Best matchups for 2025 ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷ÍøInternational Games: Who should face Steelers in Dublin? Colts in Berlin?

LOCATION: Croke Park 

This matchup might seem a tad lopsided now, with the Bills having just narrowly missed a trip to Super Bowl LIX, while the Steelers are coming off their fourth straight playoff defeat. Pittsburgh also doesn't currently have a starting QB under contract for 2025, clouding the team's ceiling heading into the talent-acquisition portion of the offseason. But based on Mike Tomlin's track record, one thing seems all but certain, no matter what happens: Somehow, by the time this game is played, the Steelers will be a game or two over .500, hovering somewhere in the crowd of potential AFC contenders. 

And while we don't yet know who will be under center for Pittsburgh opposite Josh Allen, we can look forward to watching the NFL's newest MVP battle against a past hardware-winner. Injuries forced T.J. Watt to miss the Steelers' two most recent games against Allen, including a 31-17 loss in the 2023 Wild Card Round, with the QB rocking a combined TD-to-INT ratio of 7:1 in those contests. The last time these two stars shared a field though, in Week 1 of the 2021 season, Watt cooked, racking up two sacks, including one strip-sack, kick-starting his record-tying run to that year's Defensive Player of the Year award. With Watt there to help make life miserable for Allen, Pittsburgh became one of just five teams in the past four years to beat the Bills in a regular-season game in Buffalo. Presuming the 30-year-old pass-rusher continues to be a force in 2025 (and barring a for the Steelers heading into the final year of his current contract), he figures to present an interesting test of Allen's growth and development. 

LOCATION: Bernabéu Stadium

The Dolphins know who their head coach and quarterback will be in 2025, but it is still hard to pin down where this group will stand in the AFC mix. In 2023, Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa pushed Miami to 11 wins and a second consecutive playoff berth. In 2024, Tagovailoa missed six games with injuries, and the Dolphins finished with a losing record (8-9) for the first time since 2019. Which outcome was the anomaly? Without knowing if or how Miami will end up improving the roster around the QB, it's difficult to guess right now. So, I would like to make this matchup somewhat resilient to potential hiccups in the Dolphins' trajectory.

Among their upcoming home opponents, the Ravens are obviously appealing, and the Bengals would up the chances of at least one team in the game getting to 50 points. I also toyed with the idea of bringing the Buccaneers to Madrid, drawn by Tampa Bay's recent record of steady competitiveness, but ultimately decided to let that rare intrastate pairing (the teams have squared off just a dozen times before) play out in Florida. The Commanders might take a step back in 2025 after reaching the NFC title game for the first time since their 1991 Super Bowl season, raising the risk that this game becomes a stinker. Regardless of where Washington stands, though, Jayden Daniels promises to be one of the most interesting players to follow in the coming campaign. How will he adjust as the league digests a season's worth of film from his stunning rookie year? Will he avoid the sophomore slump that befell C.J. Stroud? Ideally, Daniels continues to flourish while the Fins get back to their high-scoring ways, setting up a down-to-the-wire thriller in the NFL's Spain debut.

LOCATION: Olympic Stadium

The Colts and Anthony Richardson are both somewhat of a work in progress, given that the QB's first season of significant action was also the franchise's fourth straight with fewer than 10 wins. One thing can be chiseled in stone, though: Indianapolis was far more compelling in 2024 when Richardson was on the field than when he was not. If "ceiling per play" were a real stat, he would have to be among the league leaders; it often felt like he was capable of breaking off a monster gain at basically any time, even if his season was ultimately defined by inconsistency. If things go the way that we (and, especially, Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard) want, Richardson will produce far more jaw-dropping highlights than head-scratching moments in 2025. 

So, presuming Richardson is able to fend off anyone brought in to push him this offseason, it makes sense to focus on the QB matchup when selecting this game. With that in mind, I gave Berlin a duel between AR and Michael Penix Jr. At this point, neither signal-caller has a safe floor -- but that undefined potential is part of what makes each intriguing. We just don't know exactly what they are capable of. Given a full offseason as Atlanta's QB1 after his soft launch in the role toward the end of this season, Penix could be winning games for the Falcons by the time these teams meet. And things might begin to click into place for Richardson as he puts more ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷Íøstarts under his belt. Another interesting wrinkle: The teams took two very different paths toward drafting and developing these players. Can Steichen and Co. make the swing on Richardson's raw talent start to pay off in Year 3? Will Raheem Morris and the Falcons prove smart for snagging the experienced Penix last April and letting him learn on the bench behind Kirk Cousins for most of Year 1? QB storylines are the bread and butter of the NFL, so let's give two of the more interesting ones an international showcase.

LOCATION: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Here are two sub-.500 teams that should at least be interesting in 2025. The Browns could be working in a new QB, either a highly drafted rookie (Cleveland owns the No. 2 overall pick) or a veteran with the capacity to operate efficiently under Kevin Stefanski. This, of course, depends on what happens with Deshaun Watson, whose 2024 campaign was ended by an Achilles tear in October and who is now at risk of missing the entire 2025 season after suffering a second ruptured Achilles. Myles Garrett's trade request further complicates the Browns' offseason picture. 

As for the Niners, they are at a crossroads. Will they extend Brock Purdy and -- with Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk returning -- reclaim their place among the league's upper-tier contenders? Or will they be going through more of a traditional rebuilding period, figuring out how to best position the roster for a wider window further down the road? Whatever San Francisco does, I have faith that Kyle Shanahan will keep the team competitive on a game-by-game basis.

LOCATION: Wembley Stadium

Initially, I shied away from the Chiefs, being drawn to a more hipster-ish pick like the Chargers, especially since we don't know at this early date if new Jaguars coach Liam Coen will have this four-win team ready to compete with Patrick Mahomes. And as one of the decade's marquee organizations, Kansas City is just so unsurprising as an ideal choice to up the entertainment quotient of just about any game anywhere in the world. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go for the Chiefs anyway.

First, the London crowd has only had one chance to see the Chiefs thus far, in a 2015 game against Detroit, when they somehow scored 45 points despite Alex Smith throwing for 145 yards (it probably helped that they started seven drives at their own 39-yard-line or better). It's only fair to give the U.K. a close-up look at K.C. in the Mahomes era (even if it wouldn't be a total shock these days to see him put up a W while throwing for fewer yards than Smith did nine seasons ago). All the better if the Chiefs are pushing for a four-peat.

As for the Jags, Coen will get a great chance to stress-test the operation and either end up a) gathering valuable info about how far Trevor Lawrence and Co. are from the upper tier of the AFC, or b) walking on air, because guess what, his team just beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

LOCATION: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

With the identity of the Jets' QB still unknown, let's lock in some headliners on the opposing sideline who can help Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner bring star power to this game. Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb should provide plenty of spice -- and the beginning of the Brian Schottenheimer era in Dallas figures to be fascinating to watch in its own right. In the best-case scenario, new Jets coach Aaron Glenn will be able to maximize the roster strengths that mostly failed to show up with Aaron Rodgers under center in 2024.

Of course, this matchup of high-profile franchises offers a ton of appeal beyond the individuals involved -- and, again, I'm looking for bankable storylines where I can get them on the list of the Jets' 2025 home opponents. The Cowboys and Jets have played each other 13 times in ¹ú²úÍâÁ÷Íøhistory, and just twice since the Prescott era began. The last clash was a 30-10 blowout in favor of Dallas last season in Week 2, after a ruptured Achilles first sent Rodgers' New York tenure sideways. In reality, the schedule-makers might not be able to resist showcasing this game stateside in prime time. But today, we're dreaming, and I say let's give London what is likely to be one of the buzzier showdowns on offer.