The 2015 NFL Regular Season schedule was released on Tuesday night, and for some reason it was treated by ESPN and NFL Network as a capital-E Event worthy of wall-to-wall coverage. That’s way too much enthusiasm for what amounts to a jumbo-sized press release. Picking the ten matchups to look forward to now that the schedule’s out? Now that’s the appropriate level of enthusiasm.
So, using what we know now of all 32 teams, these are the games NFL fans should be circling on their calendar, in chronological order.
Week 1: Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons
Whatever you think of his moves, or whether he knows what he’s doing, Chip Kelly has owned this offseason. We have no idea what the Eagles will look like next season, which is amazing for casual fans. This will be our first real chance to see if Chip is crazy like a fox, or just crazy.
The Atlanta Falcons will host the Eagles in the first of the two Monday Night games Week 1, and they fell of a cliff last year. Can they bounce back?
Week 2: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers
Last year’s NFC Championship Game has faded in the public consciousness because of the classic Super Bowl that followed it, but remember how crazy this game was? Let this win probability chart courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference remind you:
I don’t know what the threshold is for calling something an all-time great comeback, but I’m fairly sure coming back from a 0.1 percent chance of winning with four minutes left in the game qualifies. Seattle has won the last three of these matchups (all at home), including a blowout win in the first game of last year’s season. This time, the game will be in Lambeau Field in the Sunday Night game, in what should be the first truly marquee game of the season.
Week 4: Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
Each of these teams will be missing their signature offensive skill player from last season. The Saints dealt Jimmy Graham to the Seahawks for center Max Unger and the 31st pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, and the Cowboys saw Chip Kelly dump a whole big pile o’ money on DeMarco Murray. Both of these teams will still be expected to produce above-average offense, and in the Superdome on a Sunday night, this could be a hell of a shootout.
Week 5: Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
Until JJ Watt plays a few more seasons, Andre Johnson is the greatest Houston Texan of all time, having starred for them every season of their existence but one. No Texans fan with any sense begrudges Johnson wanting a change of scenery and a change of quarterback. All that goodwill won’t make it much easier when Johnson comes to town for the first time in another uniform — and for the division-rival Colts, no less.
A possibly rejuvenated Andre Johnson playing for a title contender is one of the better subplots of this season, and his return to Houston will be an emotional peak — and a damn good reason to watch one of those Thursday night travesties. Also, Andrew Luck is going to have to deal with JJ Watt (and Jadeveon Clowney, if he starts producing).
Week 7: Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
The Minnesota Vikings still need to decide what they’re doing with Adrian Peterson, but this matchup isn’t about that. Teddy Bridgewater was quietly impressive in his rookie year with limited responsibility, and could be in line for a breakout season. Regardless of how the Peterson situation plays out (and there certainly aren’t any easy answers there), the Vikings will be an interesting team, as will their opponents.
Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley are gone, replaced by Haloti Ngata. It’s a downgrade, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been. The Detroit Lions have been loaded with top-flite talent for a couple of years now, and seemingly never matched their promise. Now that perhaps their best player is gone, one wonders if their window is shut. Then again, they still have Calvin Johnson, who’s healthy (for now).
Week 8: Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Speaking of Suh, the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history trades out Aaron Rodgers as his division rival to target for Tom Brady, who’s easier to catch, but maybe harder to get to. Questions abound regarding how much talent the Dolphins will be able to bring in to complement the big man, but he’s always shown the ability to change a game singlehandedly.
The Dolphins went 1-1 against the Super Bowl champions last year and the year before. Their other matchup is in the final week of the season, so if the Dolphins want to keep splitting the season series with New England, they may want to do it when the Patriots aren’t rounding into playoff form, and on a Thursday night, when the short week creates all sorts of chaos.
Week 10: New England Patriots at New York Giants
If anyone’s going to show up multiple times on this list, the Super Bowl champions are the most deserving. But there’s a lot more going on here than just a title defense. The Patriots have lost three straight games to the Giants, their longest active losing streak against any team. Two of those losses were in the Super Bowl — the only times Belichick and Brady have lost in the Super Bowl.
Of course, those three losses are now ancient history in the NFL, and they were all thanks to the Giants’ success rushing the passer — an area of weakness heading into this season. But the Giants also won those games without the presence of Odell Beckham Jr., A.K.A. ODB, A.K.A. the man who averaged 108 yards and a full touchdown in his first 12 games in the NFL. He’ll have Victor Cruz back to take some pressure off of him, but he sure as hell won’t take Bill Belichick by surprise.
Unfortunately, the Revis/Beckham matchup the world deserves won’t happen here; that’ll have to wait until Giants v. Jets in Week 13.
Week 12: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
You know that awful QB situation that Andre Johnson couldn’t wait to escape? Larry Fitzgerald would kill for that QB situation. With Carson Palmer, the Cardinals didn’t quite have competence at quarterback, but at least they had stability. And they were really good! But then Carson Palmer got injured again, and everything fell apart again, and they lost to one of the worst playoff teams in NFL history in the Carolina Panthers.
If the Philadelphia Eagles had the strangest offseason this year, San Francisco comes it at an easy second. Jim Harbaugh, by all accounts an excellent head coach, was pushed out and replaced by the “Boom Goes The Dynamite” guy’s awkward uncle. Patrick Willis retired unexpectedly. They let Frank Gore go and brought in Reggie Bush. Pro Bowler guard Mike Iupati left and will be facing them in this game. No one has any clue what this team will look like, and that’s cool.
Week 13: Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
Are we going to see that image at the end of this game? If the rumors are true, then Marcus Mariota will be the one pretending to look Peyton Manning in the eye while actually staring at his angry pink forehead. The old school/new school dynamic would be an interesting wrinkle in this divisional matchup.
Also, will this be Peyton Manning’s last ride? He looked old in the playoffs for the first time since his first month with the Broncos, before he had adjusted to his new, fused neck. So, the question is: will he stay looking as old as time, will he go back to looking like The Peyton Manning until he tires again in the playoffs, or does he have another 2013 left in him?
Week 16: Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
I’ll be honest — I waffled about this final pick more than football writers waffle about Schrodinger’s QB Joe Flacco’s elititude. Even though I’m approaching fatigue with these two teams going at it (and I can imagine many people have reached it), there’s definitely an allure about a primetime matchup between these two proud franchises who, *Jon Gruden voice* do not like each other, lemmetellya.
As it stands now, it’s still looking like this game will go a long way towards deciding the AFC North, and games with playoff implications are always the most exciting matchups. That’s why Steelers-Ravens has had such a long shelf life as a rivalry: they’re both still relevant.
Are your calendars marked? Great, now hurry up and wait four and a half months for the season to actually start.
