Owners approve 17-game season for ’21 schedules

NFL owners approved the expansion of the regular season to 17 games per team at a virtual league meeting on Tuesday.

This change, which begins with the 2021 season, marks the first expansion of the NFL’S schedule since it moved from 14 games to 16 in 1978.

Also on Tuesday, the NFL reduced the preseason slate from four games per team to three.

The changes had been expected since the NFL and the National Football League Players Association approved the latest collective bargaining agreement in March 2020.

“This is a monumental moment in NFL history,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. “The CBA with the players and the recently completed media agreements provide the foundation for us to enhance the quality of the NFL experience for our fans. And one of the benefits of each team playing 17 regular-season games is the ability for us to continue to grow our game around the world.”

The additional regular-season game will feature an intraconference matchup between teams that finished in the same position in their division. The AFC teams will host this year’s games before the conferences trade off annually.

This season, the matchups will be NFC East vs. AFC East, NFC West vs. AFC North, NFC South vs. AFC South, and NFC West vs. AFC North

Below is the breakdown of each team’s 17th matchup this season:

NFC East vs. AFC East

♦ Washington at Buffalo ♦ New York Giants at Miami ♦ Dallas at New England ♦ Philadelphia at New York Jets

NFC West vs. AFC North

♦ Seattle at Pittsburgh

♦ Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore

♦ Arizona at Cleveland

♦ San Francisco at Cincinnati

NFC South vs. AFC South

♦ New Orleans at Tennessee

♦ Tampa Bay at Indianapolis

♦ Carolina at Houston

♦ Atlanta at Jacksonville

NFC West vs. AFC North

♦ Green Bay at Kansas City

♦ Chicago at Las Vegas

♦ Minnesota at Los Angeles Chargers

♦ Detroit at Denver

The official 2021 schedule, with playing dates and times, will be announced later this spring.

Courtesy of Floyd County Schools COLLEGE|SENIORS Armuchee senior Lori Hayes signs to continue her education and cheerleading career at Shorter University. Hayes family pictured left to right: Christine (mother), Lori and James (father).

Floyd County Schools Armuchee senior Will Holloway signs to continue his education and fishing career at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. Holloway family pictured from left to right: Mike (father), Ella-kate (sister), Will and Mary Jane (mother).

Getty Images/tns - Naomi Baker After having its teams play a 16-game schedule since 1978, the NFL added a 17th game for the 2021 season.