NFL owners approved the change to a 17-game regular season schedule at this year’s Annual League Meeting, meaning the regular season moves to 18 weeks, with the extra game coming as an additional AFC vs. NFC matchup. The extra interconference matchups are determined by corresponding divisional finish from the previous season (so first place versus first place, etc.), and the divisions rotate on a yearly basis. This year, the pairings are as follows:
NFC East-AFC East
NFC West-AFC North
NFC South-AFC South
NFC North-AFC West
This one extra game between interconference opponents in addition to the traditional set-up where an entire division from the opposite conference all play each other makes for five interconference games per team each season.
For 2021, the AFC will host all the extra games (so the entire AFC gets nine home games while the NFC gets eight home games). Here’s the full matchup list for the 17th games on the 2021 NFL schedule:
Washington Football Team vs. Buffalo Bills
New York Giants vs. Miami Dolphins
Dallas Cowboys vs. New England Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Los Angeles Rams vs. Baltimore Ravens
Arizona Cardinals vs. Cleveland Browns
San Francisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
New Orleans Saints vs. Tennessee Titans
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Indianapolis Colts
Carolina Panthers vs. Houston Texans
Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Chicago Bears vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos
I’m fine with this after seeing some of the schedule