The 2016 NFL season will begin as the last one ended.
The NFL announced its 2016 regular season schedule on Thursday, with the defending Super Bowl champion Broncos hosting the Panthers in the annual Kickoff Game on NBC. It will be the first Super Bowl rematch to open the season since the Kickoff Game began in 2002, and the first in Week 1 since 1970.
Three nights after the rematch, NBC’s Sunday Night Football debuts with the teams Denver and Carolina defeated in last season’s conference championship games — the Patriots and Cardinals. Week 1 also includes the Giants/Cowboys rivalry on FOX and the debut of the reincarnated Los Angeles Rams (albeit on the road) on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
The revamped Thursday Night Football schedule begins in Week 2 with Jets/Bills on CBS and NFL Network. CBS will air additional games in Week 3 and Weeks 5-7, ending its part of the schedule with Bears/Packers on October 20. New TNF broadcaster NBC begins its portion of the schedule in Week 11 with Saints/Panthers, followed by additional games in Weeks 13-16.
NBC also has a Thursday night game in Week 12 — Steelers/Colts on Thanksgiving Night — but that is not part of the TNF package. In other action on the holiday, Vikings/Lions will air on CBS and Washington/Cowboys on FOX.
With Christmas falling on a Sunday for the first time since 2011, NFL games will also air on that holiday. NFL Network has Ravens/Steelers in the late afternoon, presumably opposite the day’s primary NBA game on ABC, and NBC has Broncos/Chiefs in primetime. It will be the first time since 2006 that the NFL has aired multiple Christmas games. As is the case whenever Christmas falls on a Sunday, the bulk of NFL games that week will take place on Saturday.
Other notable items on the schedule include the three 9:30 AM ET London games, which will be split across CBS, FOX and NFL Network. CBS is saddled with Colts/Jaguars in Week 4 (October 2), NFL Network gets Giants/Rams in Week 7 (October 23) and FOX has Washington/Bengals in Week 8 (October 30).
The NFL has again scheduled a potent matchup to compete with the World Series, as the Eagles face the Cowboys on NBC October 30. ESPN has Vikings/Bears on Halloween the following night, and one week later Bills/Seahawks on the eve of Election Day.
As far as notable matchups, NBC has a Super Bowl 49 rematch between the Patriots and Seahawks in Week 10, ESPN has the return of former Broncos QB Brock Osweilier to Denver in Week 7, and rematches of the AFC and NFC title games will take place in Week 8 (Cardinals/Panthers on FOX) and Week 15 (Patriots/Broncos on CBS).
(Schedule information from NFL.com)
