The 2020 NFL schedule is out, and with the COVID-19 pandemic silencing the sports world for the last several weeks, football fans are dreaming of what could happen when the season kicks off this fall — we hope.
With that in mind, I have analyzed all 17 weeks of the National Football League‘s regular season schedule and have come up with the best game of each week.
Week 1 – The season begins with a handful of mouth-watering matchups like Green Bay at Minnesota and the L.A. Rams hosting the Dallas Cowboys, but nothing stacks up to the future Hall of Fame QB tussle in New Orleans where Drew Brees and the Saints host Tom Brady, who will be making his Tampa Bay Buccaneers debut.
Week 2 – With apologies to Cincinnati Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow’s prime-time debut against the cross-state Cleveland Browns, the marquee matchup in the second week of the season is the first ever NFL game in Las Vegas, where the new-look Raiders entertain the New Orleans Saints at Allegiant Stadium.
Week 3 – And boom goes the dynamite! This will unquestionably be one of the games of the season when Patrick Mahomes leads the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs into Baltimore against 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Monday Night Football.
Week 4 – The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football in a game that pits one of the best defensive units against an offence that has added a ton of speed.
Week 5 – Josh Allen and new teammate Stefon Diggs lead the Buffalo Bills into Tennessee in a crucial early season tussle against 2019 rushing champion Derrick Henry and the Titans.
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Week 6 – Chiefs at Bills and Packers at Bucs will be fun, but not the powder keg that will be Cleveland at Pittsburgh. Not only is it a divisional game, it’s the first time the Browns and Steelers will face off since the Myles Garrett helmet incident.
Week 7 – With Tom Brady moving on to Tampa Bay, the New England Patriots will have either Jarett Stidham or Brian Hoyer at quarterback when they host former backup QB Jimmy Garropolo and the Niners.
Week 8 – A prime-time meeting between the Cowboys and Eagles in Philly will go a long way to determining which team claims the NFC East crown.
Week 9 – In a rematch of the 2019 NFC Championship, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers head to San Francisco with revenge on their minds.
Week 10 – Can new Colts QB Phillip Rivers lead Indianapolis to its first division title since Andrew Luck did it in 2014? Beating the Titans on Thursday Night Football would go along way to achieving that goal.
Week 11 – Cincinnati at Washington could determine which team chooses first overall in the 2021 NFL draft, but it won’t be an exciting game. The highlight of Week 11 is Arizona at Seattle on Thursday night as Kyler Murray attempts to unseat Russell Wilson as one of the league’s most dynamic QBs.
Week 12 – Thursday night. American Thanksgiving. Ravens hosting Steelers. Need I say more?
Week 13 – There are some juicy games this week, like Dallas at Baltimore and Buffalo at San Fran, but with the Bengals travelling to Miami we could see first overall draft pick Joe Burrow square off against blue chip Dolphins prospect Tua Tagovailoa.
Week 14 – At this point of the season we will have a good sense of what the post-Brady Patriots look like and whether head coach Bill Belichick can win without his longtime star pivot. Will New England’s road game against the L.A. Rams on Thursday night determine their playoff fate?
Week 15 – Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs waltz into New Orleans to take on Drew Brees and the Saints in a game that could blow up the Superdome’s scoreboard.
Week 16 – Eagles at Cowboys will be huge, but the Bills also visit New England on Monday Night with hopes of once and for all ending the Pats’ dominance in the AFC East.
Week 17 – The 49ers earned the top seed in the NFC after they held on for a last second victory against Seattle when they stopped the Seahawks just short of the goal line in their season finale last year. This game could provide a repeat performance.
The upcoming season is chock full of great matchups, but you should definitely circle these 17 games in 2020.
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