NFL Preseason, Regular Season, Postseason And Pro Bowl Schedule

Pro football schedules are normally balanced, meaning teams play the same amount of home games as away games (though some regular season games have begun to be played at international sites to increase the appeal of the game), with a single bye week thrown in somewhere between weeks 4 and 10. Teams play 6 games against teams in their own division (1 home and 1 away against each divisional team), 6 games against other teams in their conference and 4 games against teams in the other conference. In the early years schedules were not balanced so some teams played more home or away games and some exhibition games were listed in the official schedule although they did not show up in the standings. Bye weeks are a fairly recent addition, and the insertion of them has improved over the years so that they now occur closer to the middle of the season when they are needed most rather than at the beginning or end of it.