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NFL schedule release: Breaking down the big games, Eagles’ NFC East implications

Every team has the same bye week as its opponent in Week 2, meaning a rescheduled game could be moved to an originally scheduled down week.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs shakes hands with quarterback Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens in December 2018.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs shakes hands with quarterback Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens in December 2018.Read moreJamie Squire / MCT

Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes will be at the center of the inaugural regular-season game of the 2020 NFL season, the league announced, along with the entire schedule, on Thursday night. The Chiefs will host the Houston Texans on Sept. 10.

NFL leaders seem confident about the possibility of the season starting on time, even though the majority of states are still enforcing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. Roughly half of the Week 1 games are against division opponents, even though some suggested interconference games would load the front of the schedule because they’d be easier to postpone.

There are some fail safes, though. Every team has the same bye week as its opponent in Week 2, meaning a rescheduled game could be moved to an originally scheduled down week. According to an ESPN report, the league would reschedule postponed games after Week 17 otherwise.

The New York Giants will kick off Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 14, preceding a Tennessee Titans-Denver Broncos nightcap.

Tom Brady will make his regular-season debut as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer on Sept. 13 against the only other starting quarterback past his 40th birthday, as the Bucs are set to face Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome.

Cowboys start ‘Sunday Night Football’

The Cowboys will travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams for the first installment of Sunday Night Football in Week 1. It will be the Rams’ first game in the newly constructed SoFi Stadium.

It’s the first of five prime-time games the Cowboys are scheduled to play, including a Sunday night matchup against the Eagles in Week 8. Unlike the Eagles, Dallas has some time before preparing for an NFC East matchup, with the first division game scheduled against the Giants in Week 4. It will also be the Giants’ first division game.

Dallas’ turn on Monday Night Football will come against emerging quarterback Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium in Week 6. The Cowboys will play the Ravens in Week 13 on Thursday Night Football and the 49ers in Week 15 on Sunday night.

To the Eagles’ slight benefit, Dallas will host Washington on a short week on Week 12 for a Thanksgiving Day game. Coming out flat could jeopardize the Cowboys’ division record in a tiebreaker situation.

Mahomes vs. Jackson set

There won’t be a Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and 49ers this regular season, but we will get to see two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL face off in Week 3. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will head to Baltimore to play Lamar Jackson’s Ravens on Monday night. It will be the third matchup between the two signal callers with MVPs to their names, and Mahomes has a 2-0 advantage so far.

Mahomes will see Brady, too, with the Chiefs and Buccaneers slated to play in Week 12 in Tampa Bay.

NFC East implications

The Giants are the lone team in the NFC East to have two Monday Night Football games, with Washington not having any. Their second Monday night game, in Week 8, could hurt their division record, as they’ll get Washington on short rest the following week.

While New York has some time before its NFC East opener against the Cowboys in Week 4, it could actually become a moot point. If the season is postponed, it could mean the Giants and Cowboys have the earlier division games while the Eagles’ Week 1 matchup with Washington gets rescheduled at the end of the season.