Yesterday I took a look at the Giants' 2014 schedule. Today it's time to break down the entire 2014 NFL slate. Of course, they threw some wrinkles into it this year. Three London games, half the Thursday schedule on CBS, Saturday games are back. And we still don't know whether it's six or seven teams making the playoffs in each conference. That's a potentially huge change. I'm curious to see if the owners decide to do it this year or wait until next year (which they should).
Week 1: The Seahawks play the traditional Super Bowl champion Thursday night opener against the Packers. Most people probably figured they'd be playing San Francisco, but Green Bay's a fine choice. Especially since the last time Green Bay played in Seattle was that Monday night game where they got screwed by the replacement refs, which brought an end to the lockout at the very least. The other Super Bowl team will also open on NBC. NBC loves its Peyton Manning opener, and they're going to start with Round II of Peyton vs. the Colts, this time in Denver. After last season's Colts win, Indy is still the only team Peyton has never beaten. The Monday night doubleheader is Giants-Lions and Chargers-Cardinals, while FOX has the national late game because of the US Open, and it's Cowboys-49ers. Something else I noticed...despite being in Chicago, the Bills-Bears game is on FOX. That balances out the afternoon games at 6 and 6, which is probably part of the reason they have that new "cross-flex" thing in the schedule.
Week 2: The first CBS-NFL Network joint venture is a primetime staple: Steelers at Ravens. Monday night, we've got a pair of 2013 division winners--Philadelphia and Indianapolis. Back-to-back primetime games for the Colts to start the season. The Sunday night game is also a good one between the Bears and 49ers. It's the first CBS doubleheader week, and they've got Chiefs-Broncos in the late game. Not a bad pair of games for Jim and Phil. There's also a good one between Seattle and San Diego.
Week 3: The most surprising thing on this year's schedule, to me, is that the Super Bowl rematch is not in primetime. Instead, Broncos at Seahawks is a fantastic CBS doubleheader game. FOX gets a good one, too, as DeSean Jackson returns to Philly for the first time as a member of the Redskins. The theory that they'd frontload all the best Thursday night games proved to be incorrect, since this week's offering is Tampa Bay-Atlanta. The Sunday and Monday night games aren't much better. Steelers-Panthers and Bears-Jets.
Week 4: Our first week of byes gives us six teams off. The standard NFC East national game is Giants-Redskins on Thursday night, while my early guess for Thanksgiving, New Orleans at Dallas, is the Sunday night game. We don't get all four NFC East teams in primetime, though. The Eagles are the national doubleheader game in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the Raiders play a "home" game against Miami in London. Monday night is New England-Kansas City. Another network crossover here, too, with the Panthers at Ravens game on CBS instead of FOX.
Week 5: With Miami and Oakland coming back from London, they're the only teams with byes. Another division rivalry is renewed on Thursday night, as the Vikings head to Lambeau. It's the Packers' second Thursday night game in the first five weeks of the season. Other good ones include Bengals-Patriots on Sunday night, Chiefs at 49ers in Alex Smith's return to San Francisco, and Ravens at Colts. The Seahawks have to fly cross country and play a Monday night game in the other Washington, while the Bills play a road game against an NFC team on FOX for the second straight time.
Week 6: Colts-Texans is either a really good Thursday night game or a really crappy one. My guess is the NFL wants to feature the No. 1 pick, whether that be Johnny Manziel or Jadaveon Clowney or someone else. Division games all over the place. Giants-Eagles fun on Sunday night, with 49ers-Rams on Monday night. The national doubleheader game is also yummy, Dallas at Seattle. Denver, meanwhile, returns to the scene of the crime with a game at MetLife Stadium against the Jets.
Week 7: The Jets and Patriots renew acquaintances in a Thursday night game everybody saw coming. San Francisco and Denver on Sunday night. The Monday night game's not that good, though. Houston at Pittsburgh. I'm more intrigued by the Panthers-Packers, Chiefs-Chargers and Bengals-Colts afternoon games that make me glad I have Red Zone. Only one Giants-Cowboys game per year is scheduled to be in primetime, so this is the one FOX gets.
Week 8: An unfair short week for the Broncos, as they go from Sunday night to Thursday night. At least they won't have to travel, as they host the Chargers. Two teams that will have to travel a lot are the Lions and Falcons, who have that 9:30 am kickoff in London. Meanwhile, the Ravens play the Bengals and the Bears play the Patriots in regular early games, and Colts-Steelers is the national late game. Packers at Saints on Sunday night, Washington at Dallas on Monday night.
Week 9: Another Sunday night to Thursday night, this time for New Orleans, which goes to Carolina for the final CBS-NFL Network simulcast. The Ravens-Steelers rivalry gets primetime treatment twice, this time on Sunday night. Manning vs. Brady is a CBS late game, so I can see that one getting flexed. Speaking of Manning, Eli's facing the Colts without Peyton for the first time on Monday night.
Week 10: Cleveland-Cincinnati is the first NFL Network-only Thursday night game. Dallas is the visiting team in Jacksonville's annual London home game, the third and final installment of this season's ventures across the pond. Just like Ravens-Steelers, the Bears-Packers rivalry is featured in primetime twice. They're in Lambeau on Sunday night. Lots of good NFC games this week: San Francisco at New Orleans early, Giants at Seattle late, Carolina at Philadelphia on Monday.
Week 11: Thursday Night Rivalry continues with Buffalo at Miami. They didn't take New England-Denver for Sunday night, but they did take New England-Indy. Although, I can see that game getting replaced by Green Bay-Philly. Two other matchups of playoff teams, too--Cincinnati at New Orleans and Seattle at Kansas City. For a team that missed the playoffs, Pittsburgh's playing in primetime a lot. They've got the Week 11 Monday nighter in Tennessee.
Week 12: Here's my problem with Week 12: the Cowboys should NOT be forced to play the Sunday night game right before Thanksgiving. Yet they are, at the Giants. The Monday night game is really good: Baltimore at New Orleans. As for Thursday night, the rivalry trend continues, as it's Kansas City at Oakland. For some reason, the Redskins-49ers game is on CBS, even though CBS already had a Miami-Denver late game.
Week 13: It's the Lions' year to be on CBS on Thanksgiving...so of course they're playing the Bears. I'm not a fan of this entirely NFC Thanksgiving thing, and I'm sure it wouldn't have happened if Detroit was hosting instead of at New England and the Jets. At the very least, they should've given the AFC the night game, although I get why they wanted to put Seattle-San Francisco in that spot. Philadelphia at Dallas isn't a problem with me at all. Neither is New England-Green Bay as a full national broadcast in the late game. Broncos-Chiefs is the Sunday night game, at least for now, and Dolphins-Jets is the Monday night game.
Week 14: The NFL did something very interesting, and I like it. Dallas and Chicago aren't getting the automatic long week after playing on Thanksgiving. Instead, they're playing on consecutive Thursdays. Pittsburgh-Cincinnati and Carolina-New Orleans early, Seahawks-Eagles in a good national late game. And the fun of 49ers-Raiders, who don't meet in the preseason anymore because the fans hate each other so much. New England at San Diego on Sunday night should be fun, and Atlanta visits Green Bay on Monday night.
Week 15: All four NFC West teams face each other. Arizona at St. Louis on Thursday, 49ers-Seahawks for the second time in three weeks in an exclusive national late game. Another Thanksgiving rematch just two weeks later is the second Cowboys-Eagles game, which is on Sunday night (and Dallas' third straight national game). Ditto for Chicago, which hosts New Orleans on Monday night. Denver and San Diego's rematch is in Week 15, as well.
Week 16: I'm a little confused about the return of the Saturday games. They're both listed as 4:30 starts, and they both have both the NFL Network and CBS logos next to them on the NFL.com schedule. Does that mean one's on one network and the other's on the other? Anyway, one of those games is Eagles-Redskins, so I figure that means that one'll be on CBS and San Francisco-San Diego will be on NFL Network. The final Thursday night game is Titans-Jaguars, and the final Monday night game is Broncos-Bengals. Seahawks-Cardinals is tentatively scheduled for Sunday night, but with Patriots-Jets, Chiefs-Steelers and Colts-Cowboys also on the schedule, that might change.
Week 17: Early guesses for Sunday night possibilities: Dallas at Washington, San Diego at Kansas City, Philadelphia at Giants and Cincinnati at Pittsburgh. I guess there's an outside shot it could be Indy-Tennessee, as well. Safe bets as to games that won't be on Sunday night: Buffalo at New England, Jets at Miami, Jacksonville at Tennessee, Oakland at Denver.
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