Football fans will have a Happy New Year with 16 NFL games sandwiched between the usual college football New Year’s bonanza.
The NFL schedule made official what was widely expected: All 32 teams will play their Week 17 games on Sunday, January 1. As usual for Week 17, all 16 games will be divisional matchups, which the NFL has now done for seven consecutive seasons to increase the likelihood that there will be many games with playoff implications.
This year’s College Football Playoff semifinals take place on Saturday, December 31. The traditional New Year’s Day bowl games -- the Cotton, Rose and Sugar bowls -- will take place on Monday, January 2, 2017. The NHL’s traditional New Year’s Day Winter Classic has also been moved to January 2 to avoid a conflict with the NFL.
The last time New Year’s Day fell on a Sunday was 2012, when the NFL also played all 16 games on New Year’s Day.
