Chiefs hit with bizarre scheduling quirk not seen in 97 years
There are always some crazy quirks when it comes to the NFL schedule, but this year is wilder than ever: One team will play on six different days of the week, a division rivalry will only be played on Thursdays, and two teams won't play a single division game until Week 11.
It almost seems like the NFL scheduling department went out of its way to add as many quirks as possible to this year's slate of games.
So who got the craziest quirks? That's a great question, so let's find out.
Here are 16 of the weirdest quirks on the 2024 NFL schedule, starting with the Chiefs, who got a quirk that the NFL hasn't seen in 97 years.
Chiefs will be playing on six different days of the week The Chiefs have a schedule that no team has gotten in 97 years. With games on both Black Friday and Christmas, Kansas City will be playing on six different days this year. The only day they won't be playing is Tuesday, making them the first team in 97 years to play on six different days of the week. Back in 1927, the New York Yankees played on every day except for Monday.
Cowboys and Giants to make history The NFC East rivals will play each other twice in 2024, both on a Thursday. This is notable because it's only happened twice in the past 98 years. The Lions and Packers played two Thursday games in 2023, and before that, you have to go back to 1926 when the Chicago Cardinals and Chicago Bears did the same.
CBS scores NFC East showdown for the first time in three decades The Cowboys and Eagles will play in Week 10 in a game televised by CBS. The two teams would normally play on Fox, but the NFL scrapped conference affiliations for games starting in 2022, allowing CBS to broadcast a Philly-Dallas game for the first time since 1993.
Bears and Steelers set to make history Both the Bears and Steelers won't play their first divisional opponent until Week 11, the latest in NFL history. The previous record belonged to the Falcons, who didn't play their first divisional opponent until Week 10 in 2019.
Jets are going primetime Aaron Rodgers' team has been given six prime-time games over the first 11 weeks, marking the first time in NFL history that a team has had that many night games over the first 11 weeks. They also have a Week 5 game in London, meaning they'll have seven standalone games before Thanksgiving.
London is calling For the second straight season, the Jaguars will head to London for back-to-back games. They're still the only team in NFL history to do this. They did it last year and went 2-0. This season, they'll be the visiting team against the Bears in Week 6 before playing as the home team against the Patriots in Week 7.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good Wednesday With Christmas falling on a Wednesday, this marks just the third time in the past 76 years that the NFL has held a game on a Wednesday. The Christmas doubleheader featuring Chiefs at Steelers and Ravens at Texans will also mark the first time since 1936 that the NFL has held two games on a Wednesday.
Netflix has decided to join the NFL party The two Christmas games will be held on Netflix, marking the first time the streaming company has won the rights to an NFL game. Last season, CBS, Fox, and ABC all got a Christmas game, but this year, the NFL put the games up for bid, and Netflix came out on top.
Home sweet home for Eagles Philadelphia will play four of its final five games at home, which is almost unheard of for the Eagles. The last time this happened for Philly was in 1951. Their only road game in that span will be against the Commanders in Week 16.
Bears will get a taste of the south to start the season The Bears will kick off the season with three straight games against the AFC South, the first time in 25 years that Chicago has opened the year with three straight AFC teams. Back in 1999, the Bears went 1-2 to start the season against the AFC West.
Rough road to start the season Four teams will play their first two games on the road: the Steelers, Jets, Rams, and Raiders. The Raiders must have upset someone in the NFL scheduling department because this is the second straight year Las Vegas will start the season with back-to-back road games.
Rough road to end the season Five teams will close out the season with two straight road games: the Panthers, Chiefs, Chargers, Dolphins, and Seahawks. The Panthers are the only team that has to close the season with two straight road games against a divisional opponent.
Bye, bye, bye to the 49ers The 49ers are facing four teams that will be coming off a bye this year, the most in the NFL. This isn't ideal since those teams will get extra rest and preparation time before playing them. The 49ers have a -22 rest differential, the third-worst number for any team over the past 22 years, according to ESPN.
Ravens will be well rested for their games CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported that the Ravens aren't happy with their schedule, which is odd because they have one huge advantage: rest. The Ravens have a +16 rest differential, meaning they'll get a total of 16 extra rest days compared to their opponents. This is the highest number for any team since the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002.
Only one team got shut out of primetime The Carolina Panthers didn't land a single night game, but they did get one standalone game. They'll play in Germany against the Giants in Week 10.
Extra long road trip The Bills, Browns, Bears, and Vikings all have to play three consecutive road games this year. NFL teams that have had a three-game road trip are a combined 30-30 on those trips since 2018, but it's been ugly over the last two seasons with nine teams going a combined 8-19 on their three-game trips.
The Lions have a nice scheduling quirk They'll play almost zero outdoor games over the first 15 weeks. From Week 1 through Week 15, the Lions will play 13 of their 14 games indoors. Their only outdoor game will be in Week 9 against the Packers.
Hopefully, you can impress all your friends this weekend with your quirky knowledge of the NFL schedule.
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| POLL | ||
19 MAI | 59 ANSWERS Chiefs hit with bizarre scheduling quirk not seen in 97 years Do you think the NFL scheduling quirks make the season more exciting? | ||
| Yes | 32 | 54.2 % |
| No | 27 | 45.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
