NFL is expected to expand the regular season schedule this week to 17 games. The league had played a 16-game regular season schedule since 1978, by far the longest stretch without a change in NFL history.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 28, 2021
With their new television deal done, the NFL inched closer to adding a regular-season game to the schedules of all 32 teams. The additional game was one of the key parts to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement from 2020 between the NFL and NFLPA, which was approved after a tight race with 1,019 players voting “Yes” and 959 voting “No.”
As explained last month, the 17th game for all teams will be a cross-conference matchup with the division the team faced two years before, which would be the NFC South for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The matchups between the two conferences are based on their respective standings with the first, second, third, and fourth-placed teams battling each other. In the Jags’ case, they would be matched up with the Atlanta Falcons as both teams finished fourth in their respective divisions.
With all of the AFC teams getting to play from home in 2021, the Jags will be playing at TIAA Bank Field, and the rest of the teams in their division will be matched up as follows Week 17:
- New Orleans @ Tennessee
- Tampa Bay @ Indianapolis
- Carolina @ Houston
- Atlanta @ Jacksonville
In the regular season, the Jags and Falcons have played each other seven times, and the Falcons lead the series with a 4-3 record. The Falcons also lead the series at TIAA Bank Field in the regular season with a 2-1 record against the Jags.
