There’s still a major question of whether or not the 2020 NFL season stands a major chance of kicking off on kickoff weekend. The Covid-19 pandemic is still front-and-center on the minds and safety must remain a top priority as the nation looks to find ways to return to some sense of normalcy. Schedule Release Day, set for Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Central, is likely the final major event on the NFL calendar for a while, so it should be celebrated as the bastion of hope that it conveys.
That hope takes on an even greater impact than normal. Most teams look at their schedule and hope to identify their path to the playoffs. Now teams and fans will look at the schedule and hope they’ll get the full slate of 16 games in somewhat normal conditions as it would mean the country has defeated its greatest enemy.
ESPN will air a three-hour NFL schedule release show tonight at 8 pm Eastern. It will highlight key matchups, schedule flexibility and, ultimately, hope.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 7, 2020
The highlights of the release are almost always the most intriguing matchups being placed in primetime slots on Sunday and Monday night, and the Cowboys are no strangers to such recognition, routinely reaching with the maximum number of games a team can appear, five.
7 years in NFL as a player and when schedule came out I'd look at, in order:
-Bye Week
-Week One opponent
-Primetime games (maybe)That's it. Took about 30 seconds.
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) May 7, 2020
We took the time to review the Cowboys list of 2020 opponents to make educated guesses on the matchups most fit for primetime television.
Dallas vs New York Giants
The obvious choice. The Cowboys and Giants have kicked off the season six of the last eight years, yes, but they’ve played in primetime at least once a season every year since 2006.
The Giants social media director, of course, is ready for what seems inevitable.
Screenshot to predict our Week 1 matchup 🤣 pic.twitter.com/KeQhRp94n9
— New York Giants (@Giants) May 6, 2020
The natural inclination is to predict the Cowboys and Giants on either the opening Sunday or Monday night game, but there’s a real possibility the schedule is front-loaded with NFC vs AFC matchups, meaning this one will have to wait until later in the season. If the NFL has the schedule prepared to cancel up to the first seven games of the season, than this matchup might be slated for a December. With the possibility of games being scheduled for contingencies, such as California and New York teams having to relocate home games, might the league consider trying to setup late-season games in warm-weather cities?
Maybe fans should plan for a primetime December matchup at AT&T Stadium to be on the schedule.
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