By Alex Butler
The Philadelphia Eagles received the easiest NFL regular-season schedule this week, based on opponent records from the 2020 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers enter 2021 with the hardest 17-game campaign.
The NFL announced schedules for each of its 32 teams Wednesday night on NFL Network. The 2021 season has an abbreviated preseason, with three games instead of four. Each team will play an additional regular-season game, and the playoff field increased from 12 to 14 teams for 2021.
The Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys in the first game of the regular season at 8:20 p.m. EDT Sept. 9 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The Thursday Night Football matchup airs on NBC.
The Kansas City Chiefs, the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV foe, start their 2021 campaign against the Cleveland Browns at 4:25 p.m. EDT Sept. 12 in Kansas City, Mo.
The Buccaneers and Chiefs are the Top 2 favorites to win Super Bowl LVI. That game is scheduled Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
The Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns are the other Super Bowl favorites.
The Eagles won just four games in 2020. They rank among the teams with the worst odds to win the Super Bowl this season, but they received some help toward winning from the NFL schedule makers.
The Steelers are expected to battle the Ravens and the Browns for the AFC North division title in 2021. They started 11-0 last season, but struggled down the stretch. Those struggles could carry into 2021 as they face tough opponents throughout the year.
Easiest schedules
The Eagles’ opponents in 2021 posted a combined record of 117-155 in 2020. The .430 winning percentage is the lowest any team faces this season.
The Eagles open the season against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 12 in Atlanta, but then face tough opponents in the 49ers, Cowboys and Chiefs. Three of their next four games are against the Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders and Detroit Lions.
Their final six opponents in 2021 went a combined 21-43 last season.
Schedule-makers awarded the Cowboys the second-easiest set of opponents in 2021. Cowboys opponents went 122-148-2 in 2020.
The Cowboys have a tough start against Tom Brady’s Buccaneers, but then face eight-consecutive opponents that posted losing records in 2020.
The Falcons tied for the third-worst record in the NFL in 2020. They received the third-easiest schedule in 2021. The Falcons’ 2021 opponents went a combined 123-148-1 last year.
They host the Eagles in Week 1 and then battle the Buccaneers in Week 2. The schedule gets a bit easier from there, with four of their next five games against teams that posted losing records in 2020.
Top 10 easiest
- Philadelphia Eagles -- Opponents 117-155 in 2020
- Dallas Cowboys -- Opponents 122-148-2 in 2020
- Atlanta Falcons -- Opponents 123-148-1 in 2020
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Opponents 126-145-1 in 2020
- Miami Dolphins -- Opponents 128-144 in 2020
- Denver Broncos -- Opponents 127-143-2 in 2020
- Carolina Panthers -- Opponents 128-143-1 in 2020
- New York Giants -- Opponents 128-142-2 in 2020
- Indianapolis Colts -- Opponents 130-142 in 2020
- Buffalo Bills -- Opponents 130-142 in 2020
Hardest schedules
The Steelers might find it a bit harder to start this season 11-0 like they did last year. They start their 2021 campaign against the Buffalo Bills at 1 p.m. EDT Sept. 12 in Orchard Park, N.Y.
They end the season with a brutal stretch against the Tennessee Titans, Chiefs, Browns and Ravens. Steelers opponents for 2021 went 155-115-2 last year.
The Ravens, who finished 11-5 in 2020, received the second-hardest schedule in 2021. They start the season with a Monday Night Football matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders in Paradise, Nev. They then host the Chiefs and travel to Detroit and Denver for road matchups.
Eight of the Ravens’ final nine opponents won at least eight games in 2020. Ravens opponents this season went 152-118-2 in 2020.
The Bears have the third-hardest schedule in 2021. They open the season with a road game against the Los Angeles Chargers at 8:20 p.m. EDT in Inglewood. They have a brutal midseason stretch with consecutive games against the Packers, Buccaneers, 49ers, Steelers and Ravens.
Top 10 hardest
- Pittsburgh Steelers -- Opponents 155-115-2 in 2020
- Baltimorem Ravens -- Opponents 152-118-2 in 2020
- Chicago Bears -- Opponents 149-122-1 in 2020
- Green Bay Packers -- Opponents 147-124-1 in 2020
- Minnesota Vikings -- Opponents 144-127-1 in 2020
- Cincinnati Bengals -- Opponents 144-128 in 2020
- Detroit Lions -- Opponents 143-127-2 in 2020
- Las Vegas Raiders -- Opponents 142-128-2 in 2020
- Cleveland Browns -- Opponents 140-130-2 in 2020
- Los Angeles Rams -- Opponents 140-132 in 2020
Intriguing QB matchups
The 2021 season features several intriguing quarterback matchups. Tom Brady and Dak Prescott face-off in the first NFL game of the year.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, likely makes his debut against the Houston Texans at 1 p.m. EDT Sept. 12 in Houston.
Off-season acquisition Carson Wentz and the Indianapolis Colts face Russell Wilson’s Seattle Seahawks at 1 p.m. EDT Sept. 12 in Indianapolis.
Jared Goff debuts for the Detroit Lions against the San Francisco 49ers in another 1 p.m. EDT matchup on Sept. 12 in Detroit.
Sam Darnold faces his former team when the Carolina Panthers host the New York Jets in Week 1 in Charlotte, N.C. Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns take on Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of their postseason clash in another Week 1 matchup.
Mahomes faces Lamar Jackson’s Ravens in Week 2, Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills in Week 5 and Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers in Week 9.
Rodgers faces Wilson’s Seahawks in Week 10 and Jackson’s Ravens in Week 15.
Lawrence and the Jaguars battle Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4 in a matchup between the last two top NFL Draft picks. Lawrence is expected to face Zach Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and the Jets in Week 16.
Brady returns to face his former team, the New England Patriots, at 8:20 p.m. EDT Oct. 3 in Foxborough, Mass.
Goff and Stafford, who were traded for each other this off-season, matchup in Week 7 when the Los Angeles Rams host the Lions.
Week 1 NFL schedule
Sept. 9
On NBC
Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8:20 p.m. EDT
Sept. 12
On CBS
Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills at 1 p.m. EDT
New York Jets at Carolina Panthers at 1 p.m. EDT
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans at 1 p.m. EDT
Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans at 1 p.m. EDT
Los Angeles Chargers at Washington Football Team at 1 p.m. EDT
On Fox
Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals at 1 p.m. EDT
San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions at 1 p.m. EDT
Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons at 1 p.m. EDT
Seattle Seahawks at Indianapolis Colts at 1 p.m. EDT
On CBS
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots at 4:25 p.m. EDT
Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs at 4:25 p.m. EDT
On Fox
Denver Broncos at New York Giants at 4:25 p.m. EDT
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints at 4:25 p.m. EDT
On NBC
Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams at 8:20 p.m. EDT
Sept. 13
On ESPN
Baltimore Ravens at Las Vegas Raiders at 8:15 p.m. EDT