Three 2024 NFL Primetime Games We’ll All Be Watching

Astute NFL fans already knew which opponents their team would play in 2024, but thanks to Wednesday’s schedule release, we know the order -- more to the point, the all-important times and broadcast information.

The league’s national TV lineup turns out to be a mix of stinkers and legitimately entertaining games. Recently, it’s been more of the smelly stuff on Thursday nights in particular.

The Baltimore-Kansas City season opener is a rematch of the AFC Championship Game, but you don’t need us to tell you that will be appointment viewing. Here are three other picks for 2024 primetime games we will drop everything to watch.

Week 1, Monday Night Football: New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers

The Jets opening the season on Monday night for the second year running caused ESPN’s Mike Greenberg to have a conniption. The time slot wasn’t what caused Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles tear last year, Greeny! The culprit was a geriatric named Duane Brown at left tackle.

Love Rodgers or hate him, the football world will be glued to his return to the field as the Jets try to reignite their Super Bowl-or-bust plan. The schedule makers didn’t learn anything from last year’s injury and its consequences, though, because New York will appear in national TV windows on Thursdays, Sunday nights, a second Monday game and a trip to London, all before proving if they’re any good. We’ll get an early idea of how competitive these Jets will be when they put their reconstructed offensive line and bolstered receiving corps up against the 49ers, a Super Bowl favorite.

Week 8, Sunday Night Football: Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers

Sorry to repeat a team this fast, but to borrow a line from Pedro Martinez when discussing the Yankees, San Francisco has become the Cowboys’ daddy. The Niners steamrolled them 42-10 in Week 5 last season following two straight years of eliminating Dallas from the playoffs.

This time around, the Cowboys should be well rested coming off a bye and at least 4-2 after their opening six weeks, meaning fans’ expectations will be the size of Texas once again. But Mike McCarthy and co. will be in trouble if they can’t put up a fight against the best team in the NFC, and you just know “First Take” will be ready to have a field day with them.

Week 12, Monday Night Football: Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers

Cruelly, the schedule makers are having us wait till nearly Thanksgiving for the rematch of the Har-Bowl. It was Thanksgiving 2011 when Jim and John Harbaugh first got together as NFL head coaches, long before anyone could dream of two brothers coaching against each other in the Super Bowl. That fantasy was realized the following year. The result: John Harbaugh is 2-0 against his little bro.

Jim is back in the NFL with a college national title on his resume. Whether his Chargers sink or swim in Year 1 is anyone’s guess -- it helps to have Justin Herbert back healthy, but who is he throwing to besides Ladd McConkey and Jerry Rice’s kid? But that won’t matter. The Ravens should be in the thick of the AFC playoff race again, and you know you’ll watch, even if it’s just to see John’s team stuff Jim’s in a locker.