By Derek Lofland. The unveiling of the NFL schedule is the first point in the NFL offseason where you can begin to look forward to next year. After the NFL Draft you can start to fully evaluate the schedule and the 2008 season in general. While I have looked at the schedules and have some opinions as to which teams have the most difficult road, I am going to save those judgments for after the NFL draft.
What it isn’t too early to do is start looking at some of the marquee match ups in 2008. Based on the free agent signings and performances over the last couple seasons here are the 10 games that I circled on the NFL calendar as being more noteworthy than the rest. I did not rate divisional games, as we always look forward to those. These are the best of the Non-Divisional Match Ups.
Honorable Mention: New York Giants (10-6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) - October 26, 2008: I didn't want to leave the NFL Champion NY Giants off the list. However, they don't have that one game that I am looking forward to like the other 10 on my list that is out of the division. The Browns and Seahawks are solid opponents. How they do against Minnesota this time around will be a good storyline. The only game I considered putting on the list was the Steelers Game. Seeing the Steelers occupy 4 other games on the list, I decided to make this game my Honorable Mention.
10) Chicago Bears (7-9) at Indianapolis Colts (13-3) – September 07, 2008: A rematch of Super Bowl XLI. While the Bears failed to make the playoffs a year after making the Super Bowl, the Colts had another typical 12-plus win season in the Tony Dungy era. This game will mark the opening of Indianapolis’s new stadium. Brian Urlacher vs. Peyton Manning. If the Bears can return to their 2006 form in 2008 this has the making of an excellent opening game.
9) Washington Redskins (9-7) at Seattle Seahawks (10-6) – November 23rd, 2008: This is a solid rematch of the NFL Wildcard Round. The Redskins have lost 2 consecutive playoff games in Seattle, 2005 and 2007. The 2007 playoff game was very intriguing. After Seattle raced out to a 13-0 lead, the Redskins scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead. Seattle went on to score the final 22 points of the game, including 2 defensive touchdowns to pull away 35-14. This is also the return of Seattle Offensive Coordinator Jim Zorn as Washington’s Head Coach. Seattle is always a difficult place to win, so if the Redskins are going to win they will have their work cut out for them.
8) San Diego Chargers (11-5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) – November 16th, 2008: The Chargers and Steelers have had some memorable regular season games over the last couple seasons. The most memorable was the Monday Night Football game when the Steelers defeated the Chargers, 24-22, on a Jeff Reed 40-yard field goal in the final moments of the game. The teams met again in 2006. The Chargers beat the Steelers 23-13 to drop the Steelers to 1-3 in The Chin’s final season. After taking the 2007 campaign off these two AFC powers go back at it in 2008 in what has the makings of a terrific game.
7) Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) at New England Patriots (16-0) – November 30th, 2008: A match up that has resulted in a couple AFC Championship Games this decade resumes in New England for the second straight season. The Steelers were embarrassed 34-13 in New England in 2007 in a game that many people thought could be the Patriots first loss of the 2007 season. The Steelers will get an opportunity to show if their defense can stop Brady, Moss, and company.
6) Dallas Cowboys (13-3) at Green Bay Packers (13-3) - September 21, 2008: A rematch of the NFC’s two best regular season teams in 2007. The two met in a highly publicized NFL Network Showdown as 10-1 heavyweights. Brett Favre did not come out of the gate strong and was knocked out of the game in the 2nd quarter. Rodgers stepped into the game down 27-10. He went 18 of 26 for 201 yards and one touchdown and brought the Packers back to 27-24, before ultimately losing 37-27. This year Rodgers will be the starter and the Cowboys will be coming to Green Bay. This will be the first playoff team for the Packers in 2008 after they open up against division rivals Minnesota and at Detroit. It will be interesting to see how the Packers fare against a competitive team without long time quarterback Brett Favre.
5) Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (11-5) - October 5th, 2008: A rematch of the best Wild Card Round game of the 2007 playoffs. The Jaguars became the first team in the history of the NFL to win two times in the same season in Pittsburgh. Both games were exciting to the end. The first game saw the Jaguars take a 22-7 lead into the 4th quarter. Roethlisberger threw two 4th quarter touchdowns and a two point conversion tied the game. Fred Taylor scored the go ahead touchdown on a 12-yard run to put the Jags ahead for good. In the playoff game, the Steelers again feel behind 28-10 after 3 quarters. They came alive in the 4th scoring 19 unanswered points to take a 29-28 lead. David Garrard had a 40 yard plus run on 4th down late in the game to set up the winning field goal. If this year’s rematch comes even close to those two games the NFL world is in for a treat.
4) New England Patriots (16-0) at San Diego Chargers (11-5) – October 12th, 2008: You could flip 3 and 4 around if you want. I think the Colts and Chargers games were more entertaining last season, and therefore I put it at number 3. The Patriots have had the Chargers number. The Chargers lost a heartbreaking 2006 Divisional Round game 24-21 in San Diego. The Chargers had an 8 point 4th quarter lead, but could not hold on. Kaeding missed a 50-plus yard field goal that would have sent the game to OT. In 2007 the Patriots blew the Chargers off the field before they knew what happened. The Patriots led 24-0 at halftime and won 38-14. In the 2007 AFC Championship the Chargers kept the game competitive, but couldn’t break into the end zone. The Chargers 4 field goals came up short, 21-12. This is the game the Chargers hope they can finally break through.
3) Indianapolis Colts (13-3) at San Diego Chargers (11-5) – November 23, 2008: Another rematch of playoff teams that met in both the regular season and playoffs. The first regular season game saw the Chargers force 6 Peyton Manning interceptions and the Chargers raced out to a 23-0 lead in San Diego. The Colts scored 21 straight points and still had a chance to win the game, but Adam Vinatieri missed a chip shot that sealed the Colt’s fate. In the Divisional Round rematch in Indy, the Colts lost 28-24, despite the fact that Rivers, LT, and Gates missed significant time in the second half with injuries. These two have played very entertaining games the last few seasons and nothing should be different in 2008.
2) Dallas Cowboys (13-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) - Dec. 7th, 2008: This is always a special game. The Steelers and Cowboys have met 3 times in the Super Bowl, with the Steelers winning in Super Bowls X & XIII. The Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX. Because they play in different conferences, the rivals meet only once every 4 years. That is why I have it rated higher than their regular season record and postseason record in 2007 would indicate. Big Ben and Romo are two young quarterbacks that are coming off 30 touchdown pass seasons. TO returning to Pennsylvania is an interesting storyline, even if it isn’t Philadelphia. The two teams should be fighting for playoff position in this December contest. It should be a very intriguing game between two teams that don’t play each other that much.
1) New England Patriots (16-0) at Indianapolis Colts (13-3) – November 2nd, 2008: As long as Tom Brady is in a Patriot uniform and Peyton Manning is pitching products in his Colts gear this will continue to be the Main Event. Both quarterbacks are future first ballot Hall of Famers. Both play on the teams that have experienced the most success in the 2000 decade. There is mutual respect and dislike for one another on both sides. Last year’s game saw 9-0 Patriots square off against the 8-0 Colts. This year they meet in a Week 9 showdown as well. Every game these two play seems to come down to the closing minutes of the 4th quarter.
Those are the 10 games that stood out to me on the schedule when it was released. As we all know it probably won't turn out that way. Few could have predicted the 10-1 Cowboys would meet the 10-1 Packers last year. What looks good in April can be pretty boring come October and November. Furthermore, I’m sure you could find a series of other games depending on your allegiance. Finally, my list doesn’t even include the intriguing divisional match ups. What that adds up to is another exciting year of NFL football.
My plan is to have a draft recap up after the April 26th and 27th NFL Draft. Shortly thereafter I will look at the big winners and losers of the NFL schedule. While I definitely have some opinions on that, I want to hold off on that until I see if there are any other big trades or moves during the draft. My goal is to start doing my division by division previews beginning in May.
What is the game you are most looking forward to in 2008? Do you think I identified the correct games or did I overlook something? I look forward to reading your comments.
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