NFL schedule release: 10 best games of 2017
By John Buhler
The 2017 NFL regular season schedule comes out on Thursday. Let’s take a look at some of the 10 best games that are unique to the upcoming football season.
Finally, the NFL schedule release is upon us. We’ve known the opponents both home anad away for each of the clubs since the completion of the 2016 regular season, but at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night, we know the order and primetime schedule. The intra-conference and inter-conference divisional rotations have been set, as have the two competitive balance games for all teams.
Of course, there are the annual six divisional rivalry games we all get overly excited about. Those games are always fantastic, but aren’t unique to the annual slate. So we’re going to look at the 10 best games that will be undeniable 2017. These are the 10 games that television executives will fight for to get on primetime for their networks. So let’s go!
10. Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots
The New England Patriots won Super Bowl LI and will have the right to open the 2017 NFL season with the Thursday night game in their place. While New England could host any number of teams in the Week 1 opener on Thursday night, it makes more sense for the Patriots to play one of the better teams in the AFC.
The likeliest candidate for New England to play Week 1 is the AFC West’s Kansas City Chiefs. New England and Kansas City did not meet last season, but previously played a divisional round game in the 2015 AFC Playoffs in Foxborough. The Patriots would beat the Chiefs by a touchdown, 27-20 to reach the AFC Championship.
Both teams won their respective divisions last year and should be in the mix to win over 10 games again in 2017. New England may breeze through the AFC East like it does most years, though the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins could be in play to earn AFC Wild Card berths.
Kansas City, however, plays in the toughest division in football. The Oakland Raiders are AFC Championship contenders, the Denver Broncos could be back in the AFC Playoffs and the Los Angeles Chargers are a playoff dark horse in the AFC West.
Essentially, NFL fans will be getting two of the best four teams in the AFC going head-to-head in Foxborough in primetime Week 1 on Thursday. Though New England will be the presumptive favorite over the Chiefs, Kansas City could shock the Patriots in this early September date.