Jerry Jones raises possibility of NFL tweaking long-standing schedule formula

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes the NFL may eventually adjust its long-standing scheduling formula to make more room for geographic rivalry games. Speaking recently on 105.3 The Fan, Jones was asked about Dallas’ Week 4 matchup against the Houston Texans and whether the league should stage that kind of in-state meeting more often.

Jones said the league has kicked around ideas to add such games but has so far stopped short of overhauling the system. He noted that the current approach prioritizes a consistent rotation designed to keep competition fair across the league, yet he made clear he would support a broader look at regional rivalries beyond just Cowboys-Texans.

To underline his point, Jones pointed to the intensity that naturally comes with proximity-based matchups, referencing the long-running battles between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. In his view, the “my town versus your town” dynamic is a core part of what fuels football’s appeal, especially in the United States, where local identity often drives fandom.

How the NFL schedule is currently built

The NFL’s basic scheduling framework has been in place since the league moved to 32 teams in 2002. Each club plays home and away against its three division opponents, forming the backbone of the schedule. On top of that, teams face all four members of another division within their own conference, and all four teams from a division in the opposite conference, both on rotating cycles.

The league also layers in games based on the previous season’s standings. Those match first-place teams against other first-place finishers in conference divisions they are not already scheduled to face, with the same logic applied to second-, third- and fourth-place clubs. When the NFL added a 17th game in 2021, it created one extra interconference matchup also tied to prior-year standings, with the home conference rotating each season.

That 17th game complicates the idea of locking in an annual geographic opponent. Some pairings are obvious — Cowboys-Texans, Jets-Giants and Chargers-Rams — but many franchises lack a clear nearby rival, especially if the extra game continues to be structured as AFC versus NFC.

18-game future could trigger broader schedule review

In the longer term, the question is likely to resurface when the NFL expands the regular season again. As previously reported by CBS Sports in April, an 18-game schedule is expected to arrive sometime between 2028 and 2031. That shift would force the league to reconsider how additional games are allocated.

One scenario viewed as more likely than a pure geographic slot would see each team play an annual international game against an interconference opponent. That would extend the model already used for many overseas contests: six of this year’s nine international games are AFC vs. NFC matchups, including Sunday’s game in London between the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders.

Balancing competitive fairness, the growth of the international footprint and the appeal of regional showdowns will be central to any redesign. For now, the framework remains intact, but Jones’ comments suggest that when the 18-game era arrives, the league will at least revisit whether its schedule can better tap into local rivalries.