After a very long offseason, the NFL has finally arrived.
The 2025 season is set to kick off on Thursday, September 4 as the defending champion Eagles embark on their title defense against the Cowboys (who have been the talk of the league during the summer). It'll be followed by a international showcase on Friday evening between the Chiefs and Chargers in Brazil.
Then, finally, Sunday will arrive. A full slate of NFL action awaits. Twelve games will be played between the 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET windows before Sunday Night Football. It will be glorious. Expectations, both good and bad, will be shattered. New stars will emerge and former stars will fade.
Most importantly, we the fans will get many hours of action on the gridiron. What we've been waiting for all summer.
To help prepare for a full day of football watching, here are the coverage maps for Week 1 of the 2025 season.
What is the NFL Week 1 Coverage Map?
Coverage maps show exactly what games will be broadcast where around the country on Sunday.
Each week, every non-primetime game (in other words, the games that aren't played on Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, or Monday Night Football) is broadcast on either CBS or Fox at 1 p.m. ET or around 4 p.m. ET. This means fans everywhere will have at least two games shown on their screens every Sunday afternoon during the season.
Every team playing will have its game broadcast in its local market no matter what (i.e. the Cincinnati Bengals will always be on in Cincinnati). But that still leaves another game to be broadcast, which is assigned by the network. And in the case that the local team is playing during primetime or is on a bye week, there will still be a game broadcast in the window they'd normally play.
Ergo, the coverage map shows that: what teams will be shown in what cities when the local team is not playing. Maps are all courtesy of 506sports.
CBS Early Window
Here's the coverage map for games being shown on CBS that kick off at 1 p.m. ET.
CBS Late Window
Here's the coverage map for games being shown on CBS that kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET.
Fox Single Game Window
Here's the coverage map for games being shown on Fox that kick off at 1 p.m. ET and 4:05 p.m. ET. Games kicking off at 4:05 p.m. ET are denoted as "LATE" on the map.
Key NFL Matchups in Week 1
Week 1 is the blank slate of the season upon which fans can imprint even their wildest hopes and dreams. Which can make it hard to pinpoint which games will end up important and which ones won't. But even in that context there are a few matchups that stand out as big ones, whether they're divisional battles or opportunities to measure up against a quality opponent.
The Lions-Packers game stands out as one such contest. Detroit won the division with a 15-2 record last year but lost both coordinators over the offseason and there is much interest in seeing how Jared Goff will perform with Ben Johnson in Chicago instead of scheming up plays at Ford Field. Green Bay was tabbed as one of the league's more interesting teams before the Micah Parsons trade. Now there will be many eyes on the Pack to see what Parsons looks like after dealing with a back injury all summer— if he can suit up.
Before that game kicks off, the Steelers-Jets contest will demand plenty of attention as the most-broadcast game in the 1 p.m. slot. Aaron Rodgers will take the field for Pittsburgh for the first time against his old team at the field where he tore his Achilles. The off-field narratives are plentiful and juicy. So are the on-field stories, too. The Steelers could be a Super Bowl contender if Rodgers more closely resembles his Packers self than his Jets self, but that's a big if for the 41-year-old.
It should be a fun day of football. Enjoy!
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL TV Coverage Map Week 1: Full Breakdown of CBS, Fox Broadcasts.
