The schedule for the 2021 NFL season has officially been released and it has a lot of eye-opening matchups.

 

 

The season starts with a banger, as the Dallas Cowboys face the defending Super Bowl Champions. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers get the honor of playing America's Team in the first game of the 2021 NFL season.

Some other notable week one games for the NFL include the Green Bay Packers vs the New Orleans Saints and the Cleveland Browns vs the Kansas City Chiefs, who ended up as the Super Bowl runner-ups in a very anticlimatic game that featured the Bucs defense swarming Patrick Mahomes.

Week one also features Sam Darnold making his debut for the Carolina Panthers against the New York Jets, the team that just sent him away prior to the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Thanksgiving set is, at least on paper, somewhat underwhelming. The Chicago Bears face the Detroit Lions in an NFC North battle and the Las Vegas Raiders face the Cowboys. The finale for Thanksgiving will be the Buffalo Bills playing the Saints as the NFL leaves the Packers off again.

The NFL schedule makers always do a fantastic job, especially with the marquee matchups and finding ways to bring about reunions. Brady will return to New England in October to face the Patriots and the Miami Dolphins and head coach Brian Flores will face New England in week one as he returns to his former stomping grounds.

With the conclusion of both the NFL Draft and free agency, now is the time to gear up and get excited for the start of the 2021 NFL season with the schedule officially released- and most importantly- fans allowed back in the stadiums, barring some unforeseen circumstances.

Get your pencils ready and your calendars circled because there are a lot of intriguing matchups in the 2021 season.