NFL

• NFL announces 2008 schedule

  
  

  New York, NY (Sports Network) - The NFL has announced its 17-week, 256-game regular-season schedule for 2008 and it will kick off on Thursday, September 4 when the Super Bowl champion New York Giants host the Washington Redskins.

  Kickoff weekend also features 13 Sunday games, highlighted by the prime-time matchup featuring the Chicago Bears against the Indianapolis Colts at brand new Lucas Oil Stadium. Sunday's action also includes the AFC champion New England Patriots, who will welcome Kansas City to Foxboro.

  For the third straight season, the opening Monday night has a doubleheader with Minnesota visiting Green Bay and Oakland hosting Denver.

  In addition to the season-opener, the Giants will be featured at least twice more on prime-time, as they are also slated to play at Cleveland on Monday, October 13 and at Philadelphia on November 9.

  Byes begin on the season's fourth weekend, which also features a number of potential top matchups, including Washington at Dallas.

  Thanksgiving features the traditional games hosted by Detroit and Dallas. The Lions will welcome the Tennessee Titans to the Motor City, while the Seattle Seahawks visit the Cowboys. In a Turkey Day nightcap, the Arizona Cardinals will visit the Philadelphia Eagles.

  Two more highlights in the schedule come in late October and early December when the NFL continues its international series of regular-season games. On October 26 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, the New Orleans Saints will host the San Diego Chargers while the NFL will venture north to Canada when the Buffalo Bills host the Dolphins in Toronto at the Rogers Centre on December 7.

  Wild card weekend is set for January 3-4, with the Divisional playoffs the following weekend. The AFC and NFC championship games will be played Sunday, January 18 and the Super Bowl is scheduled for February 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

  04/15 15:00:35 ET