2014 NFL Primetime and Thanksgiving Predictions

The NFL schedule should be released in a week or two, and in preparation for that I would like to present my predictions for the opening night game, the first week primetime games, and the Thanksgiving games. The NFL used to release these games at the league meetings in March, but the last few years that have not revealed these games in advance. It doesn’t look like they will do that again this year. In any event, it is fun to speculate, so I will present my picks for this year’s Thursday night opener in Seattle, the Week 1 primetime games, and the Thanksgiving tripleheader. Here goes….

Thursday Night Opener (NBC)

Thursday 9/4 8:30pm EST

San Francisco at Seattle

-This is a no-brainer for the first game of the year. The NFL likes to come out with a bang, and this game would do just that. Plus, FOX can still get the second game between these two teams later in the year.

Sunday Night Football Opener (NBC)

Sunday 9/7 8:30pm EST

Indianapolis at Denver

-It is always a good idea to feature Peyton Manning in the beginning of the year, so NBC decides to go with Manning vs. Andrew Luck to kickoff their SNF package.

Monday Night Football Doubleheader (ESPN)

Game 1

Monday 9/8 7:15pm EST

Dallas at NY Giants

-The NFL likes to feature big markets on the early game of the Monday Night opener, so I think they go with two NFC East rivals to kick things off.

Game 2

10:15pm EST

Oakland at San Diego

-There aren’t a lot of options with the backend of the doubleheader, so I’ll go with the Chargers and Raiders to finish off Week 1

Thanksgiving Games

12:30pm EST- CBS

Buffalo at Detroit

-It apparently was leaked by the Bills website, but this makes sense because the only other option was the Dolphins. Give the Bills a chance on Thanksgiving with a fairly short trip to Detroit.

4:30pm EST-FOX

New Orleans at Dallas

-FOX has some attractive options, but I’ll go with the Saints here. New Orleans should be good so this has the potential to be a quality matchup and ratings win for FOX and the NFL.

8:30pm EST- NBC

Philadelphia at Green Bay

-This is a tough game to figure out. The last two years featured division rivals with the Pats and Jets in 2012 and Steelers and Ravens in 2013. I think this game works because it is Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving night, and it features two teams in the playoffs from last year.