The Philadelphia Eagles released their 2020 schedule Thursday night. Now we just have to hope all these games get played and fans can be inside the stadiums.
Despite a report on Wednesday night about the NFL possibly scheduling inter-conference games first, the Birds will kick off their 2020 schedule with a short drive or train ride down to Washington for a 1 p.m. game on Sept. 13.
They’ll face a Redskins team they’ve beaten in six straight times. This is the third time in four years the Eagles will open against Washington.
In total, the Eagles are scheduled to play four games in prime time in 2020. They were originally scheduled to have five in 2019 but the Seahawks game in November was flexed to an earlier time slot. In both 2017 and 2018, the Eagles played five prime time games.
Since the turn of the century, the Eagles have played the second-most primetime games in the entire league:
Cowboys: 90
Eagles: 85
Packers: 82
Giants: 82
Steelers: 82
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A few other notes about the Eagles’ 2020 schedule:
• Three of those four primetime games are at home this year. That’s a nice touch. This is the 14th consecutive season the Eagles have been scheduled to play at least four primetime games.
• A Week 9 bye week perfectly splits the 16-game schedule into two equal parts. That’s nice for players and also nice for writers who will be able to easily project halfway numbers for the entire season.
• Coming off the bye, things get tough. Sure, the Giants and Browns are very beatable but that’s two straight road games followed by three Hall of Fame quarterbacks: Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees. At least two of those three are at home.
• Pretty soft opening for the Birds, getting Washington out of the gate. Sure, the Redskins smacked them in the mouth in last year’s season opener, going up 17-0, but the Eagles were the better team and rallied for the win. During this six-game win streak against the Redskins, the Eagles have outscored them, on average, 30.8-18.
With the first road trip being a short trip to Washington, the Eagles won’t have to board a plane in September.
• That trip to Lambeau Field is the latest the Eagles have ever played there in a season, so they could be in for a cold December game. The latest the Eagles ever played there before came in 1998, when they faced the Packers on The Frozen Tundra on Nov. 29.
• The Eagles play the Patriots in Week 3 of the preseason, which would normally lend itself to joint practices. But this year it'll probably be a struggle to get normal training camp practices in.
• Based on 2019 records, the Eagles’ strength of schedule is 26th hardest in the NFL (.486) but the Eagles will play the four teams with the best records in the NFL last season (Ravens, 14-2; Packers, Saints, 49ers, 13-3).
• Of course, 2019 records probably isn’t the best way to determine SOS. Based on projected gambling odds from sportsbooks for the 2020 season, Sharp Football has the Eagles with the 14th hardest schedule in the NFL.
Here’s the full schedule:
Week 1 — at WAS on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. on FOX
Week 2 — vs. LAR on Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. on FOX
Week 3 — vs. Bengals on Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. on CBS
*Week 4 — at SF on Oct. 4 at 8:20 p.m. on NBC
Week 5 — at PIT on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. on FOX
Week 6 — vs. BAL on Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. on CBS
$Week 7 — vs. NYG on Oct. 22 at 8:20 p.m. on FOX
*Week 8 — vs. DAL on Nov. 11 at 8:20 p.m. on NBC
Week 9 — BYE WEEK
Week 10 — at NYG on Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. on FOX
Week 11 — at CLE on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. on FOX
#Week 12 — vs. SEA on Nov. 30 at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN
Week 13 — at GB on Dec. 6 at 4:25 p.m. on CBS
Week 14 — vs. NOR on Dec. 13 at 4:25 p.m. on FOX
Week 15 — at ARZ on Dec. 20 at 4:05 p.m. on FOX
Week 16 — at DAL on Dec. 27 at 4:25 p.m. on FOX
Week 17 — vs. WAS on Jan. 3 at 1 p.m. on FOX
* Sunday Night Football
# Monday Night Football
$ Thursday Night Football
Preseason schedule
Week 1 — at IND on NBC10
Week 2 — at MIA on NBC10
Week 3 — vs. NE on NBC10
Week 4 — vs. NYJ on NBC10
