Chiefs hit with bizarre scheduling quirk the NFL hasn’t seen in 97 years, plus 15 other 2024 schedule oddities

There are always some crazy quirks when it comes to the NFL Schedulebut this year seemed a little crazier than other years: there’s a team that will play on six different days of the week, there’s a divisional rivalry that will only be played on Thursdays, and there are two teams that won’t play a divisional game single until week 11.

It almost seemed like NFL The scheduling department has done its best to add as many quirks as possible to this year’s slate of games.

So who has the craziest quirks? That’s a great question, so let’s find out.

Here are 16 of the strangest quirks on the 2024 NFL schedule, starting with the Chiefs, who had a quirk the NFL hasn’t seen in 97 years.

1. The Chiefs will play on six different days of the week. The Chiefs have a schedule no team has achieved in 97 years. With the Chiefs having a Friday and Wednesday game thanks to Black Friday and Christmas, Kansas City will play on six different days this year. The only day the Chiefs I will NOT play on Tuesday. This makes the Chiefs the first team in 97 years to play on six different days of the week. In 1927, the New York Yankees played every day except Mondays.
2. Cowboys and Giants to make history. The NFC East rivals will face each other twice in 2024, and both games will be played on a Thursday, which is notable because this has only happened a total of twice in the last 98 years. The Lions and Packers play two games on Thursdays in 2023 and before then, you have to go all the way back to 1926 to find an instance in which two NFL teams played several Thursday games against each other in the same season (back then, it was the Chicago Cardinals and the Chicago Bears).
3. CBS sets NFC East showdown for first time in three decades. The Cowboys and Eagles will play in Week 10 in a game that will be broadcast on CBS. The two teams would normally play on Fox, but the NFL has dropped conference affiliations for games starting in 2022, which is why CBS is getting a Philly-Dallas game for the first time since 1993.
4. Bears and Steelers ready to make history. One of the more bizarre quirks of the 2024 calendar actually happened to two different teams. Both the Bears and Steelers will not play their first divisional opponent until Week 11, which is the latest in NFL history that a team has ever played its first divisional game. The previous record belonged to the Falcons, who didn’t face their first divisional opponent until Week 10 of 2019.
5. The jets are in prime time. If you turn on the TV at any time this fall, there’s a good chance you’ll see the Jets. Aaron Rodgers’ team was given six primetime games in the first 11 weeks, which marks the first time in NFL history that a team has had so many night games in the first 11 weeks. The Jets also have a Week 5 game in London, meaning they will have seven standalone games before Thanksgiving.
6. London is calling. For the second consecutive season, the Jaguars will go to London for back-to-back games, which is notable because the Jags are still the only team in NFL history to have played back-to-back games in London. The Jags did it last year – and went 2-0 – and it was the first time that happened. For the 2024 season, the Jags will be the away team against the Bears in Week 6 before playing as the home team against the Patriots in Week 7.
7. Merry Christmas to everyone and a good Wednesday to everyone. With Christmas falling on a Wednesday, this will be only the third time in the last 76 years that the NFL has held a game on a Wednesday. The Christmas doubleheader, which will display Chiefs at Steelers and Ravens at Texans will also mark the first time since 1936 that the NFL played two games on a Wednesday.
8. Netflix has decided to join the NFL party. The two Christmases games will be held on Netflix, which will mark the first time the streaming company has won the rights to an NFL game. Last season, CBS, Fox and ABC all got a Christmas game, but this year, the NFL put the games on offer and Netflix came out victorious.
9. Home sweet home for the Eagles. Philadelphia will play four of its last five games at home, which is almost unheard of for the Eagles. The last time this happened to Philly was with all the there in 1951. The Eagles’ only road game during this period will be against the Commanders in Week 16.
10. The bears will try the south early in the season. The Bears will begin the season with three consecutive AFC South games, which will mark the first time in 25 years that Chicago has opened the year with three consecutive AFC teams. In 1999, the Bears went 1-2 to start the season against the AFC West.
11. Difficult road to start the season. There are only four teams in the NFL that will have to play their first TWO games on the road this year, and those teams are: Steelers, Jets, Rams, and Raiders. The Raiders must have pissed off someone in the NFL scheduling department, because this is actually the second year in a row that Las Vegas will play back-to-back road games to start the season.
12. Difficult road to end the season. There are five teams that will close the season with two consecutive away games, and these teams are: Panthers, Chiefs, Chargers, Dolphins and Seahawks. Of those five, the Panthers are the only team that has to close the season with two consecutive road games against a divisional opponent.
13. Bye, bye, bye to the 49ers. The 49ers are facing FOUR teams that will be a bye this year, which is the biggest in the NFL. This is not ideal, as teams will have extra rest and preparation time before playing them. The 49ers have a -22 rest differential, which means their opponents are getting an extra 22 days of rest, and that is the third worst number for ANY team in the last 22 years, according to ESPN.
14. The Ravens will be well-rested for their games. CBS Sports Leads NFL Insider Jonathan Jones reported on Thursday that the Crows are not satisfied with their schedule, which is kind of strange, because they have a huge advantage over everyone else and it has to do with rest. The Ravens have a +16 rest differential this year, according to for ESPN, meaning they will have a total of 16 more rest days than their opponents. That’s not only the highest number for any team this year, but also the highest number FOR ANY TEAM since the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002.
15. Only one team was excluded from prime time. When it comes to primetime games, there are just one team that hasn’t resulted in a single night game, and that’s the Carolina Panthers. Although they didn’t get any primetime spots, the Panthers did get an independent game, and that will happen when they play in Germany against the Giants in Week 10.
16. Extra long trip. The Bills, Browns, Bears and Vikings have one big thing in common this year: They are the only teams in the league that must play three consecutive games on the road. NFL teams stuck with a three-game road trip on the schedule are a combined 30-30 on those road trips since 2018. However, it’s been ugly the past two seasons, with nine teams going a combined 8-19 in their three. game trip.

The Lions also have a nice scheduling quirk: They will play almost no outdoor games for the first 15 weeks. From Week 1 to Week 15, the Lions will play 13 of their 14 games indoors. During that time, their only outdoor game will come in Week 9 against the Packers.

We hope you can impress all your friends this weekend with your quirky knowledge of the NFL schedule.