When it comes to scheduling, the NFL is hardly a meritocracy.
Spotlighting the top teams can be one of the driving factors for the league as it pieces together the intricate puzzle of a 272-game regular season. But an operation intent on attracting the most viewers doesn’t rely solely on records from the previous year to determine who should receive the most exposure in marquee broadcasts. Still, while the league might not budge from repeatedly featuring its biggest markets and most visible organizations, several franchises are due for a downtick in promotion.
With the schedule set to be released Wednesday, here are five NFL teams that deserve fewer prime-time games this year than they received last season:
New York Jets
Maybe it’s unfair for Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey to have to pay for the sins of the previous regime. That’s sure to be a recurring theme for the Jets this season, however, and the trend applies here as well. No team was more overexposed last season than New York, which tied with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers for the most prime-time slots initially granted with the league maximum of six. And while Aaron Rodgers’ torn Achilles in the 2023 opener could be blamed for sending that season sideways, last year went awry thanks to downright dysfunction too pervasive to escape.
The new leadership appears to be setting the right tone by trying to shoot for a steady rise rather than a rapid ascent, but the results might not be particularly flashy. A home date with the Pittsburgh Steelers could be ripe for a standalone spot given the potential reunion with Rodgers. But the league should otherwise give the public a break from Gang Green fatigue and allow Glenn to begin building without much fanfare.
Miami Dolphins
The 70-point performance that Miami posted against Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos in September 2023 feels far removed. While Mike McDaniel can still be a masterful play-caller, as evidenced by his ‘cheat motion’ move taking the league by storm, the book on his teams has been fairly straightforward. While the Dolphins have frequently raced past overmatched opponents, they’re just 1-12 in their last 13 games against teams with a winning record heading into the matchup. An uneven roster could take additional hit with the expected trade of cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and Tyreek Hill’s discontent doesn’t augur well for a group that continues to put more on Tua Tagovailoa’s shoulders. Maybe a few early-season spotlight games would be reasonable for Miami, but an outfit with this little staying power shouldn’t sniff the five prime-time matchups it was granted last spring.
Cleveland Browns
The NFL took a major leap of faith in handing the Browns four prime-time windows in 2024. At least Cleveland didn’t skimp on the entertainment factor in two of those games, as it delivered a surprising ‘Thursday Night Football’ upset of the Steelers in the driving snow and followed by Jameis Winston putting together one of the wildest outputs of the season (497 yards, four touchdowns, three interceptions) in a Monday night loss to the Broncos. By the end of the year, however, the league had seen enough and used the ‘Thursday Night Football’ flex for the first time ever to banish the Browns’ matchup against the Bengals to a Sunday afternoon kickoff.
Now, unless Shedeur Sanders defies odds to emerge from a four-way quarterback competition, Cleveland doesn’t present provide a compelling reason for anyone outside of AFC North fandom to tune in. With the Browns seemingly setting their sights on 2026 for a full reboot and separation from the Deshaun Watson era, maybe it’s best if everyone else also punts on any expectations for the organization in the upcoming season.
New York Giants
Like their MetLife Stadium co-habitants, the Giants have been disproportionately pushed on the masses for some time now. Despite signaling a clear downward trajectory after losing Saquon Barkley, Big Blue was given three prime-time games last season, as well as a standalone window in for the Berlin game and the Thanksgiving showcase. The results were brutal: New York fell in all five.
With the Thanksgiving snoozer against the Cowboys delivering the highest ratings of the regular season – and fourth-best numbers ever for a game on the holiday – it’s unlikely that one of the league’s most prominent brands will be pushed aside in scheduling matters. But if there were ever a time for the NFL to do so, this would be it. Russell Wilson’s post-Seattle Seahawks tour has been rife with disappointment, and the veteran signal-caller sizes up as uninspiring endpoint to the franchise’s desperate search for a solution behind center. And with general manager Joe Schoen publicly declaring that Jaxson Dart shouldn’t sniff action anytime soon as a rookie, an offense with a subpar supporting cast might be stuck with a quarterback who recently has been unable to rise above his surroundings. Malik Nabers and the souped-up pass rush are legitimate draws, but they can only do so much to compensate for the roster’s rampant shortcomings.
New Orleans Saints
Rebuilds are often necessary but seldom captivating. New Orleans has been resisting one for years, instead repeatedly trying to claw its way to the middle. But an aging roster and a rash of injuries left the Saints with a 5-12 mark last season that stands as the franchise’s worst record since 2005. And with the NFL’s youngest coach in Kellen Moore taking the helm and, more importantly, Derek Carr retiring, the time for a wide-scale reset appears to have finally arrived.
Yet New Orleans remains in somewhat of a liminal state, with the organization not yet fully embracing the tearing down nor building back up of its roster. That means the NFL might be left to sell second-round quarterback Tyler Shough and a group that was outscored 93-23 in three prime-time outings last season. Tossing the team anything more than a single ‘Thursday Night Football’ showing somewhere in the midseason doldrums represents a substantial risk.
All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.
