bowl XIX at the end of the 1984 campaign.
The Super Bowl has typically kicked off at 11.30pm UK time, with the half-time show usually around 1am.
Who will perform the Super Bowl half-time show?
The half-time performance at Super Bowl LX is yet to be officially announced.
Kendrick Lamar headlined the most-watched Super Bowl half-time show in history in New Orleans as 133.5m viewers tuned in to see the 22-time Grammy-winning rapper take aim at Drake, surpassing Michael Jackson’s record of 133.4m in 1993.
Lamar’s involvement at the Super Bowl was announced on the opening Sunday of the 2024 season last September.
Who has won the most Super Bowl titles?
The Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers both lead the way with six Super Bowl victories apiece, New England famously winning three in four seasons from 2001-2004 followed by three more between 2014-2018.
Of the NFL’s 32 teams, 12 have never won a Super Bowl, while the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars are the only four teams to have never even played in one.
The Chiefs have featured in five of the last six Super Bowls, winning three. They have also reached seven straight AFC Championship Games and won more games in a seven-year period than any team in NFL history.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff on why he thinks the NFC North is the toughest division in the NFL
Are there games in the UK this season?
London has hosted 39 regular-season matchups since 2007, with all 32 teams having visited the capital city at least once.
Three more games will be played across Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium during the 2025 season, taking the tally of London games to 42.
The NFL will meanwhile continue its global expansion by hosting regular-season games in Dublin, Madrid and Berlin, while also returning to Sao Paulo in Brazil for the second straight year.
All NFL London and Europe games will be available to watch live on Sky Sports NFL as part of the broadcaster’s new three-year deal.
Dublin’s iconic Croke Park will play host to the first regular-season game in Ireland when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Minnesota Vikings in Week Four. The Vikings will then remain overseas as they travel to take on the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The following week sees the Denver Broncos face the New York Jets at Tottenham, before the Jacksonville Jaguars welcome the Los Angeles Rams to Wembley Stadium.
Berlin enters as another new territory in Week 10 when the Atlanta Falcons meet the Indianapolis Colts at the Olympiastadion, with Germany having hosted games in Munich and Frankfurt over the last three seasons. The Washington Commanders then come up against the Miami Dolphins at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Week 11.
2025 International Games:
- Week One: Kansas City Chiefs @ Los Angeles Chargers – September 6 – Corinthians Arena, Sao Paulo
- Week Four: Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh Steelers – September 28 – Croke Park, Dublin (live on Sky Sports)
- Week Five: Minnesota Vikings @ Cleveland Browns – October 5 – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London (live on Sky Sports)
- Week Six: Denver Broncos @ New York Jets – October 12 – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London (live on Sky Sports)
- Week Seven: Los Angeles Rams @ Jacksonville Jaguars – October 19 – Wembley Stadium, London (live on Sky Sports)
- Week 10: Atlanta Falcons @ Indianapolis Colts – November 9 – Olympiastadion, Berlin (live on Sky Sports)
- Week 11: Washington Commanders @ Miami Dolphins – November 16 – Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid (live on Sky Sports)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts describes what value running back Saquon Barkley brings to the team
How is the NFL divided into teams?
The 32 teams are divided into two conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).
The NFC and AFC are then further divided by regions to comprise four divisions with four teams each:
NFC North – Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
NFC East – Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders
NFC South – Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West – Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
AFC North – Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC East – Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
AFC South – Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
AFC West – Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers
Which players starred last year?
Here are the individual award winners in the 2024 season:
- MVP: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
- Offensive Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
- Defensive Player of the Year: Patrick Surtain II, CB, Denver Broncos
- Coach of the Year: Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
- Offensive Rookie of the Year: Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
- Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jared Verse, OLB, Los Angeles Rams
- Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
- Rookie of the Year: Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
- Super Bowl MVP: Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Here are the individual stats leaders in the 2024 season:
- Touchdowns: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions – 20
- Sacks: Trey Hendrickson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals – 17.5
- Rushing yards: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles – 2,005
- Passing yards: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals – 4,918
- Passing touchdowns: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals – 43
- Passer rating: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens – 119.6
- Receptions: Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals – 127
- Receiving yards: Jar’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals – 1,708
- Tackles: Zaire Franklin, LB, Indianapolis Colts – 173
- Interceptions: Kerby Joseph, S, Detroit Lions – 9
Josh Allen is keeping the faith as the Buffalo Bills look to overcome the Kansas City Chiefs this season
Who was the No 1 pick at the NFL Draft?
The Tennessee Titans selected Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No 1 overall pick at the 2025 NFL Draft, marking the 40th time NFL teams have used the first pick on a quarterback since the first Draft in 1936.
It was followed by one of the stories of the Draft and the 2025 NFL season as the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to draft two-position star Travis Hunter, who played at both wide receiver and cornerback in college.
Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter were the top three picks from the NFL Draft
How do you score points?
Teams have to travel a minimum of 10 yards with the ball every time their offense has position, getting four attempts to do so, otherwise the ball automatically turns over to the opposition.
If they are successful in running or passing their way down the field to score a touchdown, they score six points, with the option to extend that to seven or eight with either an ‘extra point’ kick through the goalposts or a ‘two-point conversion’, which is essentially an attempt to score another touchdown from two yards out of the end zone.
If a team fails to make it to the end zone, they can look to add three points to their score by attempting a ‘field goal’, which is another attempt at kicking the ball between the goalposts.
If a field goal is not possible, the team will often punt the ball back to the opposition deep in their own half.
NFL UK & Ireland General Manager Henry Hodgson explains why they have chosen Dublin, Ireland to host the Steelers and the Vikings in the NFL
How do the playoffs work?
At the end of the season, the teams with the best record in each of the four divisions per conference, along with the three teams with the next-best records in each conference (‘wildcard’ teams), qualify for the playoffs.
This means a total of 14 teams – seven from each conference – progress from the regular season on the road to the Super Bowl, with each seeded accordingly based on their win-loss records to determine who they face in the playoffs.
Wild Card weekend: The wildcard teams that qualify are automatically seeded 5th, 6th and 7th in each conference and are drawn to play on the road against the 4th, 3rd and 2nd-seeded teams, respectively, while the No 1-ranked sides receive byes.
Divisional round: The No 1 seed in each conference then hosts the lowest-ranked team left after Wild Card weekend, with the remaining two teams in each conference facing off – the highest other seed left hosting the contest.
Conference Championship: Next up, the two remaining teams in each conference play against each other – the higher-ranked seed having home advantage – to determine the respective champions of the NFC and the AFC and, therefore, the two teams who will compete in the Super Bowl.
In case you missed it, take a look at everything that unraveled in New Orleans at Super Bowl 59
How to watch the 2025 NFL season?
Fans can once again look forward to the best games every week on Sky, with the broadcaster having the first-pick exclusive game on Sunday at 6pm live on Sky Sports NFL and the first pick for the Sunday 9pm game.
There will also be more choice as a second game at 6pm and up to an additional two games at 9pm will also be shown live on Sky Sports concurrently.
NFL RedZone will also continue to be shown live on Sky every Sunday, alongside every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night Football, Thanksgiving games, the Playoffs and the Super Bowl.
Inside the Huddle – Listen to all episodes
Join Neil Reynolds, Jeff Reinebold and Phoebe Schecter throughout the season as they break down the latest news from around the league on Inside the Huddle.
Watch the 2025 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every London and European game as well as every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LX; Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
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