Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman sprints away from the Tennessee Titans' defense on Oct. 25, 2015, in Nashville. The Falcons and Titans haven't met in the regular season since then, but Atlanta will host Tennessee in late September.
Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium in London, pictured, will have the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 27 for one of five international games on the NFL's 2019 schedule.NEW YORK - The NFL's 100th season will begin with its most classic rivalry, then feature the New England Patriots, the reigning Super Bowl champions, hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first Sunday night game of the season.
As previously announced, NFL 100 will kick off with the Green Bay Packers visiting the Chicago Bears for the 199th meeting of a series that began in 1921. That Sept. 5 game in the Thursday night slot, usually reserved for the NFL champion to host, forced New England to open three nights later.
The Patriots have a home schedule loaded with top attractions, including the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 8 in an AFC title game rematch, and the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 24, the weekend before Thanksgiving.
The annual doubleheader to open Monday Night Football on ESPN will feature the Houston Texans visiting the New Orleans Saints and the Denver Broncos hosted by the Oakland Raiders.
"We know every year there seems to be a last-to-first story," said new Broncos coach Vic Fangio, the Bears' defensive coordinator last season. "We were that in Chicago last year. I suppose a lot of teams counted us as a win last year. Every season is a new season, and the order they choose for us to play them in, we'll play them in."
The Atlanta Falcons open on the road against the Minnesota Vikings and play their home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles the following Sunday. They'll have a border battle with the visiting Tennessee Titans on Sept. 29.
The Titans open on the road against the Cleveland Browns and play their home and AFC South opener the following Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
Week 2 includes an intriguing Monday night matchup of the Browns visiting the New York Jets. The very first Monday night game in league history was a Browns win over Joe Namath and the Jets, the reigning champions at the time, in 1970. This one will feature the return to the Meadowlands for Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who played there previously for the New York Giants, and two young, potential star quarterbacks - Cleveland's Baker Mayfield and the Jets' Sam Darnold.
National broadcasts rarely have included the downtrodden Browns, but with a rebuilt roster and potential displayed last season, they're a popular choice this year: Cleveland will have four prime-time matchups, also facing the Los Angeles Rams, the San Francisco 49ers and archrival Pittsburgh.
Every team will have at least one national TV appearance. Green Bay, New England, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, the Rams and the Seattle Seahawks get five prime-time games apiece, the league maximum.
The traditional Thanksgiving Day games will have the Detroit Lions hosting Chicago, the Buffalo Bills visiting Dallas and New Orleans visiting the Atlanta Falcons in another longtime rivalry and a rematch of this past season's Turkey Day night game.
The Rams, the reigning NFC champions, will host the Cincinnati Bengals in London for one of five international games on the 2019 schedule. The Rams and the Bengals will face off at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 27.
Earlier in October, the league will play two games at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium in London. The Raiders will host the Bears on Oct. 6, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the home team against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 13.
Wembley will be the site of the fourth London matchup, with Houston hosted by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 3.
The league returns to Mexico after last season's Chiefs-Rams game was moved to Los Angeles because of poor field conditions at Azteca Stadium. On Nov. 18, a Monday night, the Chiefs will play L.A.'s other team, the Chargers.
In Week 16, the NFL has left 10 teams in semi-limbo. Three games are scheduled for the NFL Network on Saturday, Dec. 21, and will be chosen among these five: Detroit at Denver; Oakland hosted by the Chargers; Buffalo at New England; the Rams visiting the San Francisco 49ers; Houston at Tampa Bay. The games not played on that Saturday will be played the next day.
The season ends Dec. 29 by having Chicago visit Minnesota for the fourth successive year. All finales are divisional games for the 11th straight season.
"This is an exciting time," said Giants coach Pat Shurmur, whose team opens at Dallas. "This week, we started the offseason program. And now we can see when we're going to play. We knew who our opponents would be and where we are going to play, but there's an excitement that builds once the schedule comes out."
Among the oddities, in one stretch the Raiders will go seven weeks before playing a game in Oakland. They entertain the Chiefs on Sept. 15, then have road games at Minnesota and at Indianapolis, host Chicago in London, are off Oct. 13, then go to Green Bay and Houston. They return to Oakland on Nov. 3.
The Miami Dolphins open with four 2018 playoff opponents: home against the Baltimore Ravens and New England, at Dallas, then home again for the Chargers. After that, the Dolphins have a bye.
The Eagles have three straight home games and three consecutive road games. No other team has three away games in a row, though the Rams will be away from Los Angeles for a visit to Atlanta on Oct. 20, their "home" contest in London the next week, then a bye and a trip to Pittsburgh.
Also with three straight home games will be Atlanta, the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo, Cleveland, Green Bay, Houston, Pittsburgh and San Francisco.