2014 NFL season
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 4, 2014 – December 28, 2014 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | January 3, 2015 |
| Super Bowl XLIX | |
| Date | February 1, 2015 |
| Site | University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | January 25, 2015 |
| Site | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii |
The 2014 NFL season will be the 95th regular season of the National Football League. It is expected to begin on Thursday, September 4, 2014, with the defending Super Bowl champions hosting in the annual kickoff game. The season will end with Super Bowl XLIX, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 1, 2015, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Schedule
The 2014 NFL Draft will be held from May 8–10, 2014 in New York City. The draft's traditional timeframe in late April will not be available in 2014 due to a scheduling conflict at Radio City Music Hall,[1] the site of which the draft has been held since 2006. The NFL plans to continue holding the draft in May in future years as part of a permanent offseason calendar change.
Under the NFL's scheduling formula, the intraconference and interconference matchups will be:
Intraconference
Interconference
Highlights of the 2014 schedule include:
- NFL Kickoff Game: The entire 2014 season tentatively will begin on Thursday, September 4, 2014, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC, at the home of the defending Super Bowl XLVIII champion.
- International Series: Three games will be played at Wembley Stadium in London, England in 2014. The Oakland Raiders will play host to the Miami Dolphins on September 28 at 1:00 pm ET (6:00 pm local time), the Atlanta Falcons will host the Detroit Lions on October 26 at 9:30 a.m. ET (1:30 pm local time)[2], and the Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Dallas Cowboys on November 9 at 1:00 pm ET (6:00 pm local time), in the second of four consecutive appearances for the Jaguars in the International Series.[3][4] CBS is expected to televise the Miami–Oakland contest, while Fox is expected to televise Dallas–Jacksonville and Detroit-Atlanta games.
- Thanksgiving Day games: These games will occur on Thursday, November 27, 2014. The Detroit Lions will host an AFC team — either the Buffalo Bills or the Miami Dolphins — at 12:30 p.m. ET, and will air on CBS, while the Dallas Cowboys will host an NFC team (the possibilities are the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers or a yet-to-be-determined NFC South opponent) at 4:30 p.m. ET, and will air on Fox. The prime-time NBC game, featuring opponents yet to be announced, will be featured at 8:30 p.m. ET.
- Bills Toronto Series: In 2012, the Buffalo Bills received a five-year extension to play one game per season at the Rogers Centre in Toronto through 2017.[5] The Bills' opponent will be announced later in the spring.
- Playoffs: The last regular season games will be held on Sunday, December 28. The playoffs are then scheduled to start on Saturday, January 3, 2015. Conference championship games will be held on Sunday, January 18; the NFC Championship will be played at 3:00 p.m. ET on Fox, and the AFC Championship will follow at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Super Bowl XLIX, the league's championship game will occur on February 1 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and will be televised by NBC with kickoff around 6:30 p.m. ET.[6][7]
The opponents for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game will be announced sometime in the spring, while the entire 2014 regular season schedule will be announced in April.
Media
This will be the first season under a nine-year television contract with CBS (all AFC afternoon away games), Fox (all NFC afternoon away games), NBC (Sunday Night Football games, Thanksgiving night game, and the Kickoff game); and an eight-year contract with ESPN (Monday Night Football games).[8][9] Among the changes from the previous TV contracts, NBC will televise a Divisional playoff game. The contract also allows ESPN to land a Wild Card playoff game in the future.[8] In addition, ESPN will broadcast all Pro Bowls for the next eight seasons. Furthermore, the league will be able to move games between CBS and FOX by way of flexible scheduling, enabling CBS to televise NFC vs. NFC games, and Fox to broadcast AFC vs. AFC games, in the late Sunday afternoon doubleheader slot.[10]
Stadia
- Levi's Stadium, the new stadium for the San Francisco 49ers, is scheduled to open prior to the 2014 season.[11] The stadium will be located in Santa Clara, California, and will be the host of Super Bowl L.[12]
- The Minnesota Vikings will play their first of two consecutive seasons at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium, as they await the construction of a new stadium at the site of Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.[13]
References
- ^ "2014 draft set for May 8-10". ESPN. May 29, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ Zinski, Dan (December 4, 2013). "NFL 2014 Schedule Will Include Lions-Falcons Game With 9:30 AM ET Kickoff". Fansided. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ^ Burke, Chris (October 24, 2013). "NFL announces three London games for 2014 season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^ "NFL announces 2014 London dates". Associated Press. ESPN. November 28, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
- ^ Breer, Albert (May 22, 2012). "Five-year extension of Buffalo Bills' Toronto series approved". NFL.com. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^ Robert Klemko (October 11, 2011). "Arizona, not Tampa, will host Super Bowl XLIX in 2015". The Huddle. USA Today. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ David Barron (December 14, 2011). "NFL extends broadcast agreements through 2022, generating billions". Ultimate Texans. Chron.com. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Updated: ESPN Kicks Off New Eight-Year, $14 Billion NFL Deal Multichannel News September 8, 2011
- ^ The Tradition Continues: NFL to Remain on Network TV, NFL Press Release, Dec. 14, 2011
- ^ Best, Neil (December 14, 2011). "NFL renews lucrative TV deals". Newsday. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
- ^ Juan Rodriguez (January 27, 2013). "49ers Stadium Will be Ready for 2014 NFL Season". About. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (May 21, 2013). "San Francisco awarded Super Bowl L; Houston lands LI". NFL.com. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
- ^ Christopher Gates (August 17, 2012). "Vikings Might Have Two Seasons At TCF Bank Stadium Instead Of One". Daily Norseman. SB Nation. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)