INTERNATIONAL GAMES The NFL will be visiting three countries for five international games in 2024. The league revealed its slate for the 2024 International Games on Wednesday, starting with the NFL's first-ever foray into South America for a Week 1 kickoff in São Paulo, Brazil. Three games will be played in London, and the contests will wrap up with a Munich matchup in Week 10. This Week 1 matchup between the Packers and the Eagles will not only mark the first Friday night game of the opening weekend in over 50 years, but will also bring the International Games to a new continent as the teams' South American kickoff takes place in São Paulo, Brazil. Both NFC teams are coming off 2023 playoff appearances, though they ended the year on opposite trajectories. Green Bay finished the season strong in quarterback Jordan Love's first campaign as a starter and shocked many by upsetting the Cowboys to advance to the Divisional Round. The Eagles, however, fell short of expectations by falling in the wild-card round to conclude a 1-6 stumble to end the season, just one year removed from a Super Bowl appearance. Now, these two squads will meet in South America to start their respective journeys to get back to the postseason. Aaron Rodgers is set to face a familiar opponent in this matchup between the Jets and the Vikings, albeit in a more unfamiliar locale than his previous Midwest contests. Rodgers is 17-11-1 all-time against his former NFC North foe, but will be wearing a different shade of green when he faces them this year as a Jet. The four-time NFL MVP, who has only played internationally once and lost in 2022, is looking to rebound from an abridged 2023 season that ended with a torn Achilles and the subsequent struggles his team encountered with him on the sidelines. As for Minnesota, after finishing with a 7-10 record in a 2023 season that included losing their QB to a torn Achilles, as well, the Vikings have parted ways with Kirk Cousins, ushering in a new era at the position to be spearheaded by No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy, or former Jets first-rounder . This matchup will feature the most-experienced international travelers, the Jaguars, making their 12th appearance in a London contest, against a Bears squad that has only played overseas twice, and not since 2019. After making a surprise playoff run in 2022, the Jaguars fell short of repeating as AFC South champions after struggling down the stretch of the 2023 season. Jacksonville will be looking to right the ship in 2024 behind franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence, with its schedule featuring an early trip across the Atlantic. There, Lawrence, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, is set to face off against a revamped Bears team headlined by this year’s No. 1 selection, Caleb Williams, who has already been named the team's starter. The former has played in four international games already -- with a 3-1 record -- while the latter will have only seen action in a maximum of five NFL games total before taking the field in London. The Jaguars will once again be double-dipping in the International Games, extending their visit in London to play back-to-back weeks for a second straight year. Jacksonville became the first team to do so during the 2023 season and won both contests. After acting as the visiting team at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the week prior against the Bears, the Jaguars will return to a familiar arena to face the Patriots, hosting a home game at Wembley Stadium for the 10th time. And for the second straight week, Jacksonville could be set to contend with one of the top three picks in the 2024 NFL Draft in quarterback Drake Maye. After the Patriots parted ways with Bill Belichick this offseason, new head coach Jerod Mayo and Maye are on a mission to return New England to prominence, making a stop in London during this new regime's first campaign. After two games were held in Frankfurt during the 2023 season, the NFL is returning to Germany for another year, though it will be moving south and returning to Munich for the second time when the Giants face the Panthers. The city previously hosted a game in 2022. This will mark the first international experience for 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who will be just over halfway through his sophomore season when he and the rest of the Panthers head to Europe looking to improve upon a league-worst 2-15 finish in 2023. Meanwhile, the Giants will be in search of a return to the success that sent them to the 2022 playoffs before a frustrating 2023 campaign marked by turnover at QB. But with New York having said it plans to run it back with Daniel Jones in 2024, the Giants, who defeated the Miami Dolphins during the first-ever matchup of the International Games in 2007, will be making their Germany debut hoping to keep their international record perfect as they currently stand at 3-0.
Chiefs-Steelers, Ravens-Texans will play on Christmas Day Get ready to watch the Chiefs and Ravens on Christmas Day for the second year in a row. Netflix announced its two Christmas games for 2024. The Chiefs will be in Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers while the Ravens will be in Houston to take play the Texans. Kansas City was at home last year for a Christmas Day game against Las Vegas, which the club lost. Baltimore traveled to the Bay Area and beat San Francisco in a blowout. This announcement also means that the Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens, and Texans will all play in some combination on Saturday the week before — setting them up for a short week of rest to play on Wednesday. Chiefs-Steelers will start the day with a 1 p.m. ET kickoff. The Ravens and Texans will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET. PFT
The Panthers are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season — by the betting odds, by fans, by the media, and even by the NFL schedule makers. The 2024 NFL schedule makes that clear, as the Panthers are the only team with no prime time games this season. Carolina does get one standalone game, a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff against the Giants in Munich, Germany, in Week 10. That’s the only time the Panthers will have NFL fans’ undivided attention. It is still possible, with flexible scheduling, that the Panthers could get flexed into a national television window. They’ll have to be a much better team than anyone expects for that to happen. As it is, the NFL is trying to keep the Panthers out of prime time. PFT
Bills, Browns, Bears, Vikings scheduled for three straight road games Among the scheduling quirks NFL fans look for when the schedule is released each year is which teams have been scheduled to play three straight road games come the fall. There are four teams who have such stretches on their schedule during the 2024 season. The Bills, Browns, Bears, and Vikings will all find themselves on the road for three consecutive weeks. Buffalo will be on the road to face the Ravens on a Sunday night in Week Four and they’ll face another playoff team in Week Five in Houston. The road trip wraps up with a Monday night game against the Jets and they’ll play five of their first eight on the road as they’ll be in Miami in Week Two and Seattle in Week Eight. The Browns will also be on the road in Weeks Four, Five and Six. They’ll play the Raiders, Commanders, and Eagles during their extended road stretch. Chicago’s run comes later in the season. They’ll face the Lions on Thanksgiving and get some extra time off before heading out to face the 49ers in Week 14. The Bears will then head back to face the Vikings on Monday night in Week 15. A Vikings-Bears game will also cap the Vikings’ own run of three straight on the road. They’ll be in Chicago in Week 12 after visiting the Jaguars and Titans on the previous two Sundays. PFT
Ironically, the Steelers with Arthur Smith start in Atlanta. There are lots of interesting twists to this years schedule, but i might be making mountains out of molehills.
Somehow the Panthers were pre-determined to blow again this year... they have 0 prime-time games. That can flex later in the season of course, but that's a wait and see thing.
On paper in May, the Pittsburgh Steelers appear to have one of the most brutal schedules for the 2024 campaign. Head coach Mike Tomlin's club starts the season with back-to-back road games in Atlanta and Denver, and three out of its first four tilts will be roadies. The Steelers also play twice with just three days off between games. And their ending run is about as menacing as they come. From Weeks 11-18, they face the Ravens twice, Browns twice, Bengals twice, Eagles and Super Bowl champion Chiefs. "It's probably not exactly how I would have drawn it up, but we've got to do the best we can," Steelers president Art Rooney II told the team's official website. "On the positive side, we've got some high-profile, marquee games with the Cowboys and the Chiefs on Christmas Day, a couple of other prime-time games. We'll be playing in front of a big audience most of the time, which is a good thing. A lot of the division games are at the end of the schedule, so it will be an interesting stretch there toward the end." Perhaps the most notable aspect of the Steelers' schedule is the backloaded division slate. Pittsburgh doesn't play an AFC North opponent until Nov. 17, then ends the season with six division games in its final eight matchups. From Weeks 11-14, Pittsburgh plays four consecutive division games, including one on a short week in Cleveland. The Steelers went 5-1 against the AFC North last season, but in perhaps the toughest division in football, it's a brutal stretch to have those physical tilts stacked one after another. "You never take anything for granted. The teams in our division are all tough," Rooney said of last year's division success. "Some people would say we have the toughest division in football, and I probably would agree with that. They'll all be tough games. It will be a challenge." The Steelers entered the offseason facing the third-toughest strength of schedule based on 2023 win totals. Based on projected win totals for 2024, Pittsburgh has the hardest schedule, per Sharp Football Analysis. With the odd schedule set up and playing a Saturday to Christmas Wednesday turnaround, the Steelers will be counting on Tomlin's experience to guide them through the woods. "Mike does a good job of getting guys ready," Rooney said. "There are no excuses in terms of what day of the week you're playing. He doesn't allow for that, or the time of the day. You just have to be ready to go when the time comes." NFL.com
With 3 teams in the playoffs and all 4 teams finishing above .500, it’s not that surprising that 3 teams in the AFC North are ranked 1-2-3 for toughest schedules in 2024. 6 games in the division of winners boosts that ominous outlook. What’s worse for the rest of the league is that it’s possible for all 4 teams to improve in 2024. Two of those teams lost their starting QB for a big chunk of the season in the Browns and Bengals. Having an opportunity for those starters to play all 17 games should boost their team. No one can argue the Steelers didn’t improve at the most important position as well. Adding not one, but two proven starters to battle in camp. The Ravens are the team with the most arguments against improving and they are the team everyone is chasing… so… It should be another fun ride in the AFC North
@Willie I edited your one-line post about the date/time of the release with the full schedule grid. Some of these schedules seem skewed just a touch to the extreme in favorability or negative impact.
I love what you did. I was hoping to post a grid that would include all teams, instead of C/P all the scheds thanks.
Its quite interesting with the schedule making as it seems to fit the NFL's ability to make money on streamtable games instead of just rolling out the sched. I'm just suspicious about the schedules because of how they land compared to National audiences. Just might be more to the picture than meets the eye.
lol, i edited the post, I cant spell. Tell you one thing, this 2024 schedule is rigged for NFL purposes for the money factor... no doubt in my mind. Break out the foil. its a conspiracy for the cash moneys.
