Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow had a fascinating suggestion for the “perfect” 18-game NFL regular season schedule.
The NFL expanded to a 17-game regular season schedule in 2021, Joe Burrow’s sophomore season. This marked the league’s first expansion of the regular season since 1978, when the schedule was expanded from 14 to 16 games.
Commissioner Roger Goodell previously commented on the possibility of an 18-game regular season, emphasizing that player safety is the priority, per NFL.com:
“The key thing for us is looking at making sure we continue to do the things that make our game safer. Seventeen games is a long season, so we want to make sure we look at that and make sure that we continue the safety efforts.”
During his appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, Joe Burrow was asked to assemble his idea of a “perfect” NFL schedule. For an 18-game schedule, Burrow proposed two bye weeks, with the Pro Bowl falling in Week 13.
“I think that would get more ratings for the Pro Bowl,” Burrow said. “And then it would also give everybody that bye week going into like the last six games.
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A year before the expansion of the regular season schedule, the NFL also changed their postseason format. In Joe Burrow’s 2020 rookie season, the league added a wild card team in each conference and removed the first-round bye advantage for the pair of No. 2 seeds.
ultimately, the players would have to agree to the league’s suggestion of an 18-game regular season schedule. And given the significant risk of injuries in a longer season, the league will have to find a way to put forward special perks for players if they agree to such a schedule.
Burrow and the Bengals open their 2024 season at home against the New England Patriots on Sept. 8.
Joe Burrow’s Idea Makes Perfect Sense
Over the years, countless fans have called for the league to scrap the Pro Bowl altogether. Burrow’s idea of running the Pro Bowl/Skils competitions mid-season would surely score better ratings for the NFL as popularity and viewership continue to wane.
Two bye weeks is also essential to expand to 18 games. Having all 32 teams’ get a bye week late in the season (as Burrow suggested, Week 13) feels like a safe proposal that would add more intensity to the playoff chase.
