The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t affecting the NFL game schedule. At least not yet.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the full 2020 schedule — all 16 games and 17 weeks — will be released this week with no adjustments expected. The regular-season opener will still be set for Thursday, Sept. 10, while the Super Bowl will remain as scheduled for Feb. 7 in Tampa, Fla.
As reported by John Ourand and Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, the NFL has told network executives to expect the schedule release to be as early as Thurs., May 7.
In a Tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, league spokesperson Brian McCarthy said that the preseason schedule, including the Pittsburgh Steelers-Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame game on Aug. 8, is also slated to be released.
NFL also planning to release its preseason schedule by end of this week, per @NFLprguy: “If we have to make adjustments, we will be prepared to do so based on the latest guidance from our medical experts and public health officials and current and future government regulations.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 3, 2020
We won’t know for a few more days when the games will be played, but we do know where they’ll be played and who the Steelers’ opponents will be.
| Home | Away |
| Washington Redskins | Tennessee Titans |
| Denver Broncos | Buffalo Bills |
| Baltimore Ravens | New York Giants |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Browns |
| Houston Texans | Dallas Cowboys |
| Indianapolis Colts | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Baltimore Ravens |
Of course, just because a schedule is released doesn’t mean it can’t change between now and the preseason. Thankfully, there is some time to take a wait-and-see approach before dates are finalized.
Partnering with the NFL Players Association and medical experts, contingencies are being discussed, such as delaying the season to mid-October, no bye weeks, no Pro Bowl (oh, no!!), and a late February Super Bowl.
So far, the league has successfully made adjustments to free agency, the draft, and offseason workouts. I have to think that if they need to make adjustments to the game schedule, they’ll do so without any issues.
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