The NFL will announce the 2012 regular season schedule on Tuesday at 5 pm MT. According to ESPN programming, the dates and times for each regular season game in a 4 hour "SportsCenter Special". The show will include a look at the "top NFL games for 2012, plus team-by-team evaluations and interviews."
Of course, we already know the Denver Broncos opponents. What we really want to know is the order of these opponents and which games will be in prime time.
HOME:
Oakland Raiders
Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints
Houston Texans
AWAY:
Oakland Raiders
Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego Chargers
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
New England Patriots
With the new addition of Peyton Manning, the Broncos are likely to have at least 2 prime time games. That's a conservative estimate, if you ask me.
Of note in this list of opponents is the return of John Fox to Carolina, where he'll face his former team. Cam Newton against Von Miller in the battle of the 2011 NFL Draft's number 1 and 2 picks. The Patriots will be an interesting game, as well, with the added Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady drama. Oh yeah, and how about a rematch of the 2011 AFC Wildcard game when the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town?
That doesn't even scratch the surface of the AFC West battles, either. I, for one, can't wait for the schedule announcement on Tuesday. The 2012 NFL season is one step closer to kicking off.