I’m still quivering with excitement over the NFL schedule release. Body in a state of shock ... mind racing ... palms sweating ... shaking. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. By now the effect of the league’s great big exciting primetime schedule release show has worn off (I watched the Cavs games instead, tbh). But looking at the schedule this morning, I noticed some oddities, and well, I just HAD to put those in a numbered list!
5 weird quirks about the 2017 NFL schedule that you might care about in the fall
This is our last post about the NFL schedule, promise. But these five things are worth comment.
Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Goodbye, Week 4 byes!
The bye weeks don’t start until Week 5 this year. It’s the first time since 2011 the league has done that.
Lots of football for Los Angeles
L.A.’s newest team, the Chargers, will have three games happening at the same time the other L.A. team is playing. In Weeks 2, 14, and 17, the Rams and Chargers both have home games during the 4 p.m. ET window. In Week 17, all four of California’s NFL teams will be in Los Angeles — only one of those teams has never called the city home. The Rams host the 49ers, and the Chargers draw the Raiders that week.
Just think of the traffic!
No rest after the London games
The Colts bucked a trend last year, opting to skip the bye week and play a game the week after playing in London. They won, beating the lowly Bears, and now other teams want to give it a shot.
Romo’s days on the field may be over, but he’ll be back with the Cowboys again this season, twice. He’ll be calling two games in Dallas with CBS this year. The first is a Week 9 game against the Chiefs and then the Thanksgiving game against the Chargers.
Sorry, Browns
The Browns are one of two teams who don’t get a primetime game at all, which seems weird considering they have 18 million draft picks this year and are bound to do something interesting with them. The Jaguars are the other team without a primetime appearance, also weird because they have a talented roster and a new coach. Once bitten, I guess.
Cleveland really gets the short end of the stick here. They have to give up a home game, Week 8, for the league’s U.K. series. After that, they only play three more games in Cleveland.
OK, that’s it, no more 2017 NFL schedule talk. Unless you want to read this post with the best and worst games of the season. But after that, DONE.
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