Super Bowl rematch tops 10 best games on the 2017 NFL schedule
There will be a Super Bowl rematch in Week 9 and the defending champs will get things kicked off in Week 1.
The 2017 NFL schedule was released Thursday and the Patriots are heavily featured with five prime-time games.
The Patriots are involved in several marquee games this year. Some of those games are among the 10 best games of the 2017 season.
Here are the 10 must-see games of the 2017 NFL season.
10. Steelers at Texans: Week 16, Dec. 25, 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC/NFL Network/Amazon): A Christmas Day treat in Houston will have a pair of playoff hopefuls and two of the NFL's stingiest defenses. The Texans have jettisoned Brock Osweiler and this could be an important game for both teams late in the season.
9. Falcons at Seahawks: Week 11, Nov. 20, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN): A playoff rematch that was dominated by the Falcons last season, the Seahawks will hope to get some revenge at home. The Legion of Boom may be losing some of its punch, but the Seahawks are a different team at home and there almost always seems to be some sort of controversy when Seattle gets a prime-time home game.
8. Chiefs at Patriots: Week 1, Sept. 7, 8:30 p.m. ET (NBC): The champs will celebrate their Super Bowl victory before taking on one of last year's playoff teams. The Chiefs have not won at Foxborough since 1990, a stretch that includes six straight losses, including a playoff game in the 2015 season.
7. Dolphins at Chargers: Week 2, Sept. 17, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS): Tiny StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., will host its first NFL game as the Chargers officially debut as the Los Angeles Chargers at their new temporary home.
6. Packers at Falcons: Week 2, Sept. 17, 8:30 p.m. ET (NBC): The Falcons will debut new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Week 2 against the Packers, who will hope for a much better result than the last time they went to Atlanta. The Falcons ran away with a blowout victory in last season's NFC championship game. Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers are sure to light things up once all the pomp and circumstance of the new stadium wears off.
5. Cowboys at Raiders: Week 15, Dec. 17, 8:30 p.m. ET (NBC): The Cowboys and Raiders both have Super Bowl aspirations this season and each team is loaded with young talent on offense. With defenses that struggled some last season, there could be a lot of points scored at the Coliseum.
4. Patriots vs. Raiders, Week 11, Nov. 19, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS): The Raiders are returning to Mexico this season and will face the Patriots, who will play in Mexico for the first time ever. This could have big playoff implications in the latter half of the season.
3. Patriots at Dolphins, Week 14, Dec. 11, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN): If the Dolphins are going to sweep the Patriots, as wide receiver Jarvis Landry boldly predicted, they have to first win on Nov. 26 in New England and then defend their home field two weeks later on Monday night.
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2. Chiefs at Raiders: Week 7, Oct. 19, 8:25 p.m. ET (CBS/NFL Network/Amazon): These are the two favorites in the AFC West and a win by the Raiders would go a long way toward a division that slipped away from them last season.
1. Falcons at Patriots: Week 7, Oct. 22, 8:30 p.m. ET (NBC): The Super Bowl rematch will be one of the more anticipated matchups of the season. It's a bit of surprise the NFL scheduled it in the middle of the season instead of making it a Week 1 game. The Falcons will be bent on revenge, but going into Foxborough is never easy.