Last Wednesday, the highly anticipated schedule release for the 2021 NFL season was officially announced. While most of us already knew who the road and home opponents for the teams were, we didn’t know exactly when those matchups were set to take place. I broke down my top 10 prime time matchups last week here, but for this version, we will talk about my favorite top ten non-prime time games. An important thing to note here is that, as the season goes on, the NFL has the ability to “flex” games into prime time slots if there’s a surprise team that’s exceeding expectations. Often times, we see struggling teams get removed from prime time slots simply because viewership and interest won’t be sky high, so I am sure that we will see that happen once again this year. That being said, I think that there are so many good matchups this season, which is makes it extremely hard to limit this list to just top ten only (especially with 17 weeks of football) but I will try my best. Let’s get it started!
10. Jets at Panthers (Week 1)
No better way to kick off opening day for the 2021 season than having Sam Darnold play the team that shipped him out earlier this offseason. As you might recall, the Jets drafted Darnold with the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 draft but ultimately failed, from top to bottom, to build a respectable roster around him. Unfortunately, the Jets had a horrible season, and also lost out on top QB prospect Trevor Lawrence, but the consensus around the league was that the Jets were going to take a QB with the 2nd overall pick and possibly move on from Sam. They did, in fact, move Sam in the end, trading him to the Carolina Panthers for draft compensation. With this in tow, a fresh start can begin now for both the team and the player. You will also recall that, during a horrific performance on Monday Night Football back in Week 7 of the 2019-2020 season, Darnold was caught on a hot mic saying he was “seeing ghosts.” I can’t help but root for the guy to find success, so I hope he’s seeing sunshine and rainbows out in Charlotte! We’ll get to see the QB that replaced him, in Zach Wilson, bring the new look Jets for an early Week 1 showdown, and you can’t ask for anything more.
9. 49ers at Bears (Week 8)
Is this the chance that the NFL fan base gets to see a showdown between two rookie QBs, in Trey Lance and Justin Fields? If both incumbent starters, Jimmy Garoppolo and Andy Dalton, struggle in the first few weeks, I can see both teams pulling the plug on their starters and inserting their rookie QBs instead. There was a lot of debate about who the 49ers should have drafted, whether it was Lance, Mac Jones, or Fields. The general fan base, and some analysts, believed that the 49ers made a mistake by not taking Fields at number 3, which makes this matchup a top 10 game in my book IF we get to see those two go at it. The defenses are already stout and, if the offenses click, we could see one of these teams in the playoffs.
8. Colts at Bills (Week 11)
This is a rematch of the early AFC Wild Card game, where the now retired Philip Rivers almost led a near heroic comeback to shock the Bills at home. Buffalo would squeeze the victory out by three, and then would ultimately lose in the AFC title game vs. Kansas City. You can bet that Head Coach Frank Reich is going to remind this team about what happened the last time they were there to add some fuel to the fire. By this point, we will know if the Colts front office made the right choice to trade for Carson Wentz, as they will be having their sights set on a division title. In their path stands potential MVP candidate Josh Allen, who absolutely dominated last year to a tune of 45 total touchdowns. Allen continues to reap the rewards, as the Bills kept their Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll, who was named NFL Assistant Coach of The Year for the fourth straight year. This is a recipe for continuous success and, with a rocket of an arm and impressive mobility, I’d expect Allen to be in the conversation once again for MVP. This a great AFC battle the week leading up to Thanksgiving.
7. Cowboys at Chargers (Week 2)
The Cowboys have a bit of a tough start being on the road for their first two games, one on opening night in Tampa and then a trip to a highly competitive Chargers team led by reigning Rookie of the Year, Justin Herbert. This has the makings of a potential shootout early in the season, as the Cowboys have a young and inexperienced defense that is going through some changes and growing pains. The Chargers, on the other hand, are being led by first year Head Coach and former Rams Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley, and they bring a strong unit led by Joey Bosa and Derwin James. Expect both teams to work through some early season rust and let up some big plays here against explosive offenses. Maybe take the over in total points here, but we’ll get to that later on.
6. Lions at Rams (Week 7)
The offseason kicked off in stunning fashion, when the Lions and Rams made a blockbuster deal for their respective franchises. The Lions all time passing leader, Matthew Stafford, was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for another former number one overall pick (QB Jared Goff), a 2021 Third-Round pick, a First-Round pick in 2022, and a First-Round pick in 2023. The Rams felt they needed to maximize their Super Bowl window by upgrading at the QB position, and they felt Goff didn’t give them the best chance to win in the NFC. Now, Goff gets to seek revenge as he pays a visit to his former club in what should be a lopsided game in favor of the Rams. I believe this could have been a great prime-time game but, with the Lions going through a massive rebuild, this warrants an afternoon slot.
5. Eagles at Giants (Week 12)
If there’s one game most Giants fans had circled for this season, it would be the first meeting against the Eagles. From Daniel Jones open field stumble to Evan Engram’s dropped crucial pass late in that same game, to the infamous scenario in Week 17 where Doug Peterson (now fired) benched Jalen Hurts to “evaluate” Nate Sudfeld (no longer on the team), to making a trade with a division opponent to leapfrog the Giants to take WR DeVonta Smith, this rivalry (as well as the trash talking) has become even more intense than usual. I personally wanted a Week 1 matchup between the two teams, because you know they would have come out firing with tons of emotions. Unfortunately, the NFL did the fans a disservice by scheduling the first meeting between the Eagles vs. Giants on Week 12, which kind of takes the juice out of the game but, at the end of the day, I expect the players, coaches, and fans to be fired up for this classic NFC East showdown.
4. Buccaneers at Rams (Week 3)
Inject this game into my veins! The battle in the trenches between an extremely sound Bucs Offensive Line vs. the Rams Defensive Line, led by future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald, is certainly one of the better battles we will see this season. Top that off with the Bucs receiving corp being led by WR Mike Evans vs. the Rams Secondary being led by CB Jalen Ramsey, and now you’re cooking! This is another game I would have preferred on prime time, but we will still enjoy it for what it is.
3. Bills at Buccaneers (Week 14)
This could have been one of the Super Bowl matchups last year, which would have pitted the Bills against their long time nemesis, Tom Brady. Brady is a career 32-3 against the Bills, which is simply bananas! Are we looking at a potential SB preview here between these two heavyweights? I guess we can sit here and say that many of these matchups are SB previews, but this one certainly has the makings for it. If Buffalo wants to show that they are a legitimate contender, they have to prove it on the road against the defending Champs.
2. Browns at Chiefs (Week 1)
This is another rematch from last year’s AFC Divisional Round, where the Browns seemingly had a chance to shock the Chiefs at home when Pat Mahomes was dealing with some injuries and left the game late. Instead, they allowed Chad Henne to convert a 4th down throw to Tyreek Hill late in the game, which sealed their fate and ended their season. I’ve mentioned the Browns before a few times in my previous article, and it certainly won’t be the last time! The AFC is a gauntlet to get through, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this Browns team wins a SB in the next three to five years.
1. Packers at Chiefs (Week 9)
This is my number one game once again IF Aaron Rodgers is still the Green Bay QB. A lot can still happen between now and the beginning of the season and, with June being right around the corner, perhaps there’s still a trade brewing between the Broncos and Packers? How lucky are the Chiefs though? They host the Browns, Bills, Steelers, and Packers: all playoff teams from last year. Not having to travel to any of those cities is always beneficial! Seeing two of the best QBs in the NFL go toe-to-toe with each other would be awesome to see in what should be one of the more memorable seasons we’ve seen in a long time. If Rodgers does end up in Denver (or on another team, who knows), then we get to see these two go at it twice a year, potentially! There’s too many questions and not enough answers at the moment, though.
Trust me, I love the summer here in New Jersey, but I have to admit that I cannot wait for this season to get underway. There are just way too many storylines and changes happening that will keep even the more casual fans interested. Let me know which game is your favorite, and let me know if I missed one that isn’t getting enough recognition!
