Under Roger Goodell’s leadership, the NFL has grown increasingly popular. His tenure has seen significant success in expanding the league’s fanbase, with strategic decisions that have brought more global attention to the sport.

One of Goodell’s key achievements has been elevating the NFL’s presence internationally. However, he is now aiming for another major overhaul that could drastically reshape the league and its impact on players.

Roger Goodell confirms a major revamp to the NFL schedule soon

Roger Goodell’s tenure as NFL Commissioner has been marked by substantial growth in the league’s popularity, not just domestically but globally. His leadership has undeniably brought more eyes to the sport.

Despite this success, Goodell has also made several controversial decisions, and his latest proposal is likely to spark significant backlash from players.

A few years ago, Goodell introduced the concept of a 17-game regular season. This move faced strong opposition from players but was eventually implemented, adding an extra game to an already demanding schedule.

Now, Goodell is proposing another significant change. He has announced plans to expand the regular season to 18 games, while reducing the preseason to two games, keeping the total at 20 games per year, including preseason.

“We would keep within that 20-game framework,” Goodell said on Bloomberg TV. “We went to 16 and four, and now 17 and three. So 18 and two is a logical step.”

What do players think about an 18-game regular season?

The NFL Players Association will need to deliberate on this proposal. Their role is to assess the feasibility of this new schedule, but early reactions suggest the idea is not well-received among players.

Many players have expressed concerns that the current schedule is already taxing. Adding another regular-season game, even with a reduced preseason, raises fears of increased injuries and the potential negative impact on team performance.

The calendar for the 2023 season was confirmed a month ago. That’s something that could be a huge part of how teams end up doing depending on how their games are distributed. However, that doesn’t apply to the preseason.

In the past it was more frequent seeing teams using their starters multiple times. Nowadays it has become a norm to see most of the star players not participating at all, taking the first couple of weeks of the regular season as the preseason.

This part of the year always begins with what is called the Hall of Fame Game, played in Canton, Ohio. The teams chosen by the NFL to play in that matchup were the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets, set for August 3^rd.

NFL Preseason Schedule 2023

Hall of Fame Game

Thursday, August 3

Cleveland Browns vs New York Jets, 8:00 PM

Week 1

Thursday, August 10

Houston Texans at New England Patriots, 7:00 PM

Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks, 10:00 PM.

Friday, August 11

Green Bay Packers at Cincinnati Bengals, 7:00 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:00 PM

New York Giants at Detroit Lions, 7:00 PM

Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins, 7:00 PM

Washington Commanders at Cleveland Browns, 7:30 PM

Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals, 10:00 PM

Saturday, August 12

Tennessee Titans at Chicago Bears, 1:00 PM

Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills, 1:00 PM

New York Jets at Carolina Panthers, 4:00 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars at Dallas Cowboys, 5:00 PM

Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens, 7:00 PM

Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams, 9:00 PM

Sunday, August 13

Kansas City Chiefs at New Orleans Saints, 1:00 PM

San Francisco 49ers at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:00 PM

Week 2

Thursday, August 17

Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles, 7:30 PM

Friday, August 18

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants, 7:00 PM

Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons, 7:30 PM

Saturday, August 19

Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions, 1:00 PM

Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans, 4:00 PM

Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers, 6:30 PM

Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts, 7:00 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Jets, 7:30 PM

Tennessee Titans at Minnesota Vikings, 8:00 PM

Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals, 8:00 PM

New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers, 8:00 PM

Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers, 8:30 PM

Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Rams, 9:00 PM

Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks, 10:00 PM

Sunday, August 20

New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers, 7:05 PM

Monday, Aug. 21

Baltimore Ravens at Washington Commanders, 8:00 PM

Week 3

Thursday, August 24

Pittsburgh Steelers at Atlanta Falcons, 7:30 PM

Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:00 PM

Friday, August 25

Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers, 8:00 PM

New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans, 8:15 PM

Los Angeles Chargers at San Francisco 49ers, 10:00 PM

Saturday, August 26

Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers, 1:00 PM

Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs, 1:00 PM

Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings, 1:00 PM

Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears, 1:00 PM

New York Jets at New York Giants, 6:00 PM

Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Commanders, 6:05 PM

Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:00 PM

Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars, 7:00 PM

Los Angeles Raiders at Dallas Cowboys, 8:00 PM

Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos, 9:00 PM

Sunday, August 27

Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints, 8:00 PM

*All are Eastern Times

This week was focused only on the NFL schedule that was released on Thursday night. The opponents each team is going to face gets determined right after the regular season ends, so everyone knew who they were meeting.

With the schedule now being completed the distribution of each game is what could benefit some franchises and harm others. In the losing side of the conversation are the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams.

Some teams will have easier paths while other might have to go through a tougher road. Making a schedule that is liked by every team is virtually impossible. However, these two NFC West rivals have something in common that went against them.

NFL schedule: 49ers, Rams among the biggest losers

There are different ways to determine who was benefited with the schedule, but the discussions could end up being just opinions. Something that is easier to prove is how much time each team have to rest between games, and that’s exactly where these franchises were harmed the most.

The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams will be playing against teams coming from their bye weeks four times. They are the only ones to have that disadvantage that might be huge during the demanding 17-game season.

San Francisco will play vs the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Arizona Cardinals in weeks 6, 8, 10, and 15, respectively. Los Angeles is set to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in W7, the Dallas Cowboys in W8, the Baltimore Ravens in W14, and the Washington Commanders in W15.

The full NFL schedule was released last Thursday with a ton of exciting games. There will a fun opening matchup between the Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions, although it gets even better from then on.

Some things have not changed because they are already established traditions in the league. The Thanksgiving Day schedule slate is the best example of it. Every year the Dallas Cowboys and the Lions both get to host a game, with their opponents being the only thing that is uncertain before the schedule release.

This season there was a new date appearing in the calendar after that Thursday triple-header. In 2023 it will be time for the first ever game on Black Friday. It’s going to be a great clash featuring the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. A divisional matchup between top teams should have a lot of people thrilled. However, one team didn’t like it.

A Super Bowl contender requested to play on Black Friday

The Jets have been away from the big scene for a long time because they weren’t able to have good teams for a while. This season that will change thanks only to their new quarterback Aaron Rodgers. New York will go back to Sunday Night Football after 12 years, but they will also feature in this new spot in the calendar.

The Cincinnati Bengals were the team that offered to host the first ever game on Black Friday. This was told by the NFL VP of Broadcast Planning Mike North, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. This could have been a great opportunity to appear in a standalone match for a small market franchise. However, not being selected doesn’t mean they won’t be considered in the future.

Cincinnati saw the opportunity to become a regular participant in what could become a huge thing in a couple of years, although the possibility of an AFC East rivalry game was too enticing. This week 12 clash between the Jets and the Dolphins will take place on November 24. “We’re thrilled to offer another way to delight Amazon customers, and give all fans free access to this AFC East showdown”, vice president of global sports video Marie Donoghue said about the broadcast.

Every team knew who they were going to play against this year. Once the regular season ends, the full list of opponents for the next one is already confirmed. With the NFL schedule release fans find out when those games are happening.

Big games like Aaron Rodgers vs Patrick Mahomes were announced in advance. Other important dates like New Year’s Eve or the inaugural Black Friday match were also leaked before the full schedule was revealed. However, it’s time to know who has the toughest calendar.

NFL Schedule 2023: Who has the highest strength of schedule?

Determining who has the biggest disadvantages in the schedule is something very subjective. Although trying to measure the level of their opponents can be weighed based on the strength of schedule. This could be a way to have a better idea of how tough a calendar seems to be by looking at the win percentage of each rival in the 2022 season.

The Philadelphia Eagles have the hardest schedule in 2023. Philadelphia rank first with a .566 because they have contenders on their way. Playing in a competitive division against playoffs teams like the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants made their number go up. They will also have a Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs.

Top 5 hardest NFL schedules in 2023

1- Philadelphia Eagles – .566

2- Miami Dolphins – .554

T3- New England Patriots – .549

T3- Dallas Cowboys – .549

T3- New York Giants – .549

Although now every fan knows when the team they support is playing. The opponents were something that was already established based on the formula used by the league, but it was still interesting to find out the exact dates.

This part of the season is ideal to start doing some projections based on when each game fell. It is also common to talk about who has the easiest schedule. Everyone can have an opinion, although there is one stat that simplifies that discussion.

NFL Schedule 2023: Who has the lowest strength of schedule?

The way the NFL schedule is made helps to keep the parity in a super competitive league. A lot of things can change from one season to the other, but it still a good starting point knowing how well each team played the previous year. This system can’t be considered perfect because there are moves that could shift the faith of a franchise, like the New York Jets trading for Aaron Rodgers.

The Atlanta Falcons have the easiest NFL schedule in 2023. Their strength of schedule equates to .417, which represents the combined win percentage in the 2022 season of their rivals. Considering they finished last in the NFC South it makes total sense they rank high, having to play to other teams that ended fourth in their divisions. It’s also not a coincidence that teams in bad divisions appear at the top of this list.

Top 5 easiest NFL schedules in 2023

1- Atlanta Falcons 0.417

2- New Orleans Saints 0.427

3- Houston Texans 0.431

4- Indianapolis Colts 0.434

5- Tennessee Titans 0.448