The NFL's Centennial Season

I finally got a chance to sit down and check out the full NFL schedule.  There's a lot to digest, but one of the things I noticed is that, as expected, they're going all-in on the league's centennial celebration.  Every week will have a marquee matchup that highlights a great moment in NFL history (some are stretches, while some have obvious significance), which I thought was a really nice touch.

It all starts with the first game of the entire NFL season, when the Bears and Packers play in Chicago.  The NFL's two oldest teams--one that predates the NFL, one that was founded by the same guy who founded the entire league--and the league's most significant rivalry.  It's the perfect way to start the 100th season.

While watching the schedule release show on NFL Network, they made some interesting points about how the schedule is constructed.  They start with something like 5,000 possible schedules before narrowing it down to 17 that are considered "workable."  I'm sure the TV networks then give their input before they settle on the final schedule.

And there are plenty of things about that final schedule that I noticed and found interesting.  For starters, the Bears have three Thursday games.  I don't recall a team ever playing more than two Thursday games in the same season, but, in addition to the opener, Chicago plays Detroit on Thanksgiving, then Dallas the next week.  (That seems to be a new scheduling trend where the Cowboys play a Thursday night game the week after Thanksgiving against another team that played on Thanksgiving.)

The NFL always gives us those little schedule teasers such as announcing the London games (one of which also includes the Bears) ahead of time.  One of those spoilers was that the Cowboys' Thanksgiving opponent would be Miami.  Which was either wrong or a total fake-out.  Because Dallas isn't playing the Dolphins.  They're playing Buffalo.  Which brings us to the obvious question: "Why are the Bills playing on Thanksgiving?"  (Although, I do like that they're actually letting an AFC team play on Thanksgiving this season after completely shutting the AFC completely out of the NFL's biggest holiday way too many times in recent years.)

Speaking of the Bills, they've got one of the quirkiest schedules I've ever seen.  Actually, it's just their first two games that are quirky: Week 1 at Jets, Week 2 at Giants.  Yes, you read that right.  Their first two games (neither of which is a home game) are in the same stadium!  If they were a West Coast team, that would make a lot more sense since it would be a way to avoid making them travel, but it's odd to have a team that's so close play two consecutive games at Met Life.

Other noteworthy things about the NFL schedule:

• Philadelphia is the only team in the league with a three-game road trip (Weeks 6-8), after whcih the Eagles have three straight home games
• Tampa Bay and Oakland both go six weeks without playing an actual home game.  The Bucs' only "home" game between Weeks 4-9 is their Week 6 matchup with Carolina in London.  The Raiders' stretch runs from Weeks 3-8.  They'll be the "home" team for the Khalil Mack Bowl vs. Chicago in Week 5.
• Ten teams (Chicago, Dallas, Green Bay, Kansas City, Rams, Minnesota, New England, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle) play the league-maximum five primetime games, while eight (Arizona, Carolina, Cincinnati, Detroit, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa Bay, Tennessee) only play one and the Bills don't play any.  Buffalo's only nationally-televised game is on Thanksgiving.
• For the first time in its 14-year existence, the Sunday Night Football schedule doesn't include the New York Giants.  The Giants could always be flexed in, but as of now, their only primetime games are two Monday nighters and their Thursday night showdown with the Patriots.  Their league-mandated season opener in Dallas, meanwhile, is on Sunday afternoon instead of Sunday night for the second straight year.
• This isn't just the 100th anniversary of the NFL, it's also the 50th anniversary of Monday Night Football.  The first-ever Monday night game was Jets-Browns on September 21, 1970.  To celebrate, Jets-Browns will be the Monday night game on September 16, 2019 (the closest the NFL could get to the actual anniversary, which is on a Friday).
• That's the first of three primetime games in four weeks for the Browns, which is more Sunday/Monday night games than they've had in the last 10 years combined.  Cleveland hosts the Rams on Sunday night in Week 3 and has another Monday night game at San Francisco in Week 5.  Their Thursday night game is at home against the Steelers in Week 11.
• Kansas City is NOT New England's opponent on the opening Sunday night (Pittsburgh gets that honor instead).  They'll have two of the centennial featured games in back-to-back weeks midseason, though.  In Week 8, they host the Packers (Super Bowl I), then host the Vikings (Super Bowl IV, final game in AFL history) in Week 9.
• Green Bay is the only team to play a road Monday night game, then be on the road again the next week.  Although, to be fair, those are both division games at the Vikings and Lions, so the travel isn't exactly extensive.  (The Packers' division road games are in Weeks 1, 16 and 17.)
• Arizona, Green Bay, New Orleans, Oakland and Pittsburgh all end the season with two straight road games.  Denver, Minnesota, New England and Seattle end with two straight at home.
• As if they needed any help from the schedule makers, the Patriots play a grand total of one game outside the Eastern time zone (Week 13 at Houston).
• They're holding the Chiefs-Patriots game until Week 14, but the NFC Championship rematch between the Saints and Rams is early.  It's actually the Rams' home opener in Week 2.
• With the Raiders set to move to Las Vegas in 2020, the final NFL game in Oakland (pending any home playoff games) will be against the Jaguars on Dec. 15.