The NFL rolled out its 2020 schedule Thursday night as part of a three-hour, live event on NFL Network with Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Al Michaels, Joe Buck, Derwin James and John Elway among the many virtual guests in attendance. The announced slate for 2020 includes a whopping 55 primetime and holiday games highlighted by a spotlight opening-night matchup between the reigning Super Bowl Champion Chiefs and Houston Texans. That’s a rematch of last year’s Divisional Round thriller that saw Kansas City miraculously erase a 24-point, first-half deficit en route to a resounding 51-31 win at chilly Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs, Buccaneers (led by newcomers Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski), Cowboys, Packers, Patriots, Ravens and Saints are all well-represented with five marquee games scheduled for 2020. Aside from Thanksgiving Day matchups, the Lions and Redskins will not appear in primetime this year. No. 1 draft pick Joe Burrow of the Bengals has two national games on tap, first against the division-rival Browns in Week 2 and later a Monday night clash with Pittsburgh in Week 15.
This year’s holiday slate includes a Turkey Day triple-header (the Steelers host the archrival Ravens on Thanksgiving night), a rare Friday game on Christmas Day (the Saints and Vikings will square off in that one) and four unannounced Saturday matchups to take place on December 19th and 26th. Excluding opening night and holidays, all Thursday games will appear on Fox (with simulcasts on NFL Network and Amazon Prime) with NBC covering Sunday nights and ESPN handling this year’s Monday night responsibilities.
The Rams will showcase their new home digs in Week 1, debuting state-of-the-art SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (a venue they’ll share with the Chargers) against the Dak-Prescott-led Cowboys in the first Sunday night game of 2020. SoFi Stadium will also be on display for the Rams’ Monday night tussle with Chicago in Week 7 and a Thursday night throw-down against New England in Week 14. The Chargers don’t have any home games on their primetime agenda this year, but they’ll be under the lights in New Orleans for a Week 5 Monday-nighter and again in Week 15 when the Bolts travel to Sin City for a Thursday night battle against the newly-christened Las Vegas Raiders. Speaking of the Raiders, all four of their primetime games will be held at 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium (expected to be completed this summer) on the Vegas strip.
Other must-sees include an expected Monday night slugfest between Patrick Mahomes and reigning MVP Lamar Jackson in Week 4 and the obligatory Brees/Brady battle pegged for Sunday night of Week 9. You’ll have plenty of chances to scratch your rivalry itch as well with 19 divisional matchups included in this year’s primetime slate.
Obviously, the NFL hopes to be back up and running well ahead of Week 1, but the league does have a contingency plan in place should the season be delayed by COVID-19. Assuming we stay on schedule, here are all the primetime and holiday matchups you can look forward to in 2020:
Week 1
Thursday, September 10: Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Sunday, September 13: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, September 14: Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants, 7:15 PM ET, ESPN
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos, 10:10 PM ET, ESPN
Week 2
Thursday, September 17: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns, 8:20 PM ET, NFL Network
Sunday, September 20: New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, September 21: New Orleans Saints at Oakland Raiders, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 3
Thursday, September 24: Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars, 8:20 PM ET, NFL Network
Sunday, September 27: Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, September 28: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 4
Thursday, October 1: Denver Broncos at New York Jets, 8:20 PM ET, NFL Network
Sunday, October 4: Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, October 5: Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 5
Thursday, October 8: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, October 11: Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, October 12: Los Angeles Chargers at New Orleans Saints, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 6
Thursday, October 15: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, October 18: Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, October 19: Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 7
Thursday, October 22: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, October 25: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Las Vegas Raiders, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, October 26: Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 8
Thursday, October 29: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, November 1: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, November 2: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 9
Thursday, November 5: Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, November 8: New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, November 9: New England Patriots at New York Jets, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 10
Thursday, November 12: Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, November 15: Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, November 16: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 11
Thursday, November 19: Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, November 22: Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, November 23: Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 12
Thursday, November 26 (Thanksgiving): Houston Texans at Detroit Lions, 12:30 PM ET, CBS
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 PM ET, Fox
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Sunday, November 29: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, November 30: Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 13
Thursday, December 3: Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Ravens, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, December 6: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, December 7: Buffalo Bills at San Francisco 49ers, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 14
Thursday, December 10: New England Patriots at Los Angeles Rams, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Sunday, December 13: Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, December 14: Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 15
Thursday, December 17: Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders, 8:20 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Saturday, December 19: Matchup and Time TBA, NFL Network
Matchup and Time TBA, NFL Network
Sunday, December 20: San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, December 21: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
Week 16
Friday, December 25 (Christmas): Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints, 4:30 PM ET, Fox/NFL Network/Amazon
Saturday, December 26: Matchup and Time TBA, NFL Network
Matchup and Time TBA, NFL Network
Sunday, December 27: Tennessee Titans at Green Bay Packers, 8:20 PM ET, NBC
Monday, December 28: Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN
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