The NFL’s new scheduling format includes the following elements:
• There will be an increased common-opponent emphasis with every team in a division playing against 14 common opponents.
• All teams will play each other on a regular basis, home and away, for a more consistent presentation of attractive games, eliminating the many schedule aberrations of the past.
• Teams are guaranteed to play all non-division opponents in their conference at least once every three years, and at home at least once every six years.
• Every AFC team will play every NFC team once every four years, and at home once every eight years.
• A team’s record from the previous year will have less of a bearing on its schedule, with only two (rather than four) opponents being based on the previous year’s standing. Thus, the so-called “easy” fifth-place schedules are eliminated.
• The division in which a team resides will be less of a factor in a team’s won-loss record with 10 of 16 games each year being against non-division teams.