2020 NFL regular-season schedule release: Top 10 highlights
The 2020 NFL regular-season schedule was released Thursday night. Here are 10 interesting facts from it.
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The 2020 NFL schedule was released Thursday as the league plans/hopes to start on time -- Sept. 10, to be exact, with the annual Kickoff Game where the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans -- despite the coronavirus pandemic. Here are 10 quick tidbits from the schedule in no particular order. SportsLine also will have team-by-team schedule breakdowns, Top 10 intriguing matchups and Week 1 opening odds courtesy of William Hill.
No. 1 vs. No. 2: In Week 11, the Cincinnati Bengals host the Washington Redskins. Two bad teams that finished a combined 5-27 last year. However, that earned them the top two picks in the draft, with Cincinnati taking LSU quarterback Joe Burrow at No. 1 and Washington grabbing Ohio State defensive end Chase Young at No. 2 – Burrow and Young were teammates on the Buckeyes before Burrow transferred to LSU before the 2018 season.
Obviously barring injury, this will be the 22nd time since 1970 that the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks meet in their rookie season. The No. 2 overall pick is 14-7 in the previous 21. However, Young's Redskins haven't beaten the Bengals since 1991. Neither Burrow nor Young was born then. Burrow is the +275 moneyline betting favorite at William Hill sportsbook to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Young the +350 favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Bengals' road woes: The longest road losing streak in NFL history was 26 straight by the Detroit Lions from November 2007 to December 2010. They ended it with a 23-20 overtime win at the Tampa Bay Bucs in Week 15 of the 2010 season and then for good measure won again the following week in Miami. The Bengals have a long way to go to break that record, but they have by far the longest road skid in the NFL currently at 13 in a row (very solid 8-5 against the spread, though).
Cincinnati's last road victory was in Atlanta on Sept. 30, 2018. The Bengals' first road game this year is Week 2 on Thursday in Cleveland, and their two most winnable ones are at Washington (Week 11) and Miami (Week 13; Burrow vs. Tua Tagoaviloa?) Hard to see them winning any of the other six.
Falcons struggle vs. AFC: Could the Falcons win back-to-back games this season against AFC teams for the first time since a three-game winning streak vs. the conference in 2016? Since then, the Falcons are 2-13 straight up and 1-14 against the spread vs. the AFC, including playoffs (i.e. blowing that Super Bowl LI 28-3 late-third quarter lead in Super Bowl LI and losing in overtime to New England). They did, however, finally get that cover and a victory in a Week 16 home matchup last year, 24-12, over the lousy Jacksonville Jaguars.
Atlanta hasn't covered on the road vs. an AFC club since a 23-16 win in Denver on Oct. 9, 2016. The Falcons' first AFC game is at home against the Broncos in Week 9 and first road tilt at the Chargers in Week 14.
Biggest mismatch of season? The largest point spread in a game since the AFL/NFL merger was the Denver Broncos at -27.5 against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6 of the 2013 season. Peyton Manning and the Broncos were never threatened in a 35-19 win but didn't cover. The largest of last season was the New England Patriots at -21 in Week 3 against the visiting New York Jets. The Pats didn't cover in a 30-14 win.
Early projections have the largest spread of any 2020 game being in Week 15 when the Baltimore Ravens host the Jaguars. SportsLine NFL oddsmakers project as of now the Ravens to be 16-point favorites, although obviously injuries can change that. The No. 2 mismatch would be Kansas City at -15 hosting Carolina in Week 9. Speaking of Carolina …
Rivera vs. Panthers: Ron Rivera was a two-time NFL Coach of the Year with the Panthers and led them to the league's best record and a spot in Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 season, but the Cats lost that game in an upset to the Denver Broncos and largely backslid since. Owner David Tepper fired Rivera last season following an embarrassing Week 13 home loss to an awful Washington Redskins team.
Rivera is now the head coach of Washington, ironically, and gets a chance for some payback when the Panthers visit Maryland in Week 16. Rivera traded for one of his former quarterbacks in March in Carolina's Kyle Allen but didn't opt to chase former NFL MVP Cam Newton (for now). It would be an upset if Allen is starting under center over 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins when these teams play, but Haskins could struggle or get injured.
No international games: There were five games scheduled to be played internationally this season, with four in London and one in Mexico City, but they all have been moved back to the site of the designated home team due to the coronavirus. That is exceptionally good news for the Jaguars as they were to host two games at Wembley Stadium; the Jags are 3-4 all-time playing as the "home team" in London, and from a betting standpoint playing a true home game is considered worth around three points.
"I believe home field is worth anywhere from zero to 5 points in an average NFL game," Nick Bogdanovich, William Hill US Director of Trading, said to SportsLine. "Last year it ranged from the Chargers getting zero as often times, visiting teams had more fans than they did at home. On the other hand, the Chiefs, Seahawks and Packers would get around 5 points. ... The Jaguars' rating has been very poor last couple years due to performance, talk of moving team, and some other factors but I believe if the team improves and fans believe they will be in Jacksonville for the long haul, that they could have an average home field rating."
No international games is also a plus for Miami and Atlanta, which were each to host one game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and Arizona, which was to host a matchup in Mexico City.
Garrett back in Big D: The Dallas Cowboys opted not to bring back coach Jason Garrett after last season. Over 10 seasons in that role, he accumulated an 85-67 record and won three NFC East titles. Garrett landed on his feet as the offensive coordinator of the Giants under their new coach Joe Judge. Garrett was an OC for the Cowboys before being named head coach in 2010. He also was a backup NFL quarterback for the Giants in 2000-03. New York visits Dallas in Week 5.
Seattle comfortable on East Coast: West Coast teams playing on the East Coast, especially in 1 p.m. ET games, is supposed to be a major disadvantage for the West Coast clubs because of the three-hour time difference. Apparently, the Seattle Seahawks didn't get that memo. They went to Philadelphia in the Wild-Card Round back on Jan. 5 and won 17-9. It was Seattle's eighth straight win on the East Coast (6-1-1 ATS). The Seahawks have a few games on that coast this season, starting with Week 1 in Atlanta. They also return to Philadelphia in Week 12.
Monday nightmare: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins had the best season of his career in 2019 in terms of rating at 107.4. That was fourth-best in the NFL. He completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns and just six interceptions. However, his Monday night bugaboo continued as the Vikings lost 37-30 in Seattle on Monday in Week 13 and 23-10 at home to Green Bay on Monday in Week 16, which handed the NFC North title to the Packers.
Cousins is now 0-9 on Monday nights as a starting quarterback in his career, easily the most losses on MNF without a victory. Cousins is 0-3 on Mondays with Minnesota and was 0-6 with Washington. The Vikings have one Monday night game this season: Week 10 in Chicago.
80K for Brees? New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is first all-time in the NFL in passing yardage with 77,416. Brees has played in 275 career regular-season games, which averages out to about 282 yards per game. At that pace, he would become the first quarterback to reach 80,000 yards in Week 11 at home vs. Atlanta. Fair to wonder if any other QB in league history will ever hit 80,000 yards. Tom Brady is second with 74,571, so if he does play two more seasons and stays healthy he could.
Which teams sail past their projected win totals? What is the SportsLine model's stunning Packers prediction? And how many wins will every NFL team have this season? ... See every projected win total, including the shocking prediction for the Packers, all from an uncanny computer model that crushed its NFL win total picks last year!