2024 NFL Schedule: League Releases Official Regular-Season Slate
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVMay 16, 2024
Should we go ahead and fast forward to the end where the Kansas City Chiefs are crowned Super Bowl champions?
In what has become a popular occasion, the NFL dropped the 2024 regular-season schedule on Wednesday, making clear the road standing between the Chiefs and football immortality. No team has ever won three Super Bowl titles in a row.
Kansas City will host the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, September 5, to kick things off and reminisce on last season's success one more time.
While the exploits of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Andy Reid and Co. will be the most dominant storyline in the NFL for 2024, plenty of other subplots will keep fans engaged.
Here are the schedules for all 32 teams along with a breakdown of the top division and individual matchup to watch.
Key Dates
Sept. 5, 2024: Season opener
Sept. 8-9, 2024: Kickoff weekend
Jan. 10-11, 2025: Start of NFL playoffs
Feb. 2, 2025: Pro Bowl
Feb. 9, 2025: Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome, New Orleans
Team-by-Team Schedules
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
Division to Watch: AFC North
Every team in the AFC North finished with a winning record in 2023, and you can make a case for any of the four taking the division this year.
The Baltimore Ravens will be the favorites. While the Vince Lombardi Trophy remains elusive for quarterback Lamar Jackson, there's no question about whether he can deliver in the regular season. Re-signing defensive tackle Justin Madubuike was huge for the team's championship hopes, and running back Derrick Henry might prove to be the missing ingredient for the offense.
At least on paper, signing Russell Wilson to the league minimum and acquiring Justin Fields at a marginal cost was a masterstroke by Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan. Both are an upgrade over what the franchise was lining up at center last season. Getting consistent quarterback play will go a long way toward making Pittsburgh a serious challenger to Baltimore.
Next Gen Stats @NextGenStatsJustin Fields threw 9 touchdowns while under pressure last season, just two fewer than now Steelers teammate Russell Wilson.<br><br>Fields and Wilson will now headline a Pittsburgh quarterback room that had just 3 touchdowns under pressure in 2023, T-3rd-fewest in the NFL.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HereWeGo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HereWeGo</a> <a href="https://t.co/sBATGlJIh3">https://t.co/sBATGlJIh3</a> <a href="https://t.co/wTLC2fOuFu">pic.twitter.com/wTLC2fOuFu</a>
The same can be said for the Cleveland Browns ahead of what could be a defining year for Deshaun Watson's tenure. His fully guaranteed contract probably locks him in for 2025 regardless of what happens on the field, but it's hard to see how the organization could still have any faith in him as a Super Bowl-caliber QB if he's once again battling injuries or not performing up to expectations when healthy.
The Cincinnati Bengals lost some experienced veterans, most notably running back Joe Mixon, wide receiver Tyler Boyd and defensive tackle D.J. Reader. Still, Joe Burrow occupies a place similar to Mahomes where you expect his team to figure it out at some point as long as he's healthy.
Most Anticipated Matchup: Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers (Dec. 30)
Detroit Lions fans know better than most that success isn't guaranteed in the NFL. Their favorite team went 30 years between division titles, and the gap since the last time Detroit won a playoff game was even longer than that.
That's why the Lions' second-half collapse in the NFC title game against the San Francisco 49ers was especially painful.
Sure, all of the important pieces are back, including highly regarded coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, but an organization's trajectory toward a championship doesn't always unfold in a linear manner—if it comes together at all.
Detroit's rematch with the Niners will be a great litmus test for Dan Campbell's squad, and the outcome could be an early indicator of who's in pole position to come out of the NFC in the postseason.