The NFL will hold its official schedule release at 8:00 PM ET tonight. Yes, really.
And while we do already know the opponents whom the Patriots will be playing, we don’t know what order that will be, when the Patriots will have their bye, and what games the Patriots will have on primetime.
As a reminder, the Patriots opponents are:
Home: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions
Away: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
On the morning of the release, I thought it could be a fun exercise to predict how many primetime games the Patriots will get, and who their opponents might be in those games.
Teams can be scheduled for a maximum of five primetime games. In 2013, the Patriots were initially scheduled for the maximum, but their week sixteen Sunday night game against the Ravens was flexed out. All teams must also play one Thursday night primetime game.