Just thought of this. Sorry if its been mentioned.
The possible opponents for the Thursday opener at Tampa are...
Chicago
Dallas
NY Giants
Miami
Buffalo
New Orleans
Carolina
Atlanta
None of the division rivals are bona-fide contenders.
Buffalo is certainly the best team but its an out of conference game.
Giants?? No.
Bears with Wentz? Even worse.
Miami could work because of the Florida thing, but that's a reach.
I'd say the likely call is Dallas.
If nothing else, this shows that if the league passes on the Cowboys over these other teams here....after the December flex for the Browns....maybe they are no longer such a ratings darling.
The flex out was on the the league's and fans' radars two months before it happened.
And what many failed to realize the 4-9 Cowboys were only HALF the reason.
The defending NFC Champion 49ers suffered many injuries, thus struggling 2020 also - their record was 5-8 when they came into AT&T Stadium that pre- Xmas Sunday. No brainer that game was not going to stay in that SNF slot.
As far as the 2021 opener, I think the league will schedule the Saints @ Buccaneers.
1) Division rival
2) The teams last played in the divisional round of the playoffs
3) First view of the new era for New Orleans - no Drew Brees under center. And the new starting QB could very well be Jameis Winston - facing his former team.