Report: Seahawks Set to Face AFC East First 4 Weeks of 2020 Season

Designing the schedule for the possibility of a delayed season or cancellation of games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL reportedly plans to have out of conference games during the first month of the 2020 season.

Bracing for postponed or canceled games due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the NFL looks poised to roll out the 2020 schedule with teams playing all inter-conference games during the first four weeks.

In an interview with Radio.com’s 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, John Clayton of ESPN 710 indicated this move "makes the most sense" in a worst case scenario where the NFL has to eliminate games from the docket, as out of conference games have less bearing on playoff races that divisional and in-conference matchups.

"We’ll see if it follows into pattern," Clayton said. "The season will start with the inter-conference games first.”

If Clayton's intel proves to be correct, the Seahawks will face their four AFC East opponents to open the season. They will host the Patriots and Jets at CenturyLink Field and travel to Miami and Buffalo to square off with the Dolphins and Bills in their other two inter-conference contests.

In addition, Clayton said he expects Week 5 and 6 will feature non-common intra-conference games. In Seattle's case, they would host Minnesota and travel to Atlanta. 

Following those two games, Clayton projected there will be three straight weeks of divisional matchups followed by four games against another division in the conference. The Seahawks and the NFC West are set to play all four NFC East squads, including the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, and Redskins.

To close out the year, Clayton thinks schedule makers will keep things simple with three straight divisional rematches before the playoffs. Depending on when the season concludes, the Super Bowl could be on either February 7 or February 28.

“That, I think, is going to be the premise of how they do it,” Clayton said. “I think they’ll set it up in two ways. One that they’ll start the season in September, have the Super Bowl February 8th, and then the next one in mid-October, with the Super Bowl on February 28th with no bye weeks."

The order for all these games will become known on Thursday, as NFL teams will be allowed to release their official schedules at 7:30 PM ET. According to the team's official Twitter account, Seattle plans to reveal its 16-game schedule at that time.