Sports
NFL schedule 2024 winners and losers: Caleb Williams has chance to thrive; Jets face treacherous slate
We’re nearly halfway between the conclusion of the NFL’s 2023 season and the dawn of its next season.
And now finally, teams and their fan bases can appropriately prepare for the upcoming slate. While teams have known their opponents for quite some time, now they can handle the logistical preparations for the 2024 season.
Not all schedules are created equal, of course. (And no, this has nothing to do with the formula to determine opponents with these unbalanced schedules. That process is just dandy.)
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Glance through the quirks of each team’s schedule, and anyone can find a few gripes and even some friendly bounces. That’s where we come in, as we run through some of the winners and losers from the 2024 NFL schedule reveal.
WINNERS
Chicago Bears
The Bears are gearing up for their most anticipated season in decades with the arrival of quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze to headline their exciting offseason. Those big-ticket personnel moves came on the heels of an impressive 5-3 finish to the season that drew the attention of front offices around the league.
More reason for optimism: The Bears have the third-easiest strength of schedule (.467) based on their opponents’ records in 2023.
Of note, Williams may get a chance to square off against fellow top-three picks Jayden Daniels (Commanders, Week 8) and Drake Maye (Patriots, Week 10) in a three-week stretch.
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Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons and Saints are tied for the easiest strength of schedule in 2024, based on their opponents’ records from last season (.453). While this could just be an NFC South thing — the four divisional foes rank in the top six in strength-of-schedule ease — the Falcons are the team with the shiny new quarterback(s).
Veteran Kirk Cousins is expected to boost a team that is coming off three consecutive 7-10 records, and the league has backed Atlanta’s excitement with four prime-time games.
The Falcons have a tough early schedule, but four of their first five games are at home, which helps mitigate the challenge. If Cousins hasn’t recovered from his torn Achilles, rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is going to have a heck of a welcome to the NFL, as the Falcons open with the Steelers, Eagles and Chiefs right out of the chute.
Dallas Cowboys
It won’t be hard to find the Cowboys on TV. They’re tied with the 49ers and Jets with a league-high six prime-time games, as they’re scheduled to face the Giants, Steelers, Niners, Texans, Bengals and Bucs after dark.
They’ve also got five games in that marquee 4:25 p.m. ET time slot that tends to draw a heavy spotlight. And let’s throw in a Thanksgiving matinee against the Giants to top it off.
The Cowboys only have four 1 p.m. kickoffs plus the TBD start time in the finale against Washington.
It’s going to be a busy year with the Cowboys, as the storyline regarding the heat on head coach Mike McCarthy coupled with the looming availability of Bill Belichick doesn’t seem to be going away. Quarterback Dak Prescott’s expiring contract is another major focus in Dallas, along with the pending negotiations with linebacker Micah Parsons and receiver CeeDee Lamb. All of this after another early playoff disappointment, and the Cowboys in prime time will be a broadcaster’s dream.
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The Week 14 bye week draw
Somehow, six teams have the last bye of the season, which is tied with Week 12 for the most byes in a given week. The Patriots, Ravens, Texans, Colts, Broncos and Commanders will get a welcomed chance to rest in early December.
On the flip side, it may be wise to avoid stocking up on fantasy players from those teams in case you’ve got a must-win matchup in the regular-season finale.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift should have plenty of reason to celebrate this year as the Kansas City Chiefs look like they have a pretty light schedule. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
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The two-time defending champs enter the season with five prime-time games, but it’d hardly be a shock to see the Chiefs get flexed into an extra window before it’s all done.
Sure, the Chiefs have a tough opening pair of games against the Ravens and Bengals, but they’re both at home. And after raising the Super Bowl banner and then losing to the Lions last season, Chiefs coach Andy Reid shouldn’t have a problem getting his team’s attention.
The Chiefs also take on the NFC South, so they caught a break with that one.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders won’t be racking up many frequent flier miles. They travel a league-low 10,550 miles this season, according to Bookies.com. Twelve teams are traveling at least twice that many miles on road trips.
Commanders to travel fewer miles than every other team. Nine home games plus at Baltimore and only one road trip west of the Mississippi will do that. https://t.co/D28jPLn2rs
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) May 15, 2024
LOSERS
New York Jets
The Jets’ Achilles’ heel in 2024 may be their early-season schedule. (Too soon?)
Six of their first 11 games are in prime time, which will work to their benefit if they get off to a hot start and send a message to the rest of the league. But if things go south, the Jets have seen when they’re overcome with negative attention. And remember, prime-time games come with wonky scheduling quirks, including a Monday-Sunday stretch with the Bills and Steelers and a Sunday-Thursday string with the Patriots and Texans from Weeks 6-9.
They open with three games in 11 days, including road trips against the 49ers and Titans before opening at home against the Patriots. Although again, since many teams have daunting stretches in a short spurt, it’s an advantage to get it out of the way at the start of the season when they’re theoretically healthier and better rested.
But for those obstacles to turn into advantages, the Jets are going to have to answer some early-season tests.
On the road … again
The Bills, Browns, Bears and Vikings each have the unenviable task of playing three road games in three weeks.
The Bills’ stretch happens from Weeks 4-6 against the Ravens, Texans and Jets. Compounding the issue, they also visit the Dolphins in Week 2. That’s a date that always draws an eye roll from the Dolphins’ AFC East foes due to the heat.
The Browns’ stretch also goes from Weeks 4-6 against the Raiders, Commanders and Eagles.
The Bears will have a pivotal swing from Weeks 13-15 when they visit the Lions, 49ers and Vikings. For a team with real playoff hopes, the Bears are going to need to survive that series of hurdles.
The Vikings head out to meet the Jaguars, Titans and Bears from Weeks 10-12.
Another bye-week quirk
As if the 49ers’ schedule wasn’t challenging enough, they’ll play the Bills, Chiefs, Cowboys and Seahawks all coming off their byes.
The Colts will play three teams coming off their byes (Dolphins, Titans, Broncos), but Indy will be coming off its own bye for the Denver game.
Four teams will play two opponents coming off their byes, without the benefit of coming off a bye week themselves. Those are the Dolphins (Texans, Raiders), Commanders (Steelers, Bears), Saints (Browns, Commanders) and Seahawks (Jets, Cardinals).
Twelve teams won’t play anyone coming off a bye: Bills, Patriots, Jets, Ravens, Bengals, Jaguars, Titans, Eagles, Vikings, Packers, Panthers and Falcons. So, hey, good for them.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers are the only team in the league without a prime-time game, which isn’t a surprise considering they just had the worst record in the NFL.
Not just that, but they’ve got to visit Chicago in Week 5 to get a firsthand look at the QB whom the Bears drafted with the Panthers’ top pick in April. So as the Panthers continue to reel after the Bryce Young–C.J. Stroud decision, they’ve got to hope for a bounce back in 2024 that includes Young outdueling Caleb Williams.
Drake Maye’s spotlight
As if the No. 3 pick doesn’t have enough pressure on him — the ongoing search for Tom Brady’s replacement extending into the first season of the post-Bill Belichick era, in case you’ve forgotten — the Patriots might be taking on the most loaded schedule of quarterbacks in the NFL in 2024.
Maybe the Patriots will just go with Jacoby Brissett. Or maybe Maye will play well, and the Patriots will exceed expectations.
If Maye and the Patriots struggle, however? Yeah, they’ll get a glimpse of how far he’s got to go. And surely, very little of this would be fair to Maye for jumping into the fray with a roster that has major holes on offense.
But the fact is this. They’re scheduled for two tilts each against Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers and Tua Tagovailoa. They’ll visit Caleb Williams and the Bears. They’ll host 2023 first-rounders C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson. They’ll also greet Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Trevor Lawrence, Brock Purdy and Kyler Murray.
Injuries will likely erase some of those matchups, but those QBs currently are the Patriots’ adversaries in 15 of their 17 games.
The Patriots’ primary goal in 2024 will be to develop Maye to create optimism and momentum for 2025. Everything else takes a back seat. But in the NFL where every storyline is hyper-magnified, Maye won’t get much of a reprieve from his opposing quarterbacks.
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Old-school remote controls
The NFL has more streamers than a Dunder Mifflin party.
With games now streaming on every platform short of your nephew’s YouTube channel, viewers of a certain age will surely roll their eyes when it’s time to determine which platform is carrying any given national game. Or even if you’re technologically savvy, you’ll still need a moment to mentally prepare if you’re planning to flip between channels during commercials.
The future is here, and we’ll embrace it appropriately, but it’s a slower crawl for some.
The Christmas slate
The Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Texans games have a chance to carry a ton of significance, so viewership will be strong. But all four teams will be required to make serious scheduling adjustments to handle a Wednesday game in Week 17.
It essentially amounts to two consecutive short weeks, as each team will play Saturday in Week 16 before the Wednesday game in Week 17. That’ll lead to three games in 11 days for all four teams, which isn’t an unprecedented stretch but is surely an inconvenient one at that stage of the calendar.
(Photo illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletic; photos of Aaron Rodgers, Caleb Williams and Dak Prescott: Cooper Neill, Michael Reaves and Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
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Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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