ESPN is hosting a three-hour NFL schedule release special tonight at 8pm ET. Most teams, however, are going to release their full schedules at 7:30pm ET. So, feel free to watch the special because it’s almost sports, but the Eagles will be releasing their schedule early.
Some details have already been rumored and leaked, and we already know the Eagles’ opponents for the 2020 season. And because waiting is boring, let’s take a look at what we already know about the schedule.
2020 Philadelphia Eagles’ opponents
While we don’t know the order of the exact schedule, we have known the Eagles’ opponents and locations for a few months. Like always, they will have six games against their three divisional opponents. Aside from that, they will play every team in the AFC North, every team in the NFC West, and the divisional winners from the NFC South (Saints) and NFC North (Packers). Here is the breakdown:
Home: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks
Away: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers
What has been rumored and leaked?
On Wednesday, there were multiple reports and leaks about the 2020 NFL schedule. Warren Sharp reported that the NFL was going to schedule the 2020 season in a series of “blocks.” In this scenario, the NFL would break the schedule into blocks like this:
- Weeks 1-4: Four AFC vs. NFC matchups
- Weeks 5-6: Two games vs. in-conference teams (a team’s two non-divisional same-place finishers. For the Eagles, this would be the Saints and Packers, as mentioned above)
- Weeks 7-10: Three games vs. divisional opponents, plus one bye week.
- Weeks 11-14: Four games vs. in-conference divisional opponents (the NFC East plays the NFC West this season)
- Weeks 15-17: Three games vs. divisional opponents to wrap up the season.
There is a very informative thread from Warren Sharp on Twitter about the topic:
While the exact scheduling of those blocks is only rumored, the part about the first four weeks being entirely AFC vs. NFC teams appears to be fairly concrete. For the Eagles that means four straight games against the teams from the AFC North to start the year:
Home: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals
Away: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns
Here is the complete list via an image from Warren Sharp’s Twitter account:
2020 Eagles schedule prediction
So, based on everything we know, what could an Eagles schedule look like? Rather than wait until the official word, let’s take a crack at it. Here is my prediction for the 2020 Eagles schedule:
Week 1: at Cleveland Browns
Week 2: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 3: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The thinking here is that the NFL might schedule these in reverse order of importance/interest. In the event that they have to delay or cancel part of the season, they will feel better about losing an Eagles vs. Browns matchup than an Eagles vs. Steelers matchup. Again, this is just a guess.
Week 5: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 6: at Green Bay Packers
If the rumored NFL schedule leaks are true, then the Eagles will be playing the Saints and Packers in Weeks 5 and 6. Could the order be swapped? Sure. Why not.
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: vs. New York Giants
Week 9: at Washington R-Words
Week 10: vs. Dallas Cowboys
It sounds like the NFL might try to squeeze all of the BYE weeks into the Week 7-10 block, which makes some sense. The NFL tends to favor the Cowboys and Jerry Jones, so the prediction here is that the Eagles host the Cowboys earlier in the season and then travel to Dallas in the final weeks.
Week 11: at San Francisco 49ers
Week 12: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 13: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 14: vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Eagles play the NFC West this season, so this is a guess at how that block will look. Could the Eagles choose to stay out west somewhere with back-to-back games in San Francisco and Arizona?
Week 15: at New York Giants
Week 16: vs. Washington R-Words
Week 17: at Dallas Cowboys
If the NFL wants to wrap up the season with divisional matchups, having the Eagles face the Cowboys in a Week 17 showdown makes the most sense.
Comment on here or reply on Twitter and let us know what you think. And if the schedule release isn’t enough #sports for you, take an early look at all 90 players currently on the Eagles roster.
