There is plenty of buzz around the NFL season that kicked off earlier in September. With so much information and confusion around, we have put together this handy guide with everything you need to know about the 2020 season.
Let’s take a look at this season’s schedule, the players and everything to look out for on the pitch.
The schedule
Under the NFLs scheduling formula, each of the 32 teams will play each of the three other teams in their division twice. Each team will also play one other team from each of the four teams in one other division in both the same and the opposite conference. Finally, each team will play against the two remaining teams that finished in the same position as them last season in their conference.
Significant games in the schedule are as follows:
The NFL 2020 kick-off game was on Thursday 10 September and was hosted by defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are hoping to become the first team to win back-to-back since the Patriots double victory in 2003 and 2004.
As usual, three games will be played on Thanksgiving. This year, these will be the Detroit Lions v Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys v Washington (previously Redskins) and finally Pittsburgh Steelers v Baltimore Ravens.
The Washington Football team will be playing without their nickname, having dropped it earlier this year. A new one will soon be announced following the resolution of trademark issues.
Christmas day will see the first Friday game played since 2009, with the New Orleans Saints v Minnesota Vikings game in the late afternoon.
Some teams are set to open their new stadiums
The LA Rams will be hosting a game against the Dallas Cowboys in their new, high end SoFi stadium worth $5 billion dollars. While there will be no fans present this time, the venue can hold up to 100,000 people. The stadium houses the first 4K HDR video system in any sporting arena, known as ‘The Oculus’. This stadium is also the new home of The Chargers, who will be playing their first game in it during Week 2.
The Las Vegas Raiders will also be opening their new stadium this NFL season. Allegiant Stadium is a new domed stadium in Nevada, west of Mandalay Bay. This game will be on Monday 21 September against the New Orleans Saints.
Who to watch out for this season
Top NFL quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are ones to watch out for this season. There is a huge ongoing debate of which one is most likely to get MVP status this season. Jackson is the Ravens reigning MVP and will play a big part in helping the team get to their goal of playing the Super Bowl in 2020. The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes has made back to back AFC championships in recent years.
The pair of quarterbacks will face one another in the Chiefs V Ravens game on 29 September.
The Chargers are now without Philip Rivers as he’s moved to the Colts. In other news, Cam Newton has joined the New England Patriots on a one year deal. He was bought into the mix to replace Tom Brady, a six champion who has moved on to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Newton made MVP back in 2015 when he led the Panthers to victory at the Super Bowl. The Patriots hope that the quarterback will do the same for them this season.
The Super Bowl 55 will be in Tampa Bay this season, on 7 February 2021. LA was originally set to host the Super Bowl this time around, however due to construction delays with the Rams and Chargers stadium it was moved. NFL rules state that a stadium must be open for two whole seasons before it can play host to the Super Bowl. Instead, LA will get the chance to do so in 2022.
There is everything you need to know to start off with this NFL season. Keep up to date with the odds as they are likely to change due to injuries and incidents across the week.
