Tag: 2021 nfl schedule

17-game NFL season is coming, Bills will add Washington to list of opponents

NFL takes closer step to 2021 NFL season having 17 games.

The NFL is finally expected to add another game to their regular season. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday, the NFL is expected to officially expand the regular season from 16 games to 17 games starting in 2021.

The change to the schedule has been long expected, and even the Buffalo Bills’ potential new opponent is something we’ve known as well: The Washington Football Team.

Previously, the NFL and players worked out a new collective bargaining agreement in March 2020 and in that an additional game was approved upon. Under the expanded regular-season schedule, the 17th game would be an inter-conference matchup, which brings about Washington.

Though the NFL hasn’t confirmed or announced any matchups yet, it’s expected the AFC East will take on the NFC East and that will rotate each year. This slates Buffalo hosting the Football Team because they also finished first in their division last season. Washington did so with only a 7-9 record.

A Bills-Football Team matchup could also shape up to be a return of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to Bills Stadium next year. He recently signed in Washington as a free agent and is expected to have a chance to earn the starting job.

This potential scheduling change is expected to become official this week as the NFL’s annual owners’ meeting takes place virtually.

Moving forward with the schedule change, the AFC and NFC will switch who is the home team in the added 17th game every year. In 2022, the Bills will play on the road.

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Carolina would visit Houston in 17th game of 2021: A look at the Texans vs. Panthers series history

The Houston Texans would host the Carolina Panthers in game 17 of the 2021 season. Here is a look at the series history.

The NFL has not yet made it official, but the expectation is owners will vote to approve a 17th game for the 2021 season at their virtual owners meeting this week.

The way the formula stands, the entire NFC would visit the AFC in a same place finisher format emulating the inter-conference schedules of 2019. In other words, how it was in 2019 is how it will be across the league, but only as it relates to same place finishers.

In Houston’s case, that would mean the Carolina Panthers would return to NRG Stadium. Here is a look at the entire series history between the Texans and Panthers.

Report: Philadelphia Eagles 2021 schedule to be released in May

The NFL is hoping to release their entire 2021 regular season schedule sometime during the month of May, after the NFL Draft.

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The Eagles know their opponents for the 2021 NFL season and per Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, the dates and times should be released sometime during the month of May.

Typically, the NFL schedule is released prior to the NFL draft, but the COVID-19 pandemic has ensured a late unveil for the second-straight year.

The Eagles will face the NFC South and AFC West, meaning Philadelphia’s rebuilt defense will face Tom Brady, Taysom Hill or Drew Brews, Patrick Mahomes, and Chargers rookie sensation, Justin Herbert among others.

The Eagles will play their six NFC East games along with the 49ers and Lions as well.

When the NFL officially expands the season to 17 games, the Eagles will face a familiar face in Joe Douglas and the New York Jets.

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Who would the Ravens play if 17th game is added in 2021?

The NFL appears set to add a 17th game to the 2021 schedule which means the Baltimore Ravens will get to play the Los Angeles Rams

One of the portions of the new collective bargaining agreement the NFL and NFLPA signed last offseason was the ability to expand the season to 17 games. Though it was never formally written when the 17-game schedule would be implemented, many expected it to start in 2021 as the NFL begins negotiations on their broadcast contracts with television networks. If that happens, there would be a new challenger added to the Baltimore Ravens’ 2021 schedule.

On Monday, Peter King of NBC Sports wrote that a 17-game NFL season is “highly likely in 2021” as the TV partners and NFL schedulers have been working under that assumption this offseason. In that scenario, the AFC North would face the NFC West with teams that finished in the same position in the standings facing off. Having both finished second in their respective divisions, the Ravens would take on the Los Angeles Rams.

The last time Baltimore played the Rams was two seasons ago in a 45-6 Monday night beatdown in Los Angeles. Lamar Jackson threw for 169 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 95 yards. Cornerback Marcus Peters had recently been traded from the Rams to the Ravens and made his former team pay, notching one of the two interceptions Baltimore had on Jared Goff that night.

However, with Los Angeles recently agreeing to a trade with the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Rams might not be as much of a pushover this time around. It would be a very interesting matchup between two teams expected to fight for their respective division crowns and a spot in Super Bowl LVI.

What hasn’t been made clear yet is where the game would be played. Under the 16-game schedule, teams play an equal number of home and away games. If the schedule is expanded to 17 games, half the league would be forced to play an extra road game while the other half would get an additional home game.

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Report: Jaguars would draw Falcons if NFL adds 17th game in 2021

Should the NFL exercise its option to expand the regular season to 17 games in 2021, Jacksonville would likely draw the Falcons at home.

The NFL has discussed adding a 17th game to the regular season for several years now, and it seems that 2021 may be the year that it finally happens.

According to Peter King of Football Morning in America, a 17-game schedule is “highly likely” in 2021, with the NFL and television coordinators operating under the assumption that it will happen. The collective bargaining agreement the players approved last year gave the league the option to expand to 17 games in 2021.

King says that if enacted, the 17th game will be a cross-conference matchup with the division the team faced two years before, in this case during the 2019 season. The opponent is the corresponding team in the other division’s standings from the previous season.

This format is slightly confusing, but since the Jaguars played the NFC South as its interconference division in 2019, they would face the team in that division that finished last during the 2020 season. This would mean the extra game would draw the Atlanta Falcons.

According to King’s report, the AFC would host all the interconference games in 2021, with that set to flip in 2022. This would mean the Jags would host the Falcons, who are an NFC rival of theirs, at TIAA Bank Field.

The Jags and the Falcons typically meet in the preseason, however, a two-game preseason is now in play with the regular season being altered. As for the regular season, the two teams have played each other seven times and the Falcons lead the series with a 4-3 record.

None of this is official yet, but it seems NFL squads could be playing an extra out-of-conference matchup each season from now on.

Jags’ 2021 strength of schedule ranks in the top half of the NFL

The Jags only won one game in 2020, but things are slated to get tougher in 2021.

Last season, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ strength of schedule ranked 22nd, and yet, they only were able to register a single win. However, things are projected to get significantly tougher in 2021 for the new regime which is currently being constructed. 

Our comrade Allison Koehler of Steelers Wire recently calculated the strength of schedule for all 32 teams, and the Jags’ 2021 opponents registered a .506 win percentage (129-126-1). That figure gave them a strength of schedule that ranks 11th in the NFL.

When looking at the AFC South as a whole, only one of the Jags’ divisional rivals had a harder strength of schedule, and that was the Houston Texans, who were ranked one spot higher (No. 10) with their opponents being 132-124-0 (.516). Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans (126-130-0, .492) were tied at No. 19 with the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Indianapolis Colts (118-136-2, .465) were tied at No. 28 with the New York Giants.

The Jags registering a tougher SOS figure isn’t the slightest bit surprising when considering they play the NFC West and AFC East in 2021. The NFC West sent two teams into the playoffs (Rams and Seahawks) while the 8-8 Arizona Cardinals were close to a postseason berth. The San Francisco 49ers could’ve been in the mix, too, had they not been hit hard by injuries.

As for the AFC East, they almost sent two teams to the postseason. The division winner, the Buffalo Bills, have made it to the conference championship today and could end up playing in the Super Bowl with a win against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Miami Dolphins, who defeated the Jags in 2020, registered a 10-6 record but just missed the postseason.

Clearly, we’re in the early stages of the offseason, which means it’s simply hard to come up with a prediction for the Jags record-wise. However, what is clear is that they could have a tough road ahead if they don’t make significant improvements to the roster this offseason.

Ravens to face NFL’s second-toughest schedule in 2021

The Baltimore Ravens’ strength of schedule for 2021 will be much different than what they faced in 2020.

Despite the losing drought the Baltimore Ravens faced, they had the easiest strength of schedule in the NFL this season. The Ravens are going from having the clearest path to making the postseason to the second-toughest schedule in 2021.

Strength of schedule is determined by the 2020 record of a team’s upcoming opponents. Eight of the Ravens’ 16 games will be played against 2020 playoff teams, four of which will be against the Steelers and Browns. It’s also important to note that a 17th regular-season game could be added to the schedule before the season begins.

Here is a breakdown of each team’s strength of schedule:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: 143-111-2 (.563)
2. Baltimore Ravens: 142-112-2 (.559)
3. Chicago Bears: 141-114-1 (.553)
4. Detroit Lions: 138-116-2 (.543)
5. Cincinnati Bengals: 138-118-0 (.539)
6. Minnesota Vikings: 137-118-1 (.537)
7. Las Vegas Raiders: 134-120-2 (.527)
8. Green Bay Packers: 133-122-1 (.521)
9. Cleveland Browns: 132-122-2 (.520)
10. Houston Texans: 132-124-0 (.516)
11. Jacksonville Jaguars: 129-126-1 (.506)
12. Los Angeles Rams: 129-127-0 (.504)
T13. San Francisco 49ers: 128-127-1 (.502)
T13. New York Jets: 128-127-1 (.502)
T15. Los Angeles Chargers: 126-128-2 (.496)
T15. Arizona Cardinals: 127-129-0 (.496)
T15. Seattle Seahawks: 127-129-0 (.496)
T15. New England Patriots: 127-129-0 (.496)
T19. Tennessee Titans: 126-130-0 (.492)
T19. Kansas City Chiefs: 125-129-2 (.492)
21. Carolina Panthers: 124-131-1 (.486)
22. Washington Football Team: 123-131-2 (.484)
T23. Buffalo Bills: 123-133-0 (.480)
T23. Denver Broncos: 122-132-2 (.480)
25. Atlanta Falcons: 122-133-1 (.479)
26. Miami Dolphins: 122-134-0 (.477)
27. New Orleans Saints: 120-135-1 (.471)
T28. New York Giants: 118-136-2 (.465)
T28. Indianapolis Colts: 119-137-0 (.465)
30. Dallas Cowboys: 115-139-2 (.453)
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 115-140-1 (.451)
32. Philadelphia Eagles: 115-141-0 (.449)

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