Well, it's here. We've known the opponents for months, but the anticipation finding out when those games are going to be played is over. Only in the NFL can the release of the schedule be a three-hour made-for-TV event. Only in the NFL can every detail of each team's 16-game slate be scrutinized over and over. But, hey, I get it. It's mid-April. Of course it matters where the Titans are playing in the first week of December (speaking of the Titans, how'd they manage to get four straight home games, with their bye mixed in?).
But I'm just like everybody. I get it. The NFL is king. And that's why it matters. And you, of course, want to know what the primetime games are gonna be each week. As for the breaking down of the schedule, that's part of the fun. You know I've got some thoughts on that front...
Week 1: As soon as New England won the Super Bowl, you pretty much knew the Steelers would be their opponent in the traditional Kickoff game. Outside of Pittsburgh, the Patriots' home opponents certainly weren't that appealing. At least not for a national telecast. We've also got late games on CBS for the first time in years. The US Open's exclusively on ESPN now, so CBS didn't need to keep that Sunday afternoon late spot open for tennis. They're celebrating that with a Broncos-Ravens matchup in Denver. The last time those two opened the season in Denver, Peyton Manning threw six TD passes in a Broncos rout. Another interesting late game is Tennessee-Tampa Bay. They have the top two picks in the draft. Is the NFL preparing for a possible Mariota-Winston matchup in each of their respective NFL debuts? Sunday night is Giants-Cowboys in Dallas, which is a staple of the Sunday night schedule. The Monday night doubleheader isn't great, though. Philly-Atlanta and Minnesota-San Francisco.
Week 2: The first CBS/NFL Network Thursday night game is Denver at Kansas City, while we've got an NFC Championship rematch on Sunday night, this time in Green Bay. The Monday night game is Jets-Colts. Why the Jets have a Monday night game in Week 2 is beyond me. As for the Sunday afternoon slate, it's highlighted by San Diego at Cincinnati and Dallas at Philadelphia.
Week 3: Since Super Bowl 50 is this season, the NFL is highlighting past Super Bowl matchups throughout the season (come to think of it, that's probably why Jets-Colts is a Monday night game). It worked out well, then, that the NFC North is playing the AFC West this year. Because that means Green Bay plays Kansas City. The Super Bowl I opponents square off in a Monday night game at Lambeau. Broncos-Lions is the Sunday night game, which could've been a better matchup and can't be flexed out. Redskins-Giants is the Thursday night game, which you figured would be the case during the first half of the season when the games are still on CBS. The Jets are home on Sunday afternoon against the Eagles. Meaning they'll be reunited with Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow.
Week 4: Our first London game of the year is the first-ever division tilt across the pond, as the Jets "visit" the Dolphins in the new London start time of 9:30 a.m. This week's Super Bowl rematch is Giants-Bills, while Packers-49ers is the national late game on FOX. Ravens-Steelers is a Thursday night game again this season, just as we all figured it probably would be. Good Sunday night game between Dallas and New Orleans, while Detroit at Seattle is on Monday night.
Week 5: Patriots-Cowboys is the spotlight game, and I've got a big problem with that. But more on that later. Schedule gets a little light here as we start cycling through byes. The only other worthwhile afternoon games are Seattle-Cincinnati and New Orleans-Philadelphia. The real action's at night. Colts-Texans on Thursday, 49ers-Giants on Sunday and Steelers-Chargers (Roethlisberger vs. Rivers) on Monday.
Week 6: Three Super Bowl rematches here, highlighted by the first Ravens-49ers game since the Harbowl (also Cardinals-Steelers and Chiefs-Vikings). San Diego-Green Bay is another good game during the day, and I'm assuming it'll be the CBS national game. AFC Championship rematch on Sunday night as Andrew Luck will try to finally beat Tom Brady. Giants-Eagles on Monday night and Falcons-Saints on Thursday night.
Week 7: Seahawks-49ers is renewed on Thursday night in Santa Clara. This is also the week where we have that Bills-Jaguars game in London that nobody wanted to watch until the NFL announced that nobody could, and now everyone wants to try and find a way to see the online-only broadcast. As for games actually on TV on Sunday, we've got a Super Bowl XLIV rematch between the Colts and Saints, as well as the second Giants-Cowboys game. Darrelle Revis will also get to renew acquaintances with his former Patriots teammates in his first game back in Foxboro since rejoining the Jets. Eagles-Panthers on Sunday night (I'm now convinced the sole reason Philly signed Tebow was so that they could play all their games in primetime). Monday night is for the birds as Baltimore visits Arizona (the Ravens' fourth trip out west in the first seven weeks of the season!).
Week 8: This week's Super Bowl rematch could also easily be a Super Bowl preview. Green Bay at Denver. It's no coincidence that the NFL scheduled that marquee matchup as the Sunday night game opposite the World Series. Good games in the afternoon, too. Giants-Saints, Chargers-Ravens, Bengals-Steelers. But the afternoon highlight is definitely Seattle at Dallas. New England hosts Miami on Thursday night, as CBS wraps up its simulcasting duties, while ESPN gets Colts-Panthers on Monday night. Also, Lions-Chiefs in London.
Week 9: Receiving the ideal bye at the exact midpoint of the season are Arizona, Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City and Seattle (I hate six-team bye weeks, why not just do four teams a week for eight weeks?). Among those teams actually playing are Denver at Indianapolis in what's possibly Peyton's final appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium, as he looks to redeem himself for last season's Divisional Playoff game. Cincinnati and Cleveland in the first NFL Network-only Thursday night game. Eagles-Cowboys in one of those NFC East Sunday night staples. Bears-Chargers on Monday night.
Week 10: We've reached the year in the cycle where the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl (XLII, XLVI, 50). It's also the year they meet in the regular season, and this time the matchup flips back to the Meadowlands. They play every year in the preseason, but this will be New England's first regular season meeting with the Giants in New York since capping the undefeated regular season in 2007. Another Super Bowl rematch between teams that these days are completely irrelevant, as Minnesota visits Oakland. Meanwhile, Rex Ryan's return to the Meadowlands is Thursday night. (The only AFC East team not playing at MetLife Stadium in Week 10 is Miami.) The budding Arizona-Seattle rivalry is featured on Sunday Night Football, while Houston is in Cincinnati for the Monday nighter.
Week 11: Most intriguing game of the week? Denver at Chicago, which is now coached by former Broncos mentor John Fox. Also, Cincinnati at Arizona, which could be really fun to watch, and Part II of this year's 49ers-Seahawks series. Because every team gets a Thursday night game, America, at least those people who get NFL Network, will be subjected to a Tennessee-Jacksonville broadcast. It's division games all around. Kansas City-San Diego on Sunday night, Buffalo-New England on Monday night.
Week 12: Here's why I have a problem with that Dallas-New England matchup in Week 5. This is the Cowboys' year to be on CBS on Thanksgiving. Their two AFC home games are against the Patriots and Jets. New England was a natural matchup for Dallas on Thanksgiving. But instead, they're playing Carolina, and for the second Thanksgiving in a row, not a single AFC team is playing. That's just not fair to the AFC that no teams from the conference are featured on the NFL's biggest regular season day. For the second straight year! We will see 75 percent of the NFC North, though! Detroit's opponent is Philadelphia, and the NBC game is Packers-Bears at Lambeau, which I have absolutely no problem with, especially since Green Bay will retire Brett Favre's jersey at halftime. The other NBC game (on Sunday night) is the annual Manning vs. Brady showdown, as the rivals meet for possibly the last time in Denver. Steelers-Seahawks in the CBS national doubleheader game on Sunday afternoon. Ravens-Browns on Monday night.
Week 13: The Packers visit the Lions a week later than they normally do, and this Thursday nighter is the last one that's on both CBS and NFL Network. Also, Giants-Jets, which seems randomly placed as just a no big deal 1:00 game in early December. The Eagles visit the Patriots in what will be a very interesting matchup of Chip Kelly vs. Bill Belichick. Colts-Steelers in a good Sunday night game, and the traditional Dallas-Washington Monday night game will be in D.C. after taking place in Dallas last year.
Week 14: We're getting down to the nitty-gritty, as the final quarter of the schedule begins with Minnesota at Arizona. We'll also see Rex Ryan's defense against Chip Kelly's offense and the second Steelers-Bengals game of the season. The NFL gives us the gift of Cowboys-Packers as the FOX national game, while the Seahawks fly cross country for a Sunday night game in Baltimore. The Monday night game is Giants at Dolphins.
Week 15: NFL Network's got two games this week. Bucs-Rams on Thursday night and Jets-Cowboys on Saturday night. There are also three Super Bowl rematches on tap, as Buffalo visits Washington, Green Bay is in Oakland and Cincinnati visits San Francisco in the Sunday night game. Very interesting that the NFL scheduled both Bay Area teams with a home interconference game on the same day. Leads me to believe there's no way they're changing the Sunday night game, even with Broncos-Steelers scheduled for the afternoon. Looks like CBS will get to keep that one. On Monday night, it's Detroit's defense against the New Orleans offense.
Week 16: One final Thursday night game on Christmas Eve, as the Raiders play the Chargers. (There's actually a rule that the NFL can't play games after 9:00 local time on Christmas Eve, but an 8:30 ET start on the West Coast doesn't violate that rule.) Then the final NFL Network game of the year is the only remaining NFC East matchup that hasn't been on national TV yet: Washington at Philly. As for the Sunday afternoon games, Patriots at Jets is a highlight. So is Bears-Bucs, Lovie Smith vs. his former team. And Green Bay's in Arizona. Pittsburgh-Baltimore has become like Giants-Cowboys in that every time they play it's on national TV. No exception here. After the first meeting's on Thursday night, the matchup in Baltimore's on Sunday night. Just like last season, Bengals-Broncos is the final Monday night game, except this time it's in Denver. Also, the final Super Bowl rematch of the Super Bowl's 50th anniversary season is Dallas at Buffalo.
Week 17: As usual, nothing but division games on the final week, which is actually on Jan. 3, 2016. None of the 16 matchups is more intriguing than Jets-Bills, as Rex Ryan ends the season against his former team. Early candidates for the Sunday night game? I'll go with Kansas City at Denver, Eagles at Giants and Baltimore at Cincinnati, with New Orleans at Atlanta as a potential sleeper. We've also got Seattle at Arizona in a game that I think will decide the NFC West. Also, New England's at Miami. The Dolphins have traditionally been one of the tougher opponents for the Patriots, and they beat New England in Miami in Week 1 last season.
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