When Do NFL Teams Travel?

When do NFL teams travel? This is a question that many fans ask. While the answer may vary depending on the team, the general rule of thumb is that teams travel the week before they play a game.

Travel Schedule

The NFL travel schedule is very hectic. Teams travel all over the country to play their games. They have to fly to cities that they have never been to before and play in front of hostile crowds. This can be very tough on the players and the coaches.

Preseason

Preseason
During the preseason, each team plays four exhibition games. The opponents are usually selected by the team’s conference; for example, in 2008 the New England Patriots played two games against teams from the NFC East (the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants) and two games against teams from the AFC West (the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers). Preseason games are generally not televised, and most fans choose not to attend them. NFL preseason game attendance is typically considerably lower than that of regular-season games.

During the first two weeks of the preseason, most starters play very little, if at all. Typically, fans see only a few starters during these exhibition contests as coaches try different combinations of players to find the ones they think will work best together during the regular season. However, some players use these early contests to demonstrate their abilities for a shot at a starting position or to make an impression on coaches for possible inclusion on the final roster.

Regular Season

During the 17-week regular season, each team plays 16 games and has one bye. NFL bye weeks typically fall in one of two time slots during the season:
-Week 4 (the weekend after Labor Day)
-Week 10 (the weekend before Thanksgiving).

In 2020, the byes will instead be in Weeks 5 and 11 due to coronavirus concerns.

Each NFL team plays half of its games at home and half on the road. Over the course of a season, this usually works out to eight or nine home games and seven or eight away games, but it can vary slightly from year to year. The schedule is set up so that every team plays every other team in its own division twice (home and away) and all teams in the two other divisions within its conference once (also home and away).

In addition, each team also plays four games against teams from a division in the other conference—two at home and two on the road. That leaves six “wild card” spots, which are filled by the remaining teams with the best records within each conference. These teams square off against each other in the first round of the playoffs.

Postseason

In the postseason, the NFL schedule is more condensed, so teams do not have to travel as much. The Wild Card and Divisional rounds are played within the conference, so teams only have to travel within their own division for those games. The Conference Championships are played between the winners of the two divisional matchups, and the Super Bowl is played between the Conference Champions.

Travel Tips

If you’re an NFL fan, you might be wondering when your favorite team will be traveling. Here’s a helpful guide that will give you tips on when to travel.

Packing

Whether you are going on a business trip or a family vacation, packing can be a challenge. You want to make sure you have everything you need, but you also don’t want to over pack and have to lug around a heavy suitcase. The following tips will help you make the most of your packing.

-Make a list of what you need. This will help you keep track of what you have and what you still need to pack.
-Pack versatile clothing. Choose items that can be mixed and matched to create different looks.
-Roll your clothes. This will save space and prevent wrinkles.
-Pack an extra carry-on bag. This can be used for souvenirs or for items that you may need on the plane, such as a blanket or pillow.
-Wear your heaviest items on the plane. This will save space in your suitcase and help keep you comfortable during the flight.

Planning

When planning your trip, keep in mind that most NFL teams travel on Friday for a Sunday game. They’ll fly from their home city to the city of their opponent and will usually stay in a hotel near the stadium. Some teams will stay in the same city for several days if they’re playing a divisional rival, but most will return home right after the game.

Most teams will have a walk-through practice on Saturday, but they’ll spend most of their time meeting and watching film. On Sunday, they’ll eat a pregame meal 3-4 hours before kickoff and then head to the stadium for warm-ups.

If you’re planning to attend an away game, it’s important to buy your tickets as early as possible. Demand is always high for popular games, and prices will only go up as the game gets closer. You can find tickets on NFL ticket exchange websites, but be prepared to pay a premium. It’s also worth checking with the home team’s ticket office – sometimes they have deals for away fans.

When packing for your trip, remember that stadium security has gotten stricter in recent years. Backpacks and large bags are not allowed inside most stadiums, so only bring what you can fit in a small bag or purse. You’ll also need to account for the weather – most games are played in the fall and winter, so dress appropriately.

Dealing with Time Changes

When traveling to an away game in a different time zone, it is important for NFL teams to take the time change into consideration. Most teams will fly out on Friday and arrive in the city of their game on Saturday. This gives the team an extra day to adjust to the new time before having to play on Sunday.

Some teams choose to stay in their home time zone and just travel for the day of the game, but this can be disruptive to players’ sleep schedules and can lead to fatigue during the game. For this reason, most teams opt to fly out a few days before the game.

NFL Travel Policies

The NFL has very specific policies when it comes to travel for teams. For example, teams are not allowed to fly more than two days before a game. This is to ensure that players have enough time to rest and recover from the travel. There are also limits on how far teams can travel. Teams are not allowed to travel more than 750 miles for a regular season game or 1,000 miles for a playoff game.

Curfews

There are some things that every NFL team has in common, like having to follow the rules set by the league. But when it comes to team travel, each club does things a little differently. For example, some teams fly home after every away game while others stay on the road for multiple weeks at a time. And when it comes to curfew, some teams enforce bed check while others let their players roam free.

Here’s a look at how NFL teams handle travel:

Curfews: Most teams have a curfew the night before a game. Players have to be in their hotel rooms by a certain time so they can get a good night’s sleep. But there are exceptions. The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots don’t have curfews on the road. Instead, they rely on team leaders to make sure everyone is getting enough rest.

Flight schedules: Teams usually fly home after road games, but there are exceptions. The San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders both fly back to the Bay Area after away games no matter what day of the week it is. And players on the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers don’t usually fly home after games; they bus back to their Southern California homes instead.

Team Meetings

Most teams arrive in their host city on Friday, although some teams make the trip on Thursday to get an extra day to adjust to the time change if they are coming from the West Coast.

Once they arrive, there are team meetings and a light walk-through practice. The entire team has a meeting together, then the offense and defense each have a meeting. After that, there are position meetings. All of these meetings are important as the coaches go over what needs to be done in order for the team to be successful on Sunday.

Meals

Players are provided with three meals while on the road: one pregame meal, postgame meal, and an evening meal. The pregame meal is typically served four to five hours before kickoff. Depending on the location of the game, this meal is either served at the hotel or stadium. The postgame meal is served immediately following the game and includes a protein (chicken, steak, fish, etc.), a carbohydrate (pasta, rice, potatoes), salad, and fruit. The evening meal is typically served at the hotel and includes a wider variety of food than the other two meals. Players are also provided with snacks and drinks throughout the day.

NFL Travel Partners

The National Football League has a travel partner, Delta Air Lines, who provides air transportation for the teams. When do NFL teams travel? The away team typically travels on Friday and the home team travels on Saturday.

Hotels

Most NFL teams have a preferred hotel that they book for home games. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers book rooms at the Omni William Penn Hotel, while the New England Patriots book rooms at the Hilton Boston Back Bay. When visiting teams come to town, they usually stay at a hotel nearby the stadium.

Some NFL teams also have agreements with hotels in other cities. For instance, the San Francisco 49ers have an agreement with JW Marriott San Francisco Union Square. This allows them to block off a certain number of rooms for every away game they play in the Bay Area.

airlines

The National Football League has eight official airline partners. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways are the four U.S.-based carriers. In addition, the league has partnerships with British Airways, Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic and Mexico’s Interjet.

As part of these deals, the airlines provide a certain number of free or discounted tickets to NFL teams for away games. The specific terms of each deal vary, but the airlines typically give the teams a block of tickets that they can sell to fans at a discount.

In some cases, the NFL will reimburse teams for a portion of the cost of chartering a plane for an away game. This is more common for West Coast teams playing in the Eastern time zone, as it can be cheaper and faster than flying commercial.

ground transportation

The National Football League requires that all of its teams travel by charter air for all away games, and most teams choose to fly on Friday afternoons or evenings in order to arrive at their destination early enough to adjust to the time difference (if there is one), visit the stadium where they will be playing, and have a light practice. Some teams will also visit the site of the game on Saturday, but this is less common. In order to make these Friday flights, teams must leave their homes no later than 3:00pm local time.