NFL Expands to 17-Game Season, Jaguars Officially Scheduled To Play Falcons in 2021
What has long been imminent became an official NFL creed on Tuesday as the league's owners voted in a virtual league meeting to approve a new structure for the coming seasons, a structure that will feature 17 regular-season games and just three preseason games.
Due to the way the NFL is configuring the extra regular-season game, the Jaguars will now be slated to add the Atlanta Falcons to their schedule for 2021. The contest will be added to the Jaguars' schedule as a home game.
"The 17th game will feature teams from opposing conferences that finished in the same place within their division the previous season. The AFC was determined to be the home conference for the 17th game in 2021," the NFL said in a release.
“This is a monumental moment in NFL history,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “The CBA with the players and the recently completed media agreements provide the foundation for us to enhance the quality of the NFL experience for our fans. And one of the benefits of each team playing 17 regular-season games is the ability for us to continue to grow our game around the world.”
The change in the NFL schedule is the first change to the NFL's structure of the regular-season in several decades, with the 16-game season first coming into play in 1978.
While there has been an extra game added to the regular season, there will not be any added bye weeks. One aspect of the league's scheduling that will be impacted is the NFL's international schedule, which could potentially impact the Jaguars a considerable bit due to their past agreement to play an annual game in London.
"The enhanced season will ensure that beginning in 2022, all 32 clubs will play internationally at least once every eight years. The scheduling of up to four neutral-site games per year in a country outside the United States will focus initially on Canada, Europe, Mexico, South America and the United Kingdom," the NFL said.
The Jaguars have not defeated the Falcons since 2007, losing to Atlanta in three contests since (2011, 2015, 2019). The last time the two sides played, things were much different for each side, though it was a contest the Falcons won 24-12 with relative ease.
The Jaguars were fresh off Tom Coughlin's firing, Doug Marrone was the head coach and Gardner Minshew was at quarterback and Leonard Fournette started at running back. The Falcons were still led by former head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.
Now, the Jaguars will enter the home game vs. the Falcons with a rookie quarterback in Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and a rookie head coach in Urban Meyer, while the Falcons will be led on the field by new head coach Arthur Smith.
