Eagles-Commanders Headlines 2025 NFL Schedule Release's Latest Leak

A doubleheader of divisional rivalries is on tap for Week 16 of the 2025 season.
A rematch of last year's NFC Championship between the Eagles and Commanders, as well as another rivalry game, is on tap for Week 16 of the 2025 season.
A rematch of last year's NFC Championship between the Eagles and Commanders, as well as another rivalry game, is on tap for Week 16 of the 2025 season. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The latest leak in the 2025 NFL schedule's release once again includes the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, as Fox Sports on Monday announced that the Eagles will travel to Washington to take on the Commanders in a Week 16 rematch of last year's NFC Championship. Then, the Chicago Bears will host their rival Green Bay Packers in the second game of Fox Sports's doubleheader on Saturday, December 20.

Division rivalries have been the common theme for NFL schedule leaks thus far, as NBC announced earlier Monday that the Eagles would open up the club's defense of its Lombardi Trophy against the Dallas Cowboys on the Thursday night of the league's opening week kickoff. This past week, Front Office Sports and The Athletic reported that the Kansas City Chiefs would be opposing the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL's second-ever game in Brazil on the Friday of the opening week.

The Eagles and Commanders split their regular season divisional matchups in 2024, then the Eagles routed Washington 55-23 in the NFC title game en route to the franchise's second Super Bowl victory. The matchup figures to be one with plenty of animosity and intensity, and there is the potential that it could carry significant implications for the NFC East divisional title, given it's a Week 16 game.

And the Packers-Bears game needs no introduction, as it will be the second game between the Matt LaFleur-led Packers and the Ben Johnson-led Bears. Johnson, at his introductory press conference as Bears head coach, declared that he wanted to stay in the NFC North because he "enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice" in 2024. Given that the Packers and Bears project to be among the division's most competitive teams, this contest could also carry weighty implications for the divisional crown.

And above all, that Saturday is a huge day for football fans, as it's the same day as a triple-header in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff.


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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.


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