Even though the Super Bowl LVIII rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will not occur until almost the midpoint of the regular season, NFL fans will be treated to a pair of playoff rematches on the opening weekend for 2024.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the two-time reigning champions begin their quest for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title when they host the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL’s annual kickoff game on Thursday, Sept. 5, while the Los Angeles Rams visit the Detroit Lions in the Sunday night game on Sept. 8.
The two playoff rematches in the first week are among nine total on this year’s regular-season schedule, which was released by the league Wednesday night.
The Ravens-Chiefs matchup is a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game, which Kansas City won 17-10. The Chiefs will visit the 49ers on Oct. 20, some nine months after Kansas City’s 25-22 victory against San Francisco in the second overtime game in Super Bowl history. It also marks the second straight season the Chiefs will have a Super Bowl rematch; they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles — the team Kansas City beat 38-35 for its first title in this current run — in a Monday night game last November.
Kansas City will then travel to face the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 17 in what is becoming an annual matchup. This will be the fifth straight year the two AFC teams have faced off in the regular season. The Bills have won three straight games in the regular season, but the Chiefs have won all three playoff meetings in that span.
Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford of the Rams and Jared Goff of the Lions will face their former teams for the third time, including the playoffs. The Lions won their first playoff game in 32 years when they defeated the Rams 24-23 in an NFC wild-card round game this past January. Goff recently agreed to a four-year, $212 million contract extension with Detroit after being traded by the Rams along with a package of draft picks to the Lions for Stafford three years ago
The rematch of the NFC championship game between the 49ers and Lions won’t happen until Dec. 30 in California, which is the last Monday night game of the season.
After welcoming the Rams, the Lions will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 15 in a rematch of a divisional-round playoff game won by Detroit.
The other playoff rematches are Baltimore visiting the Houston Texans on Christmas Day, Philadelphia at Tampa Bay on Sept. 29, and San Francisco visiting the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 24.
The NFL released the full slate for its 105th season after revealing four international games and both of its Christmas Day matchups earlier Wednesday. The schedule has been released the past couple of years on the second Thursday in May, but it was slightly delayed this year.
Even though a memo was sent to teams late last week saying the schedule would be released Wednesday night, it wasn’t until Monday morning that it was finalized.
Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media, said there were meetings over the weekend to tweak things.
Five quarterbacks going in the first round of the draft last month in Detroit affected some of the final decisions.
“We were getting really close at the end of last week and had something we were really happy with Friday,” he said. “We had a four-hour Zoom (video call) on Sunday night and had the final winner. It was very similar to Friday, but a couple things we liked better. We used every minute to continue to refine it.”
Meanwhile, quarterback Kirk Cousins’ first game with the Atlanta Falcons will be at home on Sept. 8, when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have added former Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson behind center. Cousins, who is preparing for his 13th NFL season, signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons during the offseason after playing the past six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
Wilson is making his Steelers’ debut after being released by the Denver Broncos after two disappointing years that came nowhere near to his success with the Seattle Seahawks. It will also mark the return of Arthur Smith, who became Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator after being fired at the end three seasons as head coach of the Falcons.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the top overall pick by the Chicago Bears in last month’s draft, is set to make his debut against the Tennessee Titans in the opening week. Chicago then goes to Houston for a Sunday night game on Sept. 15 against the Texans and reigning AP offensive rookie of the year C.J. Stroud.
The top two picks in the draft could meet on Oct. 27 in Washington, when the Bears face the Commanders and quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Including the NFL kickoff matchup, “Thursday Night Football” and Thanksgiving, 14 teams will be playing multiple Thursday games. The league amended its policy last season to allow teams to make more than one appearance on Thursday nights.
However, six teams — the Titans, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers — will not have the short turnaround of playing on a Thursday after playing on a Sunday during the upcoming regular season.
As for the international slate, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be facing a familiar opponent, albeit in a different uniform and in a new location. Rodgers and the New York Jets will kick off this year’s games in London when they are the visiting team against the Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 6.
Rodgers went 17-11-1 against the Vikings when he was with the Packers. The four-time NFL MVP was traded to the Jets last year, but he tore his left Achilles’ tendon on the first series of last year’s opener against the Bills.
Rodgers is on track to return to practice without limitations once the Jets begin voluntary spring sessions next week. The league announced Tuesday that the Jets would open the season on “Monday Night Football” by visiting the 49ers on Sept. 9.
The Jaguars will spend back-to-back weeks in London for the second straight year and face two of this year’s top three quarterbacks taken in the NFL draft. The Jaguars will visit Williams and the Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 13, then host the New England Patriots, who took Drake Maye third, at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 20.
The Panthers will host the New York Giants on Nov. 10 in Munich, Germany. In March, the league announced the Eagles will host the Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 6.
Finally, Netflix has reached a three-year deal with the league to carry games on Christmas Day. The streaming giant will carry two games this year and at least one game in 2025 and 2026. Kansas City travels to Pittsburgh in the first game, and the Texans will then host the Ravens in the late afternoon.
AP photo by Danny Karnik / The Atlanta Falcons, left, line up against the Indianapolis Colts during a regular-season game on Dec. 24 in Atlanta.ATLANTA FALCONS 2024 SCHEDULE
All times Eastern
Sunday, Sept. 8 — vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Monday, Sept. 16 — at Philadelphia, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Sept. 22 — vs. Kansas City, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Sept. 29 — vs. New Orleans, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Thursday, Oct. 3 — vs. Tampa Bay, 8:15 p.m. (Prime)
Sunday, Oct. 13 — at Carolina, 4:25 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Oct. 20 — vs. Seattle, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Oct. 27 — at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Nov. 3 — vs. Dallas, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Nov. 10 — at New Orleans, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Nov. 17 — at Denver, 4:05 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Dec. 1 — vs. L.A. Chargers, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 8 — at Minnesota, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Monday, Dec. 16 — at Las Vegas, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Dec. 22 — vs. N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Dec. 29 — at Washington, TBD (TBD)
Sunday, Jan. 5 — vs. Carolina, TBD (TBD)
AP photo by George Walker IV / Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) leads the team huddle before a game against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 3 in Nashville.TENNESSEE TITANS 2024 SCHEDULE
All times Eastern
Sunday, Sept. 8 — at Chicago, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Sept. 15 — vs. N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Sept. 22 — vs. Green Bay, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Monday, Sept. 30 — at Miami, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Oct. 13 — vs. Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 20 — at Buffalo, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 27 — at Detroit, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Nov. 3 — vs. New England, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Nov. 10 — at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Nov. 17 — vs. Minnesota, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Nov. 24 — at Houston, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 1 — at Washington, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Dec. 8 — vs. Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 15 — vs. Cincinnati, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Sunday, Dec. 22 — at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Dec. 29 — at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Jan. 5 — vs. Houston, TBD (TBD)