The NFL regular season is scheduled to conclude this weekend, potential Bengals-Bills restart aside. And when it is over, the final remaining open matchups for the 2023 schedule will be determined.
To recap: The NFL plays 17 regular season games. Fourteen of them are locked in years in advance based on divisional matchups and pre-determined inter- and intraconference crossover cycles. But three matchups are set each year based on crossovers matching teams that had the same divisional finish — i.e. the Giants will finish third in the NFC East this season and will therefore play the third-place team in the NFC North and South next year (it was already scheduled to play all four NFC West teams).
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Here are where things stand for the Giants and Jets entering Week 18:
The Giants’ 2023 slate:
• Home: Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles, Jets, Patriots, Rams, Seahawks, NFC North.
• Away: Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles, Bills, Cardinals, Dolphins, 49ers, AFC West, NFC South.
The Giants are locked into a third-place finish in the NFC East. So they will play the third-place teams from the AFC West, NFC North and NFC South next season.
We know the Raiders will finish third in the AFC West. So the Giants are going to Las Vegas. They will also be hosting the loser of Sunday’s Lions-Packers game — that team will finish third in the NFC North. As for the NFC South: It won’t be the division champion Buccaneers, but it could be anyone else. The Saints enter Week 18 at 7-9 with the Falcons and Panthers at 6-10. So it’s anyone’s guess how it all shakes out. The Bucs close at the Falcons while the Saints host the Panthers.
The Jets’ 2023 slate:
• Home: Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Chargers, Chiefs, Commanders, Eagles, AFC South, NFC South.
• Away: Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Broncos, Cowboys, Giants, Raiders, AFC North.
The Jets will finish third in the AFC East if they beat the Dolphins this weekend. They will finish fourth if they lose.
The Colts and Texans are locked into third and fourth, respectively, in the AFC South. The NFC South could go many ways, as mentioned above. And Sunday’s Browns-Steelers game will determine third and fourth places in the AFC North.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
