In the middle of May, every NFL team is healthy and undefeated. Everything is rosy. Everyone is excited.
Now that the schedule is out, it’s a fun time to start underlying and underscoring games. Heck, at my buddy’s poker game Wednesday night, some of the chaps — Detroit area guys — were planning a road trip to Vegas, eyeing the Titans at Raiders football game. The rationale behind that targeted game was simple — the expected availability of tickets. Everyone has their own criteria for this stuff.
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I passed on the Vegas trip, of course. I’m parked in my office, happily so, for the five months of NFL action. But I’ve been doing some underscoring and highlighting, too, dreaming of high-scoring affairs.
Here are 10 potential pinball games from the 2025 schedule, where the points should come easily. See this list for what it is, a fun popcorn exercise with the season still months away, and understand I tried to cycle through a bunch of different teams as opposed to using the same 3-4 clubs. There are plenty of exciting matchups I did not mention; there’s something for everybody.
Go here for my full NFL schedule breakdown.
1. Ravens at Bills, Week 1
Usually, we talk about Week 1 being sloppy, with defenses often ahead of offenses. But with guys like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson at the controls, those rules might not apply. Remember, the Ravens at Chiefs game from Week 1 last year was arguably the best game of the regular season.
2. Eagles at Chiefs, Week 2
Super Bowl rematches speak for themselves.
3. Lions at Ravens, Week 3
The Lions have the hardest road schedule in the league this year. Part of that is the NFC North gauntlet, of course, but trips to Baltimore don’t help.
4. Lions at Bengals, Week 5
So many NFL teams play pinball these days, but the Bengals — bad defense, highly concentrated elite offense — were the true Pinball Wizards last year.
5. Falcons at 49ers, Week 7
Did you catch the Niners landing the easiest schedule in the league this year? Have a ball, Kyle Shahahan.
6. Buccaneers at Bills, Week 11
Baker Mayfield ducks no one, and that Tampa Bay offense has all the toys. The Bills somehow landed an easy schedule on paper, bully for them.
7. Eagles at Cowboys, Week 12
Now that Dallas finally has the WR2 slot filled nicely, the Cowboys are back in consideration as a possible pinball team.
8. Commanders at Vikings, Week 14
Jayden Daniels is too good to be true. I’d follow Kevin O’Connell into a burning building, too. It might take J.J. McCarthy some time to get comfortable; he should be there by this point on the calendar.
9. Ravens at Bengals, Week 15
These teams met twice last year, as usual. Those two games featured 148 glorious points. Must-see TV.
10. Rams at Falcons, Week 17
The best coaches generally figure things out in the early season, then start smashing teams in the latter part of the year. Sean McVay’s offense should be a fun watch in December.
So many games were left untouched, of course. Go ahead and mix and match your own ideal schedule as you daydream in the middle of May.
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