Joe Burrow’s incredible football IQ is displayed every week he plays for the Cincinnati Bengals. He is the driving force of the team’s resurgence, as proven by their stint in Super Bowl LVI. Recently, he shared his thoughts on the suggested schedule for an 18-game regular season, which the league could follow if they add another game to every team’s slate.
As shared with Pardon My Take's Andy Katz and Eric Sollenberger, Burrow suggests having two bye weeks per team throughout the regular season. While one bye week is like the typical schedule that starts in Week 5, the other should be dedicated to the Pro Bowl, which will be placed in-season, like how the NBA and MLB have their All-Star Weekends.
Wow, Joe Burrow gives the perfect breakdown for an 18-game NFL schedule:
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 8, 2024
- Two bye weeks
- Pro Bowl during a league-wide Week 13 bye
- The Super Bowl would fall on the Sunday before Presidents Day.
Thought?
(via @PardonMyTake)pic.twitter.com/3Rp2gSAGRs
In doing so, the NFL can boost the Pro Bowl's ratings while giving all teams another break before the final leg of the regular season. The additional rest period also gives players more time to recover, blessing the NFL with their best players participating in the games that will determine playoff seedings.
Likewise, adding another bye pushes the Super Bowl to the Sunday before President's Day, giving everyone a holiday after the NFL's biggest game. While it's still uncertain if the league will increase its regular season schedule to an 18th game, the trend is going in that direction.
However, the additional game may come soon if the NFL ultimately loses antitrust case regarding 'NFL Sunday Ticket.' With each team ordered to pay over $400 million to cover the payouts for affected customers, the league will need more ways to get that money back, and an additional game could help.
-Lance Fernandez