Who decides the NFL schedule and why do some teams play each other more than once in a season while other teams play every five years?
The National Football League has a proven formula for its
regular-season schedules. Let's use the Super Bowl champion Seattle
Seahawks as an example. In 2014, the Seahawks will play their three
NFC West rivals twice -- at home and away. That means Seattle will
host games against the San Francisco 49ers, the Arizona Cardinals
and the St. Louis Rams. And they will play road games against the
three teams.
In 2014, the teams of the NFC West will play the teams of the
AFC West, so Seattle will host home games against the Denver
Broncos and the Oakland Raiders and play on the road against the
San Diego Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs. According to the
rotating schedule the Seahawks will play the AFC North teams in
2015, the AFC East teams in 2016 and the AFC South teams in
2017.
In 2014, NFC West teams will play the NFC East teams, so Seattle
will host games against the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants
and play on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles and the
Washington Redskins. In 2015, the Seahawks will play the NFC North
teams and in 2016, they will meet the NFC South teams.
The rest of the Seahawks' 2014 schedule will be against NFC
teams that finished first in their respective divisions in 2013,
just as Seattle did. During the regular season, they will play a
home game against the Green Bay Packers and meet the Carolina
Panthers on the road.