NFL 2024: London games, Super Bowl, Thanksgiving - all the key dates
The full schedule of fixtures has been announced for the 2024 NFL season, with the Kansas City Chiefs looking to create history.
In February the Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five years and their second straight NFL title.
They became the first team to achieve that feat since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005, but no team has won three Super Bowls in a row.
The NFL teased the 2024 schedule by revealing some fixtures before Wednesday’s full rollout.
Now quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs team-mates know exactly who and when they will play as they aim to reach Super Bowl 59.
When does the NFL season start?
The season will begin on the first full weekend of September and, as is tradition, the Super Bowl champions open the new season that Thursday.
That means the Chiefs will host the Baltimore Ravens on 5 September in a repeat of last year’s AFC Championship game - effectively one of the Super Bowl semi-finals.
The NFL will play its first game in Brazil on 6 September before a full programme on 8 September.
The regular season lasts 18 weeks, with each team playing 17 games, and ends on 5 January 2025.
The Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, who contested last season's Super Bowl, will meet on 20 October.
What are the NFL's Thanksgiving and Christmas Day games?
Football is a big part of the holidays in the US, and the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys have long since hosted games on Thanksgiving.
This year it falls on 28 November, and the Lions host the Chicago Bears before the Cowboys welcome the New York Giants.
The Thanksgiving triple-header will be rounded off by the Green Bay Packers hosting the Miami Dolphins.
Last season featured the NFL’s first game on Black Friday, and it returns this season, with the Las Vegas Raiders visiting divisional rivals Kansas City.
The Chiefs are also part of Christmas Day’s double-header as they visit the Pittsburgh Steelers before the Houston Texans host the Ravens.
Who is playing in the NFL London games?
There will be five international games across three countries during the season, including three in London:
6 September - Green Bay Packers v Philadelphia Eagles (Sao Paulo)
6 October - New York Jets v Minnesota Vikings (Tottenham, London)
13 October - Jacksonville Jaguars v Chicago Bears (Tottenham, London)
20 October - New England Patriots v Jacksonville Jaguars (Wembley, London)
10 November - New York Giants v Carolina Panthers (Munich)
When is the Super Bowl?
The play-offs start on 11 January, with games played on three straight weekends to decide who will play in the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 59 will take place on 9 February in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome, which has hosted more Super Bowls than any other stadium (seven).
It will be the first time since 2013 that the game has been played in New Orleans and the 11th overall - a joint record with Miami.
What are the other big games of the NFL season?
Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury only four plays into his New York Jets debut on the first Monday of last season.
The four-time MVP is set to kick-start his Jets career on the first Monday of the new season with a return to his native California to face the 49ers, the team he supported as a boy and who overlooked him when they had the first pick in the 2005 draft.
Rodgers’ move from the NFL’s smallest media market (Green Bay) to the largest (New York) meant the Jets earned five games on primetime TV slots last season.
This year they have six, the joint highest with the Dallas Cowboys - known as America’s Team - and the 49ers.
Brothers John and Jim Harbaugh will meet as opposing coaches for the third time on 25 November, three days before Thanksgiving.
John remains in charge of the Ravens, while Jim has been appointed Los Angeles Chargers coach.
They contested the 2013 Super Bowl, with John’s Ravens beating Jim’s 49ers.
