With the 2023 NFL Schedule finally released last night, there may be some under-the-radar facts that you may have missed.
The Schedule
Go time!!! pic.twitter.com/qbkepq64n4
— Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay) May 12, 2023
Only Three One O’Clock Games
Well, if you are a church-going person or generally busy on Sunday mornings, then this is excellent news for you!
If you have been a die-hard Eagles fan for years now, you probably have grown accustomed to watching a majority of their games at 1 o’clock. Weeks 4,8, and 17 are slated to be an early game. The first two came against the Washington Commanders, with the latter being the Cardinals.
The Eagles were slotted to have the toughest strength of schedule in the NFL, and this could be the reason for the lack of early games. If the Birds aren’t playing in primetime, then it seems to be at 4:30, which is where ‘America’s Game of The Week’ is played.
And when you play teams like the Chiefs, Bills, Jets, Cowboys, and 49ers, you might get a couple of game-of-the-week tags.
Five Prime Time Games
This Eagles’ schedule is stacked with prime-time games, especially at the start of the season. The teams will have two straight prime-time games in weeks 2 and 3, as they play on Thursday Night and then Monday Night.
The Birds’ third prime time slot comes in week 7 on Sunday Night Football against the Dolphins. This game will be filled with storylines about Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa during their time in Alabama.
In Week 11, there will be a Super Bowl rematch on Monday Night Football as the Eagles will travel to Kansas City. The Eagles will be fresh off of a bye while trying to avenge their loss in Super Bowl 57. This game could significantly impact the conference’s playoff race, as both could be sitting on top of their respective conference.
And the last confirmed prime-time game of the Eagles season comes in the form of a rivalry against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. The rivalry itself should sell this game enough, but in almost every season now, the NFC East comes down to these two teams. This game could have some major NFC playoff picture implications.
Also, the season’s final game does not have a scheduled time. So if the Giants and Eagles both have major playoff scenarios going into the final week, that game can be pushed to prime time.
Holy Swings
This schedule might have the hardest swings that I have ever seen. The Eagles are lucky that the season starts off relatively easy because it does not end that way. The Eagles start the season with the Patriots, Vikings, Buccaneers, Washington, and the Rams. To realistically obtain the No.1 seed for the second straight year, the Birds might have to go 5-0 in that stretch.
On the complete opposite side of swings, the Eagles have to face the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers, and the Cowboys twice in a single stretch. If that isn’t the most challenging stretch of a single schedule, then I don’t know what is. This stretch will have everything to do with the team’s playoff seeding.
The one positive thing I see about this difficult stretch is that we will know exactly who we are entering the playoffs. Last year some fan bases (49ers) were saying how the Eagles didn’t play anyone all year and got lucky in the playoffs. Well, there is no chance we are lucky this year.
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