League got creative with bye weeks Brad Biggs

Some creative scheduling by the NFL has given the league even more wiggle room to play an entire 16-game regular season while starting three weeks late.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that every game in Week 3 has games involving teams that share a common bye week later in the season. That allows the possibility for the games to be made up during a bye week.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell already said the league has a tentative plan to push back Super Bowl XLVI one week and eliminate one of the two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. In this scenario, the regular season could begin on Thursday, Sept. 29 at Lambeau Field with the game between the New Orleans Saints and the defending champion Green Bay Packers. The plan would push the Super Bowl back to Feb. 12 from Feb. 5, the day it is currently scheduled.

The next development in the labor showdown will be a ruling by U.S. Distict Judge Susan Nelson in Minnesota court.