Caleb Harris
As NFL Draft officially in the rearview mirror, there is only one major event left in the NFL offseason calendar and this is the release of the schedule. The only problem with this year’s release is that no one seems to have any idea when the lineup will actually release.
The only thing we know for sure is that the schedule will be released for sure sometime in May and we know this because the NFL has already announced it.
For the past two years, the schedule has been released on the second Thursday in May, but with that date coming up on May 9th, it’s looking more and more like the NFL won’t meet that date in 2024. At this point, it looks like May 15th or 16th. May would make more sense, but nothing is set in stone.
Although we don’t know when the schedule will be released, we already know several things about the 2024 schedule, so let’s check it out:
- Thursday night opening in Kansas City. The defense Super Bowl The annual champion hosts the opening game of the season, which means that barring something unforeseen, the Chiefs will be the home team in Thursday night’s opener. Their home schedule consists of the Broncos, Chargers, Raiders, Ravens, Bengals, Texans, Saints and Buccaneers, so the NFL will have plenty of interesting games to choose from, including a possible AFC title rematch against Baltimore. The Bengals and Texans would also be considered attractive options. The NFL generally tries to avoid putting divisional games in the opener, so the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos likely won’t play in Kansas City in Week 1.
- NFL will play in Brazil for the first time. São Paulo will host the first NFL game in Brazil and it will take place in Week 1. The Eagles will “host” the Packers in a rare Friday game that will be broadcast exclusively on Peacock on September 6th.
- The international series will also feature games in London and Munich. The NFL will play four games in Europe this year, with three games in London and one game in Germany. For the slate of games in England, the Bears, Vikings and Jaguars will each serve as the home team for one game. As for the game in Germany, the Panthers will be the home team in the second game of the NFL regular season in Munich.
- The Jaguars could go head-to-head in London for the second consecutive season. According to to Jacksonville. with, the Jags are expected to play back-to-back games in London for the second consecutive season. The Jags will host one game and then serve as the visiting team in one game, which will likely be against the Bears.
- History-making Christmas doubleheader. For the third time in 75 years, the NFL will play on a Wednesday and it will happen this year because December 25th falls on a Wednesday in 2024. So yes, that means the NFL will be giving us a double game at Christmas.
- Teams could have two short week games. The NFL Owners approved a rule in March 2023 that now allows teams to play two short-week games. This means several teams could end up playing multiple games this year with just three days’ rest. This will make it much easier to schedule the two Christmas games. The four teams that will play on December 25th must play on the previous Saturday.
- All home and away opponents for all 32 teams. While we don’t yet know the time and dates for any games this year, we do know who each team will play and you You can check the home and away opponents of all 32 teams by clicking here.
O NFL Schedule The launch has become a major off-season event for the league and this year should be no exception.
