You’ve been waiting for it, here it is, I just had to comb through each game with a fine tooth comb so that I could find the 10 games worth circling on the NFL schedule…are you ready?
((football music))
1-Dallas @ Tampa Bay to open the season are you kidding me?! Storylines a plenty in this one…a champion raises the banner, Dak is back, and more importantly- the season starts.
2-Chiefs @ Ravens week 2 SNF- These 2 teams played in Baltimore last year and it was UGLY for Lamar Jackson. 97 pass yards, Ravens lose 34-20…well now we’ve got fans, and I anticipate an all time classic between Mahomes and Jackson – the one we thought we would get last year.
3-Bucs @ Rams week 3- 4:25…it’ll be just the 2nd home game for the Rams with fans in attendance…but most importantly, this is going to tell you a lot about who the ruler of the NFC is in 2021. I think these are the 2 most talented rosters in the conference and this game could tell us A LOT.
4-Jags @ Bengals week 4- TNF: Burrow vs Lawrence, rematch of the 2020 National Championship, 2 up and coming teams who have found their QB’s of the future, this one will be fun.
5-Bucs @ Pats week 4- SNF: This one might just break all the ratings records that were set in week 1 between the Bucs/Cowboys. Also, fun note…Tom Brady is 1,154 yards away from breaking Drew Brees’ all-time passing record. At his average last year, Brady should be able to hit that mark in week 4 @ Foxborough.
6-Cardinals @ Browns week 6- 1pm: 2 former first overall picks out of OU going head to head. This will be a critical juncture of the season for those teams too as they try and break through.
7-Seahawks @ Steelers week 6- SNF: Super Bowl 40 rematch. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw Russell Wilson @ Heinz Field, especially at night with a bunch of yellow towels swirling all over the place. This should be a classic.
8-SF @ Chicago week 8- 1pm: Justin Fields will be in full swing at this point, and it’ll be interesting to see how he plays against a team that chose to go with Trey Lance instead of him. 2 good defenses too, this one has old-school vibe potential to it in the howling wind of Chicago in late October.
9-Bills @ Bucs week 14- 4:25: Tom isn’t in the AFC East any more but he has taken down Josh Allen a time or two back when he was. It’ll be interesting to see if Allen can get that monkey off his back, since this is likely his last regular season opportunity.
10- Jags vs Dolphins week 6- 9:30am in London: Tua vs Trevor, early morning football, my favorite team vs the team I've deemed most compelling in 2021...I might just starting drinking early that day. Fire me up a Bloody Mary.
*Special write-in: Every game in week 18, because for the first time EVER, we have 18 weeks of regular season football.
photo: getty images