The 2024 NFL schedule release finally happened Wednesday night, so everyone is pouring over the key games, the fantasy implications for bye weeks, the Week 1 betting lines and so much more.
Before heading to the NFL betting sites for the upcoming season, we wanted to share our top 5 takeaways too, because this can be a special season with the Chiefs trying to pull off a historic 3-peat of Super Bowl wins. Their schedule, and what the NFL decided to do with a Christmas doubleheader, could have a huge impact on the story of the 2024 NFL season.
1. The Kansas City 3-Peat Is Within Reach for the Chiefs
Love them or hate them, the Kansas City Chiefs are the focal point of the NFL these days. They have the best coach, the best player, the best tight end and their seasons are usually the most entertaining to watch with some of the best and most important games of the year.
This season, the Chiefs can make history by becoming the 1st team to win 3 straight Super Bowls, so the 3-peat is the top story going into the 2024 NFL season. That means the Chiefs are the 1st team we had to scan the 2024 NFL schedule release for, and it is a significant slate with key games against top Super Bowl LIX contenders like Baltimore, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Buffalo and Houston.
The good news for the Chiefs is these games have solid schedule separation, meaning they won’t run into a month straight of contenders like that. There are other reasons to like the placement of these games on the schedule too if you’re a Kansas City fan.
The Chiefs open the season with Baltimore on Thursday night. You want to think both teams will be at their healthiest for Week 1, but the Chiefs obviously lost in this spot to Detroit last year in a game where Travis Kelce (injured) and Chris Jones (contract holdout) did not play, so you never know.
Ravens TE Isaiah Likely on facing the Chiefs in 2024
“Wherever they match up on that schedule, we’re gonna be there…Last time they had us as underdogs, we were playing San Fran, and you see what happened…we’re gonna come 10 toes, ready for everything” pic.twitter.com/7cVQPo6s1K
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) May 9, 2024
Still, in theory, this will be the freshest all season that Derrick Henry feels for the Ravens, and you know he’s going to get the ball often after the Ravens were slammed for 6 running back handoffs in their 17-10 AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs.
However, even if the Ravens run wild with Henry and Lamar Jackson and win in Week 1, that could be some good fool’s gold to set up for a January rematch if the Ravens think that can work again. After a season of expected wear and tear, Henry, who will be 31 years old come playoff time, may be slowing down and teams will get wise to this running attack and be better prepared for it. Henry hasn’t had a dominant playoff game since he ran wild on the 2019 Ravens 5 years ago.
So, win or lose in Week 1, the Chiefs shouldn’t be too worried about the Ravens unless Jackson beats them with his arm in their building. Then we could be talking about a different type of challenge from the Ravens that can hurt the Chiefs in the postseason.
It’s hard to see the Chiefs losing at home to the Ravens and Bengals to start the season. They should get at least one of those games in the win bucket. As for their big NFC game, Patrick Mahomes is 4-0 against the 49ers. That team has to find a way to beat him, and they get their next shot in Week 7 at home in a Super Bowl rematch. Yet, the Chiefs will be coming off their bye week, and we know Andy Reid has a great record after byes, so that’s not a bad spot for the Chiefs in that game.
The Chiefs will be in Buffalo in Week 11. The Bills have beaten the Chiefs in 3 straight regular seasons but are still 0-2 in the playoffs in that time. The Bills also have tougher competition in the division this year and have to show they can still get it done without Stefon Diggs.
In Week 16, the Chiefs will host Houston, meaning their 1st look at C.J. Stroud and the latest contender in the AFC to challenge Kansas City’s dynasty. That should be a fun one that could decide everything from the top seed to even the MVP award as an early Saturday afternoon game the nation will be watching. The Chiefs are then in Pittsburgh and Denver to end the season.
This team showed last year it can still win a Super Bowl even from the No. 3 seed and having to play on the road in back-to-back weeks in the playoffs. It showed this team can lose 4 games in the regular season to playoff teams and still finish on top.
There is nothing about Kansas City’s schedule that feels too daunting to overcome. In fact, this could be the team’s strongest year yet in the Mahomes era if the defense stays near the top of the league and the offense gets back to where it was before 2023.
That should be a scary thought for the rest of the league. However, a handful of contenders have their chances in the regular season to try to derail the Chiefs from chasing history.
Alas, there is one concern we have for the Chiefs’ schedule and it relates to the placement of their bye week. Still, that is something we’ll cover in our next takeaway as it is a big story this season that relates to 2 other major AFC contenders.
2. Is the NFL Using Christmas Week as a Playoff Preview?
One of the most interesting parts of the 2024 NFL schedule release was to see what the league would do with the 2 games slated for streaming on Netflix on Christmas Day, which is a Wednesday this year.
You can’t make teams play on Sunday and play again on Wednesday, so they were going to have to make those teams play on Saturday for this to be feasible. However, that would still lead to these 4 Christmas Day teams playing 3 games in 10 days when you have a game on Sunday the 15th, Saturday the 21st and Wednesday the 25th.
Who should be the guinea pigs for this? Sure, you want some attractive teams and games to maximize viewers on the holiday, but I did not expect the league would pick arguably the top 3 Super Bowl contenders in the AFC for this late-season experiment in the Chiefs, Ravens and Texans.
- In Week 16, the Chiefs will host the Texans on Saturday, December 21.
- Just 4 days later, the Chiefs will be in Pittsburgh for Christmas to play the Steelers on Wednesday.
- Meanwhile, the Ravens will play the Steelers at home on Saturday, December 21 after the Chiefs-Texans game is over, and then the Ravens will be in Houston to face the Texans on Christmas.
That is 3 games in 10 days for the Chiefs, Ravens, Texans and Steelers. Yes, will have a say in how this shakes out, but if we’re being serious, they are not a Super Bowl contender on the same level as those other teams this year.
“That is the toughest schedule I have ever seen, Thanksgiving on, in league history.”
— @ColinCowherd sends a warning to the Pittsburgh Steelers pic.twitter.com/X7NYbAm2A5
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 16, 2024
These games could easily decide the No. 1 seed if these teams have the seasons they are capable of having, and since these are national games, they could even decide an MVP winner between Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and C.J. Stroud.
It almost feels like the NFL wanted to make this a mini-playoff preview with these hugely important AFC games in these national windows during Christmas week. Still, while the stakes could be huge for a team that goes 2-0 in these games, consider the negative consequences of that.
They won’t play again until January 5, 2025, in Week 18. If they locked up the No. 1 seed from these games, they might rest starters that week, rest for the wild card weekend when they have the bye and by the time we see them again on divisional round weekend, it could be 24 or 25 days since some of those starters played on Christmas.
That feels entirely too long and dangerous for a successful playoff run. That has “came out rusty and tried to play from behind all day” one-and-done disappointment written all over it.
Still, imagine if you blow these games by going 0-2, or if the Chiefs lost to the Texans, then Houston beat Baltimore at home. Maybe the Texans get the No. 1 seed in that scenario. However, for Kansas City, this is the one area where the schedule is a concern relative to their peers.
The Chiefs have an early bye in Week 6 while the Ravens and Texans both get a late bye in Week 14. That means the Ravens and Texans could be better rested for this important stretch, so if the Chiefs don’t come through with a No. 1 seed this year, they may need to play all the way through the final 15 weeks of the season just to get that bye week of rest before the Super Bowl.
If you watched the Chiefs last year, you knew it was important to rest starters in Week 18 to get healthy for the playoffs. Kelce especially needed it, and he’ll be 35 this season. Granted, the Chiefs accomplished that as a No. 3 seed, and maybe they can do the same thing this year in Week 18 if they are locked into their seed again. However, that early bye week compared to the Ravens and Texans could prove significant.
Of course, take care of business in the games and you control your own destiny. Yet, this experiment of asking some of the expected best teams in the league this year to play 3 games in 10 days late in the season sure feels like a big risk by the NFL to potentially damage the quality of the postseason for a bump in viewership late in the regular season.
You would have thought Texans-Chiefs could have been a perfect Sunday Night Football game for NBC in Week 16, billed as Stroud vs. Mahomes with potentially the No. 1 seed and MVP on the line. Ditto for Ravens-Texans, a playoff rematch, in Week 17. That could have been one of those big 4:25 p.m. games on CBS.
Instead, we’re getting a Saturday-Wednesday afternoon split with what could be the most important games in the entire regular season. I am not a fan of this at all. I would have been content with eating Christmas dinner while watching Daniel Jones take 6 sacks against the Cowboys on Netflix.
3. The NFL Is Really Counting on Aaron Rodgers To Be Healthy and Great
Remember when the NFL put the Jets in prime time in 4 of the first 10 games last season because of Aaron Rodgers? Then he tore his Achilles just 4 snaps into opening night and we got stuck watching Zach Wilson?
Well, the NFL is risking it again, because the Jets will be in prime time for 6 of their first 11 games this season, reportedly a single-season record. There is also a 7th island game in that stretch as the Jets will be in London for a 9:30 a.m. kickoff:
- Week 1 at 49ers (MNF)
- Week 3 vs. Patriots (TNF)
- Week 5 vs. Vikings (London)
- Week 6 vs. Bills (MNF)
- Week 7 at Steelers (SNF)
- Week 9 vs. Texans (TNF)
- Week 11 vs. Colts (SNF)
That is a lot of faith that a 40-year-old quarterback coming off a torn Achilles who hasn’t played great since the 2021 season is going to have the New York Jets looking like a contender. Not to mention those are 5 opponents that had a winning record last year.
Do we just recycle all of our 2023 offseason content on the Jets like “well, if Rodgers can win back-to-back MVPs in a Nathaniel Hackett offense in Green Bay, surely…” and act like nothing’s changed?
Then the gall to put him right back out there on Monday night in San Francisco in Week 1. Are we trying to recreate what happened last year? If that doesn’t work, there’s always Week 6 when he’ll be at home against Buffalo on another Monday night just like last year.
This has big success or huge disaster (again) written all over it. The good news is at least we won’t have to watch Zach Wilson this time. The Jets traded him to Denver.
4. The 2024 NFL Schedule Favors a Long NFC East Streak To Continue
One of the wildest active streaks in the NFL is that no team has repeated as NFC East champions since the Eagles did it in 2001-04. Every other division in that time has had at least 2 teams repeat as champs.
It looked like the Eagles were going to end the drought last year when they started 10-1, but they collapsed in a big way and finished 11-6. Meanwhile, Dallas finished 12-5 for the 3rd season in a row and came back to win the NFC East in 2023.
Congrats Cowboys – my postgame interview with Dallas’ Brandon Cooks following their big win in week 18 to win the NFC East and lock up NFC 2 seed.
Definitely listen to what he has to say about CeeDee Lamb at the end. @NFLMedia @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/6qNHmVcuzP
— Sherree Burruss (@SherreeBurruss) January 8, 2024
A key turning point in that race was when the Cowboys blasted the Eagles 33-13 in a Week 14 rematch in Dallas. When the teams met in Philadelphia in Week 9, the Cowboys came up short in the red zone in a 28-23 loss. When they met again in Dallas, it was like night and day, and the Eagles were on their slide before a full collapse in the playoffs.
However, it is a dead heat between the Eagles and Cowboys in the odds to win the NFC East in 2024 with both at +120 at BetOnline (check our BetOnline Review). The Eagles had a superior offseason by adding top coordinators (Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio) and another well-received draft haul by adding to the secondary with corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. They also acquired Saquon Barkley for the backfield.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys lost their stud defensive coordinator (Dan Quinn), they let Tony Pollard go and did little to upgrade the backfield, and their biggest free-agent addition was veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks. A ho-hum offseason to say the least.
Still, the 2024 NFL schedule release is the final kicker to start backing the Eagles for the NFC East this year.
- The Eagles have to play the Packers (Cowboys do not), but the game is in Week 1, and it will be on a neutral field in Brazil. That’s better than going to Lambeau Field in December.
- Philadelphia plays Jacksonville while the Cowboys get a Super Bowl contender in Houston in the team’s 5th AFC game.
- The Eagles don’t have to play the 49ers at all while the Cowboys, who really struggle with that team, will be in San Francisco again in Week 8.
- The Eagles get Kirk Cousins at home on a Monday night (his kryptonite) in Week 2 while the Cowboys are going to Atlanta in Week 9.
- The Cowboys play Baltimore in Week 3 while the Eagles won’t see them until December, and maybe by that time, Derrick Henry will be getting worn down after leading the league in carries in 4 of the last 5 seasons.
However, the best part is the Eagles get the Dallas rematch in Philadelphia in Week 17, a potential division title game. The home team has won each meeting in the last 2 years, and the Cowboys were the team that got the rematch at home late in the season. This time it’s the Eagles who will be home.
The Eagles’ last 3 games are all NFC East games with very winnable games against the Commanders and Giants sandwiching that Dallas game, so they have a chance to finish strong this year and take the division, reversing last year’s collapse.
A Philadelphia division title would also keep the streak going of no repeat winners in the NFC East since 2004.
5. It’s Getting Expensive To Watch a Full NFL Season
Finally, it was impossible not to notice this year just how expensive it is to watch an entire NFL season. When the annual list of the most-watched shows on television is dominated by NFL games, it was only a matter of time before the streamers bought into getting exclusive games on their platforms.
Last year was really a test run with the NFL debuting a playoff game, the AFC wild card between Miami and Kansas City, on the streaming service Peacock. Apparently, it went well enough as Week 1 will feature a Friday game on Peacock between the Eagles and Packers that will be played in Brazil. Chances are the playoff game on Peacock will also return.
The other big change this year will be the addition of 2 NFL games on Christmas Day on Netflix. However, the weirdest part about that is they are on a Wednesday, and they are very important games between the Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Texans as we highlighted above. A lot of people have a Netflix account, but for those who don’t, you might have to splurge for the holiday season for a month of access to check out those important AFC games.
In all, these are the networks and streaming services you will likely have to have access to if you want to see every NFL game or at least every island game in the 2024 NFL season:
- CBS (Sunday regional coverage)
- FOX (Sunday regional coverage)
- NBC (Sunday Night Football)
- ABC (Monday Night Football)
- ESPN/ESPN+ (Monday Night Football)
- NFL Network (select Saturday games and international games)
- Netflix (Christmas Day doubleheader)
- Amazon Prime Video (Thursday Night Football)
- Peacock (Week 1 Packers-Eagles, possible wild card playoff game)
How close are we to the NFL going full WWF-era Vince McMahon and charging an outrageous price for the Super Bowl on pay-per-view? They know millions will buy it regardless of the price tag.
We are hooked on the NFL.
