The NFL released its full 2021 schedule Wednesday night. It’s the first 17-game regular season in league history, and NFL leaders intend for it to represent a return to normalcy after last season’s schedule sometimes proved to be more of a suggestion than a firm commitment.
Last season, the NFL managed to play a complete 256-game regular season, with several games postponed but none canceled. Two rescheduled games were played on Tuesdays, and another was played on a Wednesday. With a Christmas Day game on a Friday and late-season Saturday games, the 2020 regular season featured games being played on all seven days of the week. The San Francisco 49ers had to relocate to Arizona late in the season. Last season’s schedule was designed with such pandemic-related uncertainty in mind.
This time around, the NFL hopes games will be played as originally scheduled and the season is all about on-field issues and exploits rather than about protocols and contingencies. Owners of the 32 NFL teams voted in late March to implement the 17-game regular season — accompanied by a three-game preseason — beginning this fall, which their labor agreement with the NFLPA empowered them to do. The regular season begins Sept. 9 and concludes Jan. 9 with Week 18.
Here, then, are the 15 can’t-miss games on the 2021 schedule:
1. Buccaneers at Patriots, Oct. 3 at 8:20 p.m. Eastern time. Tom Brady makes his return to New England, one season after he left the Patriots in free agency following two decades and six Super Bowl titles, in a Sunday night matchup that promises to be the most intriguing game of the regular season. The Patriots rebuilt their roster with an uncharacteristic free agent spending spree and a highly promising NFL draft after they missed the playoffs last season, while Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl triumph.
2. Packers at Chiefs, Nov. 7 at 4:25 p.m. This is supposed to be the headline matchup of the additional 2021 pairings created by the NFL’s expansion to a 17-game regular season. But will it be Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes? Or Jordan Love vs. Patrick Mahomes? Rodgers’s standoff with the Packers threatens to remove much of the luster from one of the marquee games of the season.
3. Bills at Chiefs, Oct. 10 at 8:20 p.m. The rematch of last season’s AFC championship game comes after the Chiefs overhauled their offensive line during the offseason while the Bills attempted to upgrade their pass rush via the NFL draft.
4. Cowboys at Buccaneers, Sept. 9 at 8:20 p.m. The Buccaneers begin the defense of their Super Bowl title in the NFL’s season-opening game on a Thursday night. It’s a glitzy matchup, with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott set to make his return from the ankle injury that cut short his 2020 season. He has a new four-year, $160 million contract, and the Cowboys’ hopes of having any success in Year 2 under Coach Mike McCarthy are tied to Prescott having a Pro Bowl-caliber season.
5. Jaguars at Texans, Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. Urban Meyer coaches his first NFL game. Prized rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence makes his debut. Maybe, just maybe, Tim Tebow plays in his comeback game. The Jaguars should be interesting, even if they’re not good. The Texans open their season, perhaps without Deshaun Watson at quarterback. Tyrod Taylor presumably would be the starter if Watson is traded or ineligible to play.
6. Packers at Saints, Sept. 12 at 4:25 p.m. The Packers open their season — maybe with Rodgers at quarterback, maybe not. If Rodgers retires or ends up with another team because of his stalemate with the Packers, this might be Love’s first NFL start.
7. Broncos at Chiefs, Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. Could this be Rodgers vs. Mahomes? Denver continues to be mentioned prominently as a possible trade destination for Rodgers if the Packers blink first in the stare-down and deal him.
8. Bills at Saints, Nov. 25 at 8:20 p.m. The Saints host the Thanksgiving night game after Bears-Lions and Raiders-Cowboys matchups earlier in the day. It will be interesting to see whether Coach Sean Payton will be able to keep the Saints in contention by this point in the first season after quarterback Drew Brees’s retirement, with Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill taking over as the starter.
9. Jets-Falcons in London, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m. The NFL resumes play overseas after suspending its international play in the 2020 season because of coronavirus concerns. There are games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on consecutive Sundays in October — Jets-Falcons in Week 5 on Oct. 10 and Dolphins-Jaguars in Week 6 on Oct. 17. The league did not schedule a game in Mexico in 2021. The NFL plans to play four international games per season beginning in 2022 as part of the resolution ratified by the owners on the 17-game season.
10. Jaguars at Jets, Dec. 26 at 1 p.m. The top two selections in the NFL draft square off, with Lawrence’s Jaguars facing Zach Wilson’s Jets.
11. Buccaneers at Rams, Sept. 26 at 4:25 p.m. The Rams, after trading for quarterback Matthew Stafford this offseason, attempt to challenge Brady and the Buccaneers for NFC supremacy.
12. Bills at Buccaneers, Dec. 12 at 4:25 p.m. If both teams play up to expectations, this will be regarded as a potential Super Bowl preview.
13. Packers at 49ers, Sept. 26 at 8:20 p.m. The 49ers inquired about Rodgers on the eve of the NFL draft and then, after being rebuffed, used the third overall choice on draft night on quarterback Trey Lance. It could be Lance or it could be Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback for the 49ers in this rematch of the first of the two straight NFC title games lost by Rodgers and the Packers.
14. Chiefs at Ravens, Sept. 19 at 8:20 p.m. Mahomes faces Lamar Jackson in a quarterback matchup of former league MVPs.
15. Browns at Packers, Dec. 25 at 4:30 p.m. The Browns were one of the league’s top success stories last season. Kevin Stefanski, their first-year coach, led them to the postseason and even won an AFC playoff game from his basement. Expectations will be raised now, and the Browns must hope that their Christmas Day game at Lambeau Field has major playoff implications.
