NFL 17-game schedule: Here’s how the complicated scheduling formula will work with the extra game
The following written content by John Breech
For the first time in 43 years, the NFL is going to be expanding its regular season schedule and that’s happening because the league’s 32 owners voted on Tuesday to go from 16 to 17 games starting with the 2021 season.
The NFL formula worked perfect when the league only needed 32 teams to play 16 games, but now that there’s an odd number of games on the schedule, the league had to add a slightly complicated tweak to its scheduling formula this week so here’s a look at the new formula with the changes for the extra game in italics.
- Home and away against three divisional opponents (six games)
- The four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle (four games). This is why the NFC West is facing the NFC North in 2021.
- The four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle (four games). This is why the NFC West is facing the AFC South in 2021.
- Two intraconference games based on the prior year’s standings (two games). These games match a first-place team against the first-place teams in the two same-conference divisions the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place and fourth-place teams in a conference are matched in the same way each year. This is why the last-place 49ers are playing the last-place Falcons and last-place Eagles in 2021.
- One interconference game based on the prior year’s standings on a rotating four-year cycle (one game). These games match a first-place team from one division against a first-place team in an opposite conference division that the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place and fourth-place teams in each division are matched in the same way each year. The home conference for this game will rotate each season. Read more from CBS Sports.
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