The NFL has released the schedule for the 2020 season. It starts with a playoff rematch between Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans. Meanwhile, Tom Brady starts his time at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a real tough test against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
Week 1 is tough. It starts with the rematch of the dramatic pre-season divisional game between the Chiefs and Texans. The Chiefs had clearly won 51:31 after the Texans were already 24: 0 in the lead.
The Season Kick-Off Game will take place on September 11th (2.20 a.m.CEST). Afterwards on Sunday (September 13th) all eyes will be on high-quality division duels. The highlight is undoubtedly the matchup between the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Drew Brees against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their new superstar Tom Brady in the Superdome.
The first Sunday Night Game will be Los Angeles Rams against the Dallas Cowboys at the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The traditional double header on Monday night will then be played by the New York Giants against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos against the Tennessee Titans.
The regular season ends at week 17 on January 3rd, so the playoffs start on the weekend of January 9th and 10th with the wildcard weekend. Championship Sunday is scheduled for January 24th, while Super Bowl LIV is scheduled for February 7th at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
NFL: Week 1 2020 at a glance
date
Time (CEST)
game
Friday September 11th
2.20 p.m.
Kansas City Chiefs – Houston Texans
Sunday September 13th
19 o’clock
Atlanta Falcons – Seattle Seahawks
Sunday September 13th
19 o’clock
Washington Redskins – Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday September 13th
19 o’clock
New England Patriots – Miami Dolphins
Sunday September 13th
19 o’clock
Minnesota Vikings – Green Bay Packers
Sunday September 13th
19 o’clock
Jacksonville Jaguars – Indianapolis Colts
Sunday September 13th
19 o’clock
Detroit Lions – Chicago Bears
Sunday September 13th
19 o’clock
Buffalo Bills – New York Jets
Sunday September 13th
19 o’clock
Carolina Panthers – Las Vegas Raiders
Sunday September 13th
10:05 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals – Los Angeles Chargers
Sunday September 13th
10:25 p.m.
New Orleans Saints – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday September 13th
10:25 p.m.
San Francisco 49ers – Arizona Cardinals
Monday, September 14th
2.20 p.m.
Los Angeles Rams – Dallas Cowboys
Tuesday September 15th
1.15 a.m.
New York Giants – Pittsburgh Steelers
Tuesday September 15th
4.10 a.m.
Denver Broncos – Tennessee Titans
Contrary to previous speculations, the game plan contains no obvious pitfalls in case the start of the season should change due to the coronavirus pandemic. There are no rumors of the first four weeks without division games because the majority of the teams start with one.
According to media reports, however, the league keeps the option open to push the Super Bowl back if necessary – ESPN even reports that even the postponement by several weeks or even months is in the room.
“We will be prepared to make adjustments if necessary, as we have safely and efficiently conducted key offseason activities such as the Free Agency, virtual offseason programs and the NFL Draft,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement.
The top priority for the NFL is to “protect the health of our fans, players, teams, all league staff and society”.
However, Goodell rumored the teams in a memo on Wednesday did not publicly discuss any postponement scenarios. The route: Everything according to plan, unless the local situation makes emergency plans necessary.
