Who Plays Today in the NFL?

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Introduction

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world.

The Schedule

The NFL regular season is finally here and we have some great match-ups to start things off. In the early game, we have the New England Patriots vs. the Houston Texans. This should be a good game as both teams are looking to start the season off strong. Later on, we have the Green Bay Packers vs. the Chicago Bears. This is a rivalry game and one that the Packers will be looking to win.

Thursday Night Football

The 2020 NFL regular season is winding down, and that means Thursday Night Football is nearing its end.

There are just two games left on the Thursday Night Football schedule, and they’re both slated for Week 16 of the season.

On December 24, the Minnesota Vikings will take on the New Orleans Saints at 8:15 p.m. ET. This will be followed by a primetime matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders at 11:20 p.m. ET.

Both games will be broadcast on NFL Network, with simulcasts on Fox, Amazon Prime Video, and Twitch.

Sunday Night Football

This week’s Sunday Night Football game features a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game, as the New England Patriots host the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots are coming off a tough loss to the Jaguars in the AFC Championship game, while the Steelers are coming off a disappointing loss to the Broncos in the Divisional Round.

Both teams will be looking to get back on track this week, and with two of the best quarterbacks in the league squaring off, it should be a great game. Kickoff is set for 8:20pm ET, and you can catch all the action on NBC.

Monday Night Football

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world. The NFL’s 17-week regular season runs from early September to late December, with each team playing 16 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, which is usually held on the first Sunday in February and is played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

The modern-day NFL originated from two rival professional football leagues, the National Football League, formed in 1920, and the American Professional Football Association, founded in 1921. The first incarnation of the NFL was established in 1920 with 11 teams. With immense popularity after World War II and television contracts beginning to come into play in 1951–the same year that “Monday Night Football” made its debut–the number of NFL teams increased to 30 by 1966 as more cities began clamoring for franchises. Finally, by 1970 with another television contract on hand, four more teams–the Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons–were brought into existence to form what we know today as 32 total franchises split evenly between 16 AFC & 16 NFC teams.

Of those 32 NFL franchises, 8 different ones have won Super Bowls since 1970: Pittsburgh Steelers (6), Dallas Cowboys (5), San Francisco 49ers (5), New York Giants (4), New England Patriots (4), Oakland Raiders (3), Washington Redskins (3) & Green Bay Packers (2). Of those same 8 franchises that have won SBs since ’70–only 3 have done so within the last 15 years: Patriots (’01,’03,’04,’14,’16), Steelers (’05,’08,’10) & Seahawks (’13,’14).

The Teams

The NFL is made up of 2 conferences, the AFC and the NFC. Each conference has 16 teams. The NFC is made up of the following teams: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, and Washington Redskins.

AFC

The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the world. The AFC was created after the merger of the American Football League (AFL) and the NFL in 1970. It consists of 16 teams organized into four divisions, each containing four teams.

-New England Patriots
-Miami Dolphins
-Buffalo Bills
-New York Jets
-Baltimore Ravens
-Cincinnati Bengals
-Cleveland Browns
-Pittsburgh Steelers
-Houston Texans
-Tennessee Titans
-Indianapolis Colts
-Jacksonville Jaguars
-Kansas City Chiefs
-Los Angeles Chargers
-Denver Broncos Oakland Raiders

NFC

National Football Conference (NFC) teams are the following:
-Arizona Cardinals
-Atlanta Falcons
-Carolina Panthers
-Chicago Bears
-Dallas Cowboys
-Detroit Lions
-Green Bay Packers
-Los Angeles Rams
-Minnesota Vikings
-New Orleans Saints
-New York Giants
-Philadelphia Eagles
-San Francisco 49ers
-Seattle Seahawks
-Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-Washington Redskins

Conclusion

The NFL has come to a close, but there are still a few teams left to compete in the playoffs. Today, the Indianapolis Colts will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round. In the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys will face off against the Los Angeles Rams. These are two must-see games for any football fan.