≡ Menu

Are Division Games Being Scheduled Later Now?

The Atlanta Falcons play zero division games in September and October. Atlanta travels to Carolina in week 9, and doesn’t play another division game until hosting the Bucs in week 12. Atlanta’s schedule finishes with the Saints, Bucs, Saints, and Panthers in the final four weeks of the season. The six NFC South games for Atlanta occur in weeks 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17, which produces an average of 13.8.

The Patriots have a similar story, with an average of 13.0. New England travels to MetLife Stadium in week 6, before matching Atlanta with five of the six division games coming in the final six weeks: the Patriots final six games are, in order, Miami, @Buffalo, @Miami, @Pittsburgh, Buffalo, New York. Tampa Bay isn’t far behind, with its six division games coming in an average of week 12.8.

On the other hand, you have the Jets. New York’s average division game last year was week 11.8, which was the latest in the NFL. This year, the Jets have the earliest slate, at 7.2. New York travels to Buffalo in week 1 and the team’s home opener comes in week 3 against the Dolphins. The Jets play New England in weeks 6 and 17, but gets Miami in week 7 and Buffalo in week 9 on Thursday night. That means from November 3rd through December 30th, the Jets don’t play a single division game.

Here’s that data for every week, showing which week their division games are played. The table is fully sortable, so you can see, for example, that three teams have their 4th division game in week 15, and therefore their final three games are against division opponents:

TeamAvgGm1Gm2Gm3Gm4Gm5Gm6
Atlanta Falcons13.891214151617
New England Patriots13.061213141617
Tampa Bay Buccaneers12.88912151617
New Orleans Saints12.03913141617
Buffalo Bills11.81913151617
Miami Dolphins11.33712141517
Detroit Lions11.34911121517
Carolina Panthers11.0389131617
Kansas City Chiefs10.7378141517
Indianapolis Colts10.7679121317
Dallas Cowboys10.71811131417
New York Giants10.31312141517
Chicago Bears10.34510111517
Green Bay Packers10.3469101617
Seattle Seahawks10.22510121517
Los Angeles Rams10.0357131517
Oakland Raiders10.0467121417
Minnesota Vikings10.0456121617
Arizona Cardinals10.0479101317
Houston Texans9.8149131517
Washington Redskins9.7178121317
Pittsburgh Steelers9.3147131417
Jacksonville Jaguars9.2127131517
Philadelphia Eagles9.0137111517
Tennessee Titans9.0246121317
Cincinnati Bengals9.0147121317
Baltimore Ravens8.8124141517
Cleveland Browns8.5124121517
Los Angeles Chargers8.213671517
Denver Broncos8.214781217
San Francisco 49ers7.823491217
New York Jets7.21367917

But what about the question of the day: are division games being played later now? Well, that depends what “now” means. If you mean in 2017, the answer is no. But since realignment in 2002, division games are being scheduled later now. This appears to be a conscious decision by the NFL beginning with the 2010 season.

As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments.

{ 11 comments }