Time:00:00 - 03:00 GMT
Date:03-09-2010
Stedium: Edward Jones Dome
On the same October 31 that the Broncos and 49ers will play in London, the Saints will host the Pittsburgh Steelers on NBC's Sunday Night Football, which will go against a scheduled Game Four of the 2010 World Series on Fox, a practice the league has traditionally avoided. The matchup will pit the last two winners of the Super Bowl - The Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, the Steelers in XLIII. Eighteen regular-season games will air on NBC during the 2010 season[22].
[edit] Thanksgiving and Christmas
The Thanksgiving games will take place on Thursday, November 25, 2010, with the Detroit Lions hosting the New England Patriots, at 12:30 p.m. EST on CBS. Fox holds the rights to the 4:15 p.m. EST game, which will feature the Dallas Cowboys hosting the New Orleans Saints. The prime-time NFL Network game, featuring the New York Jets hosting the Cincinnati Bengals, [23] will kick off at 8:20 p.m. Both the Saints and Bengals will make their first appearance in a Thanksgiving game; in the case of the Bengals, it will also mark the first appearance of an AFC North team on Thanksgiving since 1998, when the Pittsburgh Steelers of what was known as the AFC Central played the Lions in the now-infamous Jerome Bettis coin toss controversy.
Additionally, since Christmas Day falls on a Saturday in 2010, the NFL has scheduled a Christmas game between the Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona on December 25 on NFL Network.
Week 17: Division games only
The entire Week 17 schedule, to be played on January 2, 2011, will consist of only divisional contests to increase competition after several cases over the last few seasons of players on playoff bound teams resting their regular starters and playing their reserves.
Postseason
The 2011 NFL Playoffs will begin January 8, 2011 with wild card weekend. Following that, and after divisional playoffs the next week, the NFC Championship Game will be played at 3:00 p.m. on January 23, followed by the AFC Championship Game at 6:30 p.m.
After a backlash from players and critics about the previous season's Pro Bowl being played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida in the contiguous United States, the date of the 2011 Pro Bowl will be on January 30, 2011, the week before the Super Bowl. Unlike the 2010 Pro Bowl, the game will be played at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.[24] As a NFL spokesman stated that "Plans for future Pro Bowls are not final"[25]. Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian has stated his objections to the format, and is in favor of returning the game to after the Super Bowl as in previous years.[26]
The annual AFC-NFC all-star game had previously been played in Hawaii for 30 consecutive seasons from 1980 to 2009.[27] However, the NFL and State of Hawaiʻi officials only agreed to a two-year deal to hold the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium in 2011 and 2012.[27] This gives the option of playing the Pro Bowl in Hawaiʻi on a rotational basis with the mainland, so it both maintains the traditional ties of holding it on the islands and providing accessibility to fans when played in the contiguous 48 states.[27]
Super Bowl XLV, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in North Texas, will be held February 6, 2011 to close out the season.
[edit] Regular season standings
