Ok, the NFL schedules are out. Let’s post them one at a time. Let’s begin with the CBS/NFL Network Thursday Night Football schedule.
CBS will air Weeks 2-8 and a game in Week 16 on Saturday, December 20. In the first seven weeks, CBS will have four AFC rivalry games including Steelers-Ravens which opens the TNF schedule, Indianapolis at Houston, New York Jets at New England and San Diego at Denver.
There will be three NFC rivalry games including Tampa Bay at Atlanta, New York Football Giants at the DC Football Team and Minnesota at Green Bay.
In Week 16, CBS will air either San Diego at San Francisco or Philadelphia at DC Football Team.
NFL Network airs games from Week 9 through Week 16 taking Week 13 off for Thanksgiving which is NBC’s property.
This is where the schedule gets weaker with games like Browns-Bengals, Buffalo at Miami and Tennessee at Jacksonville.
CBS will produce the entire package. Jim Nantz, Phil Simms and Tracy Wolfson will cover the entire schedule. NFL Network will simulcast CBS’ games in the first half, then NFLN takes over in Week 9.
NBC has two Thursday games the season opener on September 4 between Green Bay and defending Super Bowl Champs Seattle and then on Thanksgiving night, November 27 with Seattle at San Francisco.
Here’s the combined CBS/NFL Network Thursday Night Football schedule for the 2014 season.
2014 THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BROADCAST SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
Slate of 16 Regular-Season Games Kicks Off with Steelers vs. Ravens on September 11 on CBS and NFL Network
The CBS Television Network and NFL Network announce the Thursday Night Football prime time broadcast schedule for the 2014 NFL season. This year marks the inaugural partnership between CBS Sports and NFL Network in broadcasting Thursday Night Football and features the most marquee match-ups ever on Thursday night, including 14 divisional rivalries. The 16-game Thursday Night Football schedule kicks off on September 11 with Steelers vs. Ravens from Baltimore and ends with a Week 16 Saturday double-header on December 20.
The 2014 Thursday Night Football schedule will feature games from Weeks 2-8 and Week 16 (Saturday) broadcast on CBS that also will be simulcast on NFL Network. The Thursday Night Football schedule in Weeks 9-12 and Weeks 14-16 will be televised on NFL Network, and will be simulcast on over-the-air stations in the primary markets of the participating teams. All Thursday Night Football games will kick off at 8:25 PM ET, with the exception of the Week 16 Saturday double-header – NFL Network (4:30 PM ET) and CBS (8:00 PM ET).
The Thursday Night Football schedule is highlighted by Giants vs. Redskins (Week 4), Jets vs. Patriots (Week 7), Saints vs. Panthers (Week 9), as well as Cowboys vs. Bears (Week 14), and features 11 playoff teams from 2013 – including seven division winners. Five-time MVP Peyton Manning headlines a list of prominent stars to appear on this year’s Thursday Night Football schedule, along with Adrian Peterson (2012 MVP), Aaron Rodgers (2011 MVP), and Tom Brady (2010 & 2007 MVP), former No. 1 overall picks Andrew Luck, Cam Newton and Eli Manning, 2013 Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly and cornerback Darrelle Revis.
The entire 16-game Thursday Night Football schedule will also be streamed live on the NFL Mobile for Verizon customers (NFL.com/mobile), the NFL app on XBOX, including interactive features from Microsoft, and through Watch NFL Network (NFL.com/watch), with participating cable and satellite providers.
The Thursday Night Football schedule on CBS, also simulcast on NFL Network includes:
Sept. 11 (Week 2) — Steelers at Ravens
Sept. 18 (Week 3) — Buccaneers at Falcons
Sept. 25 (Week 4) — Giants at Washington
Oct. 2 (Week 5)– Vikings at Packers
Oct. 9 (Week 6) — Colts at Texans
Oct. 16 (Week 7) — Jets at Patriots
Oct. 23 (Week 8) — Chargers at Broncos
Dec. 20 (Week 16) — Chargers at 49ers/Eagles at Washington*The Thursday Night Football schedule on NFL Network includes:
Oct. 30 (Week 9) — Saints at Panthers
Nov. 6 (Week 10) — Browns at Bengals
Nov. 13 (Week 11) — Bills at Dolphins
Nov. 20 (Week 12) — Chiefs at Raiders
Dec. 4 (Week 14) — Cowboys at Bears
Dec. 11 (Week 15) — Cardinals at Rams
Dec. 18 (Week 16) — Titans at Jaguars
Dec. 20 (Week 16) — Chargers at 49ers/Eagles at Washington*To view the entire 2014 NFL schedule, visit NFL.com and CBSSports.com.
The full slate of 16 regular-season Thursday Night Football games will be produced by CBS with its broadcasters and production team, including Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. Nantz and Simms also will announce select games on Sunday on CBS. NFL Network hosts and analysts will be featured in the pregame, halftime and postgame shows along with CBS Sports announcers.
This season marks both the 55th year of NFL broadcasts on the CBS Television Network and the ninth year of Thursday Night Football games on NFL Network. In 2013, NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football set rating and viewership records. Including the audience from over-the-air broadcasts in local markets, NFL Network’s 13-game schedule of Thursday Night Football broadcasts finished with a record-high per game average audience of 8 million viewers, up 10% from 2012, marking the fifth-consecutive year that Thursday Night Football has set an all-time high viewership mark.
Each week of the 2013 Thursday Night Football schedule, NFL Network’s game telecast was the day’s most-watched program on cable television.
*The kickoff times for each of the Saturday games – Philadelphia at Washington and San Diego at San Francisco – will be determined at a later date.
We’ll move to the NBC Sunday Night Football schedule next.
