There are always some crazy quirks when it comes to the NFL schedule, but this year seemed to be slightly crazier than other years: There's a team that will be playing on six different days of the week, there's a division rivalry that will only be played on Thursdays and there are two teams that won't play a single division game until Week 11.
It almost seemed like the NFL scheduling department went out of its way to add as many quirks as possible to this year's slate of games.
So who got the craziest quirks? That's a great question, so let's find out.
Here are 16 of the weirdest quirks on the 2024 NFL schedule, starting with the Chiefs, who got a quirk that the NFL hasn't seen in 97 years.
- Chiefs will be playing on six different days of the week. The Chiefs got a schedule that no team has gotten in 97 years. With the Chiefs getting a Friday game and Wednesday game thanks to Black Friday and Christmas, Kansas City will be playing on six different days this year. The only day the Chiefs WON'T be playing on is Tuesday. That makes the Chiefs the first team in 97 years to play on six different days of the week. Back in 1927, the New York Yankees played on every day except for Monday.
- Cowboys and Giants to make history. The NFC East rivals will be playing each other two times in 2024, and both games will be held on a Thursday, which is notable, because that's only happened a total of two times over the past 98 years. The Lions and Packers played two Thursday games in 2023 and before that, you have to go all the way back to 1926 to find an instance where two NFL teams played multiple Thursday games against each other in the same season (Back then, it was the Chicago Cardinals and Chicago Bears).
- CBS scores NFC East showdown for first time in three decades. The Cowboys and Eagles will be playing in Week 10 in a game that will be televised by CBS. The two teams would normally play on Fox, but the NFL scrapped the conference affiliations for games starting in 2022, which is why CBS is getting a Philly-Dallas game for the first time since 1993.
- Bears and Steelers set to make history. One of the most bizarre quirks on the 2024 schedule actually happened to two different teams. Both the Bears and Steelers won't play their first divisional opponent until Week 11, which is the latest in NFL history that a team has ever played its first division game. The previous record belonged to the Falcons, who didn't play their first divisional opponent until Week 10 in 2019.
- Jets are going primetime. If you turn on your TV at any point this fall, there's a good chance you're going to see the Jets. Aaron Rodgers' team has been given six prime-time games over the first 11 weeks, which marks the first time in NFL history that a team has been given that many night games over the first 11 weeks. The Jets also have a Week 5 game in London, which means they'll be getting seven standalone games before Thanksgiving.
- London is calling. For the second straight season, the Jaguars will be heading to London for back-to-back games, which is notable, because the Jags are still the only team in NFL history that has ever played back-to-back games in London. The Jags did it last year -- and went 2-0 -- and that was the first time it had ever happened. For the 2024 season, the Jags will be the visiting team against the Bears in Week 6 before playing as the home team against the Patriots in Week 7.
- Merry Christmas to all and to all a good Wednesday. With Christmas falling on a Wednesday, this will mark just the third time over the past 76 years that the NFL has held a game on a Wednesday. The Christmas doubleheader, which will feature Chiefs at Steelers and Ravens at Texans, will also mark the first time since 1936 that the NFL has held two games on a Wednesday.
- Netflix has decided to join the NFL party. The two Christmas games will be held on Netflix, which will mark the first time that the streaming company has won the rights to an NFL game. Last season, CBS, Fox and ABC all got a Christmas game, but this year, the NFL put the games up for bid and Netflix came out on top.
- Home sweet home for Eagles. Philadelphia will get to play four of its final five games at home, which is almost unheard for the Eagles. The last time that happened for Philly came all the way back in 1951. The Eagles' only road game in that span will come against the Commanders in Week 16.
- Bears will get a taste of the south to start the season. The Bears will kick off the season with three straight games against the AFC South, which will mark the first time in 25 years that Chicago has opened the year with three straight AFC teams. Back in 1999, the Bears went 1-2 to start the season against the AFC West.
- Rough road to start the season. There are only four teams in the NFL who will have to play their first TWO games on the road this year, and those teams are: the Steelers, Jets, Rams and Raiders. The Raiders must have made someone mad in the NFL scheduling department, because this is actually the second straight year that Las Vegas will be playing back-to-back road games to start the season.
- Rough road to end the season. There are five teams that will close out the season with two straight road games, and those teams are: the Panthers, Chiefs, Chargers, Dolphins and Seahawks. Of those five, the Panthers are the only team that has to close the season with two straight road games against a divisional opponent.
- Bye, bye, bye to the 49ers. The 49ers are facing FOUR teams that will be coming off a bye this year, which is the most in the NFL. That's not ideal since teams will be getting extra rest and preparation time prior to playing them. The 49ers have a -22 rest differential, which means their opponents are getting 22 extra days of rest on them, and that's the third-worst number for ANY team over the past 22 years, according to ESPN.
- Ravens will be well rested for their games. CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported on Thursday that the Ravens aren't happy with their schedule, which is kind of weird, because they have one huge advantage over everyone else and it has to do with rest. The Ravens have a +16 rest differential this year, according to ESPN, which means they'll be getting a total of 16 days of rest more than their opponents. Not only is that the highest number for any team this year, but it's also the highest number OF ANY TEAM since the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002.
- Only one team got shut out of primetime. When it comes to prime-time games, there is only one team that didn't end up landing a single night game, and that's the Carolina Panthers. Although they didn't land any prime-time spots, the Panthers did get one standalone game, and that will come when they play in Germany against the Giants in Week 10.
- Extra long road trip. The Bills, Browns, Bears and Vikings all have one big thing in common this year: They're the only teams in the league that have to play three consecutive road games. NFL teams that have gotten stuck with a three-game road trip on the schedule are a combined 30-30 on those trips since 2018. However, it's been ugly over the last two seasons with nine teams going a combined 8-19 on their three-game trip.
The Lions also have a nice scheduling quirk: They'll be playing almost zero outdoor games over the first 15 weeks. From Week 1 thru Week 15, the Lions will play be playing 13 of their 14 games indoors. Over that span, their only outdoor game will come in Week 9 against the Packers.
Hopefully you can impress all of your friends this weekend with your quirky knowledge of the NFL schedule.
