Dean Michaels
The NFL announced its 17-week, 256-game regular-season schedule for 2013, which kicks off on Thursday night, September 5 and concludes on Sunday, December 29 with 16 division games.
The season begins with the NFL's annual primetime kickoff game. The opener on September 5 on NBC (8:30 PM ET) will feature the defending-champion Baltimore Ravens visiting the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in a rematch of last year's double-overtime AFC Divisional Playoff Game.
NBC's Sunday Night Football will get underway on September 8 when the Dallas Cowboys host the division-rival New York Giants (8:30 PM ET).
Kickoff Weekend concludes on Monday, September 9 with a doubleheader on ESPN's Monday Night Football.
The Washington Redskins will host the Philadelphia Eagles (7:10 PM ET) in the first game followed by the Houston Texans visiting the San Diego Chargers (10:20 PM ET).
ESPN will televise one game each Monday night in Weeks 2-16. There will be no Monday night game on the final regular-season weekend (Week 17) to provide more flexibility for the scheduling of the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs.
The regular season will conclude with Week 17 on Sunday, December 29. For the fourth consecutive year, all 16 games scheduled for Week 17 are division contests, enhancing the potential for more games at the end of the season with playoff ramifications.
The season concludes on Sunday, February 2 with Super Bowl XLVIII, the historic New York/New Jersey Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (FOX).
Thanksgiving will feature an NFL tripleheader on Thursday, November 28. The first game will send the Green Bay Packers to Detroit to face the Lions (12:30 PM ET, FOX) in an NFC North showdown. The late afternoon game will feature the Oakland Raiders visiting Dallas (4:30 PM ET, CBS). The holiday concludes with an AFC North matchup as the Pittsburgh Steelers visit Baltimore on NBC (8:30 PM ET).
The NFL will again play beyond the borders of the United States in 2013. This season, the league will take an historic step in its international development with two regular-season games being played in the United Kingdom at London's Wembley Stadium. On September 29, the Minnesota Vikings will host Pittsburgh (1:00 PM ET, CBS). One month later, on October 27, the Jacksonville Jaguars will host the San Francisco 49ers (1:00 PM ET, FOX). Then on December 1, the Buffalo Bills will venture north to Canada for the sixth consecutive season when they host the Atlanta Falcons in Toronto at the Rogers Centre (4:05 PM ET, FOX).
NFL Network will feature 13 games -- all on Thursday nights -- from Weeks 2-15 (excluding Week 13 on Thanksgiving night). The NFL Network slate will start on Thursday, September 12 (8:25 PM ET) with an AFC East contest featuring the New England Patriots hosting the New York Jets.
"Flexible scheduling" will be used in Weeks 11-17. In Weeks 11-16, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday or Monday nights. A flexible scheduling move would be announced at least 12 days before the game. For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to December 29. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives "surprise" teams a chance to play their way into primetime.
The NFL's 32 teams will each play 16 games over 17 weeks. Byes will begin in Week 4 and end in Week 12.
The playoffs will include four division winners and two wild cards from each conference. The playoffs begin with Wild Card Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, January 4-5. The two division winners with the best records in each conference will earn first-round byes.
Wild Card Weekend winners join the top two division champions in each conference in the Divisional Playoffs on Saturday and Sunday, January 11-12. The AFC and NFC Championship Games will be played on Sunday, January 19. The winners meet two weeks later on Sunday, February 2 in Super Bowl XLVIII.
FOX will present the NFC, the NFC playoffs, the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl XLVIII. CBS will carry AFC games, the AFC playoffs and the AFC Championship Game. The 64 AFC-NFC interconference games (excluding primetime) are carried by CBS when the AFC team is the visitor and by FOX when the NFC team is on the road. All postseason games are televised nationally. In addition to its regular-season package, NBC will televise a Wild Card playoff doubleheader on Saturday, January 4, and the Pro Bowl on Sunday, January 26.
2013 National Football League Schedule
Thursday, September 5 (First Weekend)
1. Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos
Sunday, September 8
2. New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
3. Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers
4. Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears
5. Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns
6. Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
7. Oakland Raiders at Indianapolis Colts
8. Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars
9. Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at N.Y. Jets
11. Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers
12. Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams
13. Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
14. N.Y. Giants at Dallas Cowboys
Monday, September 9
15. Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
16. Houston Texans at San Diego Chargers
Thursday, September 12 (Second Weekend)
17. N.Y. Jets at New England Patriots
Sunday, September 15
18. St. Louis Rams at Atlanta Falcons
19. Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
20. Carolina Panthers at Buffalo Bills
21. Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
22. Washington Redskins at Green Bay Packers
23. Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans
24. Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
25. Dallas Cowboys at Kansas City Chiefs
26. San Diego Chargers at Philadelphia Eagles
27. Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals
28. New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29. Denver Broncos at N.Y. Giants
30. Jacksonville Jaguars at Oakland Raiders
31. San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Monday, September 16
32. Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
Thursday, September 19 (Third Weekend)
33. Kansas City Chiefs at Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday, September 22
34. Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
35. Green Bay Packers at Cincinnati Bengals
36. N.Y. Giants at Carolina Panthers
37. St. Louis Rams at Dallas Cowboys
38. Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings
39. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New England Patriots
40. Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints
41. San Diego Chargers at Tennessee Titans
42. Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins
43. Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins
44. Buffalo Bills at N.Y. Jets
45. Indianapolis Colts at San Francisco 49ers
46. Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks
47. Chicago Bears at Pittsburgh Steelers
Monday, September 23
48. Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
Thursday, September 26 (Fourth Weekend)
(Byes: Carolina, Green Bay)
49. San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams
Sunday, September 29
50. Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
51. Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
52. Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
53. Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans
54. Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
55. N.Y. Giants at Kansas City Chiefs
56. Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings (London)
57. Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
58. N.Y. Jets at Tennessee Titans
59. Philadelphia Eagles at Denver Broncos
60. Washington Redskins at Oakland Raiders
61. Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Chargers
62. New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons
Monday, September 30
63. Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints
Thursday, October 3 (Fifth Weekend)
(Byes: Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington)
64. Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns
Sunday, October 6
65. New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears
66. New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals
67. Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
68. Seattle Seahawks at Indianapolis Colts
69. Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins
70. Philadelphia Eagles at N.Y. Giants
71. Jacksonville Jaguars at St. Louis Rams
72. Kansas City Chiefs at Tennessee Titans
73. Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals
74. Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys
75. San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders
76. Houston Texans at San Francisco 49ers
Monday, October 7
77. N.Y. Jets at Atlanta Falcons
Thursday, October 10 (Sixth Weekend)
(Byes: Atlanta, Miami)
78. N.Y. Giants at Chicago Bears
Sunday, October 13
79. Green Bay Packers at Baltimore Ravens
80. Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
81. Detroit Lions at Cleveland Browns
82. St. Louis Rams at Houston Texans
83. Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
84. Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings
85. Pittsburgh Steelers at N.Y. Jets
86. Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
87. Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos
88. Tennessee Titans at Seattle Seahawks
89. New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots
90. Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
91. Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
Monday, October 14
92. Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers
Thursday, October 17 (Seventh Weekend)
(Byes: New Orleans, Oakland)
93. Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, October 20
94. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
95. St. Louis Rams at Carolina Panthers
96. Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit Lions
97. San Diego Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars
98. Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs
99. Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
100. New England Patriots at N.Y. Jets
101. Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
102. Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins
103. San Francisco 49ers at Tennessee Titans
104. Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers
105. Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
106. Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts
Monday, October 21
107. Minnesota Vikings at N.Y. Giants
Thursday, October 24 (Eighth Weekend)
(Byes: Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, San Diego, Tennessee)
108. Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, October 27
109. Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions
110. San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars (London)
111. Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs
112. Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
113. Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints
114. N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
115. Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
116. N.Y. Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
117. Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals
118. Washington Redskins at Denver Broncos
119. Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Monday, October 28
120. Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams
Thursday, October 31 (Ninth Weekend)
(Byes: Arizona, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, N.Y. Giants, San Francisco)
121. Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Dolphins
Sunday, November 3
122. Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills
123. Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
124. Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys
125. New Orleans Saints at N.Y. Jets
126. Tennessee Titans at St. Louis Rams
127. San Diego Chargers at Washington Redskins
128. Philadelphia Eagles at Oakland Raiders
129. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Seattle Seahawks
130. Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
131. Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
132. Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
Monday, November 4
133. Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
Thursday, November 7 (Tenth Weekend)
(Byes: Cleveland, Kansas City, New England, N.Y. Jets)
134. Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings
Sunday, November 10
135. Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons
136. Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
137. Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
138. Philadelphia Eagles at Green Bay Packers
139. St. Louis Rams at Indianapolis Colts
140. Oakland Raiders at N.Y. Giants
141. Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers
142. Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
143. Carolina Panthers at San Francisco 49ers
144. Houston Texans at Arizona Cardinals
145. Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
146. Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
Monday, November 11
147. Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Thursday, November 14 (Eleventh Weekend)
(Byes: Dallas, St. Louis)
148. Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans
Sunday, November 17
149. N.Y. Jets at Buffalo Bills
150. Baltimore Ravens at Chicago Bears
151. Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals
152. Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans
153. Arizona Cardinals at Jacksonville Jaguars
154. San Diego Chargers at Miami Dolphins
155. Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles
156. Detroit Lions at Pittsburgh Steelers
157. Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
158. Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
159. San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints
160. Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks
161. Green Bay Packers at N.Y. Giants *
Monday, November 18
162. New England Patriots at Carolina Panthers
Thursday, November 21 (Twelfth Weekend)
(Byes: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Seattle)
163. New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
Sunday, November 24
164. N.Y. Jets at Baltimore Ravens
165. Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
166. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions
167. Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers
168. Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
169. San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
170. Carolina Panthers at Miami Dolphins
171. Chicago Bears at St. Louis Rams
172. Indianapolis Colts at Arizona Cardinals
173. Tennessee Titans at Oakland Raiders
174. Dallas Cowboys at N.Y. Giants
175. Denver Broncos at New England Patriots *
Monday, November 25
176. San Francisco 49ers at Washington Redskins
* - Sunday Night Games In Weeks 11-16 Subject To Change
Thursday, November 28 (Thirteenth Weekend)
177. Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
178. Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys
179. Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, December 1
180. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
181. Jacksonville Jaguars at Cleveland Browns
182. Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts
183. Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
184. Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
185. Miami Dolphins at N.Y. Jets
186. Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles
187. Atlanta Falcons at Buffalo Bills (Toronto)
188. St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49ers
189. New England Patriots at Houston Texans
190. Cincinnati Bengals at San Diego Chargers
191. N.Y. Giants at Washington Redskins *
Monday, December 2
192. New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
Thursday, December 5 (Fourteenth Weekend)
193. Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars
Sunday, December 8
194. Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore Ravens
195. Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals
196. Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots
197. Oakland Raiders at N.Y. Jets
198. Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
199. Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles
200. Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers
201. Buffalo Bills at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
202. Kansas City Chiefs at Washington Redskins
203. Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos
204. St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals
205. N.Y. Giants at San Diego Chargers
206. Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
207. Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers *
Monday, December 9
208. Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears
* - Sunday Night Games In Weeks 11-16 Subject To Change
Thursday, December 12 (Fifteenth Weekend)
209. San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos
Sunday, December 15
210. Washington Redskins at Atlanta Falcons
211. Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns
212. Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
213. Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars
214. New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
215. Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings
216. Seattle Seahawks at N.Y. Giants
217. New Orleans Saints at St. Louis Rams
218. San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
219. Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans
220. N.Y. Jets at Carolina Panthers
221. Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
222. Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys
223. Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers *
Monday, December 16
224. Baltimore Ravens at Detroit Lions
Sunday, December 22 (Sixteenth Weekend)
225. Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
226. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
227. Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals
228. Denver Broncos at Houston Texans
229. Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars
230. Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
231. Cleveland Browns at N.Y. Jets
232. Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles
233. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at St. Louis Rams
234. Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
235. N.Y. Giants at Detroit Lions
236. Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
237. Pittsburgh Steelers at Green Bay Packers
238. Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
239. New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens *
Monday, December 23
240. Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers
* - Sunday Night Games In Weeks 11-16 Subject To Change
Sunday, December 29 (Seventeenth Weekend)
241. Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
242. Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
243. Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
244. Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
245. Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
246. N.Y. Jets at Miami Dolphins
247. Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
248. Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots
249. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints
250. Washington Redskins at N.Y. Giants
251. Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
252. Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans
253. San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
254. Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
255. Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers
256. St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks
* - Sunday Night Game In Week 17 TBD
Postseason
Saturday, January 4 AFC and NFC Wild Card Playoffs (NBC)
Sunday, January 5 AFC and NFC Wild Card Playoffs (CBS And Fox)
Saturday, January 11 AFC and NFC Divisional Playoffs (CBS And Fox)
Sunday, January 12 AFC and NFC Divisional Playoffs (CBS And Fox)
Sunday, January 19 AFC and NFC Championship Games (CBS And Fox)
Sunday, January 26 Afc-NFC Pro Bowl (NBC)
Sunday, February 2 Super Bowl XLVIII, New York/New Jersey (Fox)
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