NFL Schedule Leaks 2020: Piecing Together Slate As It Trickles Out

Will the NFL season begin on time this fall? No one knows that for sure. What we do know, though, is the NFL operating under the assumption it will, and thus, will release its regular-season schedule Thursday night.

The NFL will allow teams to start formally releasing their slates of games Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET ahead of a three-hour made-for-TV bonanza that will go way in-depth previewing games that are six months away. And that’s assuming those games are even played, as the COVID-19 pandemic could affect football in the way it’s already messed with just about every other sport on the planet.

But as the league proved with the draft, the show must go on, so we’ll have a schedule by the end of the night. In fact, we might have a schedule long before then, as leaks have become increasingly prevalent. If you can’t wait for the official release, we’ll be following all of the supposed leaks right here.

6:56 p.m. ET: Cowboys have their Thanksgiving game.

6:46 p.m. ET: More primetime for the Bucs.

6:02 p.m. ET: Brady faces the team that has defeated him twice in the Super Bowl.

5:57 p.m. ET: Brady has his first home game.

5:26 p.m. ET: Gardner Minshew and Jaguars could be ready to go, schedule-wise.

https://twitter.com/LeaksNfl/status/1258508585203429378?s=20

5:07 p.m. ET: Aaron Rodgers will be opening up on the road.

5:05 p.m. ET: Another full schedule has been leaked.

https://twitter.com/LeaksNfl/status/1258503229777809410?s=20

4:59 p.m. ET: Football on a Friday and Christmas Day.

4:58 p.m. ET: Brady-Brees II may have its date.

4:57 p.m. ET: Two of the NFL’s best are set up for primetime.

4:51 p.m. ET: The 2020 NFL season opener appears set in stone.

4:47 p.m. ET: Take this with a grain of salt:

https://twitter.com/LeaksNfl/status/1258496762307846147

4:29 p.m. ET: And here are some more “SNF” details:

https://twitter.com/LeaksNfl/status/1258493733944938503

4:15 p.m. ET: Here are some updates on the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as details for the Week 14 “Sunday Night Football” game:

https://twitter.com/LeaksNfl/status/1258485486315876354

https://twitter.com/LeaksNfl/status/1258486889717399556

3:36 p.m.: So it sounds like the Dolphins’ home opener will be in Week 2, which means it’s all but a certainty the Patriots will host Miami in Week 1.

https://twitter.com/LeaksNfl/status/1258480576195170308

3:20 p.m.: The leak well has dried up a little over the last couple of hours, but here’s some Miami Dolphins info:

1:58 p.m.: A couple of must-see games here.

https://twitter.com/LeaksNfl/status/1258455603913072641

1:50 p.m.: Sounds like the Raiders will open at Carolina, if we’re to believe this report from Vic Tarfur. That also means there’s really no rhyme or reason to the Week 1 games.

1:15 p.m.: Here’s some information on the Packers’ 2020 schedule.

1:08 p.m.: Plenty of loose lips in Buffalo, apparently, as the Bills’ schedule is coming together quickly, as we’re adding a couple of divisional games to the board.

1:03 p.m.: Another Week 1 divisional game, this one in the NFC East.

1 p.m.: More on the Saints’ schedule here:

12:40 p.m.: It looks like we’re going to get plenty of divisional games to open the season. In addition to what we’ve seen regarding Week 1 games, the Packers reportedly will be at home against an NFC North foe in Week 2.

12:35 p.m.: Here’s a good one. According to Saints reporter Nick Underhill, Tom Brady’s first game as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer will come against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. That will be a late-afternoon 4:25 p.m. ET start.

12:28 p.m.: It’s looking more and more like the initial report about early-season interconference games was incorrect. The latest, from the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta, has the Jets opening the season on the road in Buffalo.

It’s just speculating, but maybe the NFL is putting divisional games early in the slate, and if they’re played on time, great. But if the league can’t start the season on time, maybe the early-season divisional games become late-season divisional games. We’ll see.

11:10 a.m.: Here’s a quick update on the Denver Broncos, with Denver once again opening the season in the late “Monday Night Football” game. Also noted here is a trip to Vegas to play the Raiders in November.

11 a.m.: So, someone is wrong — either John Clayton or Chicago radio host Danny Parkins, who tweeted this about the Bears’ reported schedule leaks:

As noted earlier and Wednesday, the original reported thinking was teams would open with interconference games (AFC vs. NFC) to begin the season. Theoretically, that would allow those games to be completely wiped out, if the NFL ran into coronavirus-related problems. If Parkins is correct, however, that’s a bunch of malarkey, as he’s hearing the Bears are opening with a Week 1 game against division rival Detroit.

8:45 a.m. ET: Here’s all we know at the moment:

We’ll update as we know more.

More NFL: Patriots Schedule Leaks — What We Know About New England’s 2020 Season