OK, OK, so the NFL schedule technically isn’t released until Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET, but chances are pretty good we’ll know a lot of the slate before the primetime bonanza can even begin.
The NFL is so big and so popular at this point that something as mundane as releasing the schedule has become a big event. But in recent years, intrepid reporters across the gridiron landscape have been able to secure certain dates before the calendar formally goes live.
This year likely will be no different, so we’ll be keeping tabs of the leaks as they happen so you can find something else to do with your life on a Wednesday night.
1:48 p.m.:Â This should be a good one, especially after their clash last season. Dallas and New Orleans will reportedly tangle in Week 4 on “Sunday Night Football.”
1:45 p.m.: You didn’t forget about Jimmy Garoppolo, did you? The 49ers will reportedly open their season — and Jimmy G’s comeback tour — on the road at Tampa Bay a couple of weeks before hosting Pittsburgh.
1:20 p.m.:Â And now we have the New York Giants’ schedule, too.
1:09 p.m.: The AFC East and North will do battle this season, including this Browns-Dolphins matchup in Cleveland.
12:29 p.m.: The Brian Flores era in Miami begins at home against Lamar Jackson, apparently.
Noon:Â And the entire Jets’ schedule is out.
11:58 a.m.: More on the Patriots’ schedule.
11:50 a.m.: And here’s this one, too:
11:48 a.m.: The Patriots will get some very early looks at the revamped AFC East in the first month of the season, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.
11:40 a.m.: The Patriots will play plenty of primetime games this season, according to The Athletic’s Nick Underhill.
11:30 a.m.: It appears we finally know the Patriots’ Week 1 opponent: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
11:11 a.m.: The Green Bay Packers’ schedule is coming into focus, too. We already know they’ll play at Chicago in Week 1, and they’ll be at home for the Broncos in Week 3 while also hosting Carolina in mid-November.
11:08 a.m.: Here’s one from Tuesday night where we learned the Bears and Lions are expected to once again meet on Thanksgiving.
11 a.m. ET: Not a leak, but we do know the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs will head to Mexico in Week 11, an AFC West matchup that highlights the NFL’s international slate that the league just released.
That Bears-Raiders matchup in London has some potential to be pretty interesting, too, given the Raiders’ offseason and the trade last year that sent Khalil Mack to Chicago.
