The Packers are likely to gain another marquee matchup on their 2021 schedule.
NBC Sports reports the NFL is "highly likely" to expand to a 17-game season starting this upcoming year.
The 17th game would be AFC vs. NFC each year, and according to the formula, the Packers would play the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021. The game would be in Kansas City.
Here's how the formula works: Each team will play a team from its cross-conference division two years prior, with the matchup determined by the standings from the previous year.
For example, the Packers played the AFC West in the 2019 season. The Packers and Chiefs both won their divisions in 2020, so the two teams will play in 2021. Likewise, the second-place Bears will play the second-place Raiders, the third-place Vikings will play the third-place Chargers, and so on.
In 2022, the Packers will play a team from the AFC South, since the AFC South was their cross-conference division in 2020.
The AFC will host the games in 2021, with the NFC set to host in 2022. That every-other-year rotation would then continue on. That means next season, all NFC teams would have eight home games and nine road games, and all AFC teams would have nine home games and eight road games.
According to the NBC Sports report, the addition of an extra regular season game also means the Super Bowl will be pushed back one week. If this set-up is formalized, the big game would move from the first Sunday in February to the second Sunday in February.
