What does an 18-game schedule look like?

[Dirk]

With the NFL inching its way to an 18-game schedule, what do you think it looks like:

6 games with divisional opponents
4 games each with 2 intra-conference divisions (8 games total)
4 games with 1 inter-conference division

or something else?

[Citizen]

That's close to how I envision it working out best, which is:

· Six games within their own division (home-and-home);

· Four games each against one NFC division and one AFC division;

· One game each against teams in its conference’s other two divisions; and

· One game each against teams in two divisions in the opposite conference.

So, six division games, six other games within the conference, six interconference games.

Then comes what might be the stickiest wicket: Scheduling games so that the season doesn't stretch into March. They might have to look at a staggered schedule where teams play between every five and eight days, with two bye weeks. That would strip Sunday of its significance, and would probably mean NFL football every day of the week, but I'm sure the league wouldn't mind that.

[Jay Z]

With the NFL inching its way to an 18-game schedule, what do you think it looks like:

6 games with divisional opponents
4 games each with 2 intra-conference divisions (8 games total)
4 games with 1 inter-conference division

or something else?

The intera-conference would go to 4-2-2 I think, not 4-4-0. Because at 16 they were 4-1-1.

[ChrisBabcock]

Then comes what might be the stickiest wicket: Scheduling games so that the season doesn't stretch into March. They might have to look at a staggered schedule where teams play between every five and eight days, with two bye weeks. That would strip Sunday of its significance, and would probably mean NFL football every day of the week, but I'm sure the league wouldn't mind that.

Go back to playing on Labor Day weekend.

[sheajets]

I absolutely loved that and it made so much sense. Week 1 you can enjoy the 1st Sunday of football and not have to go into work the next day

[sluggermatt15]

That's close to how I envision it working out best, which is:

· Six games within their own division (home-and-home);

· Four games each against one NFC division and one AFC division;

· One game each against teams in its conference’s other two divisions; and

· One game each against teams in two divisions in the opposite conference.

So, six division games, six other games within the conference, six interconference games.

Then comes what might be the stickiest wicket: Scheduling games so that the season doesn't stretch into March. They might have to look at a staggered schedule where teams play between every five and eight days, with two bye weeks. That would strip Sunday of its significance, and would probably mean NFL football every day of the week, but I'm sure the league wouldn't mind that.

Won't ever happen. The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 bars the NFL from playing games on Fridays and Saturdays from the second weekend of September thru the second weekend of December due to anti-trust concerns.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/127 ... d-football

Why did the Dolphins and Jets play on Black Friday last year? Because there is an exemption there can be national NFL broadcasts if there are no high school or college football games within 75 miles of the NFL game during the period mentioned above, if played on a Friday or Saturday.