When Major League Baseball, the NBA or NHL release their schedules, only the hardcore fans take note. NFL schedule release day seems like a holiday in comparison.

The popularity of the league can be summed up in many ways, but few like the excitement over seeing the regular-season schedule being announced. NFL Network had a two-hour show scheduled for Thursday night around the schedule release, with five reporters on site at various NFL team headquarters. ESPN announced a competing two-hour schedule release show for Thursday night. The release of the schedule is an event, and has been for many years.

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[For the full 2018 NFL regular-season schedule, click here.]

Finally, we have NFL football on the calendar (and not just the preseason schedule, which came out last week just to tease us). Here are the main points to take away from the 256-game NFL slate for 2018:

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz scores the game-winning touchdown in last season’s Super Bowl. (AP)

Eagles get Falcons to start the NFL season

Since the 2004 season, the NFL has put the defending Super Bowl champion in the league’s opening game of the season, traditionally on a Thursday night with the champ being the home team. The Philadelphia Eagles waited more than 50 years to finally win a Super Bowl, and it will be an electric atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field as Eagles fans get to continue their championship celebration with an opening-night game against the Atlanta Falcons. That game will be on Thursday, Sept. 6 at 8:20 p.m., and is a rematch of a tight NFC divisional round playoff game last season. The bulk of the Week 1 games happen that Sunday, Sept. 9.

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Of course the opening game is more than a coronation for the champs, and it will be especially interesting from a football sense in Philadelphia because of the Carson Wentz situation. Wentz is coming off a torn ACL suffered last December, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to start Week 1. If Nick Foles has to start, it will be a tough test against a good Falcons team. The good news is Foles is the defending Super Bowl MVP.

Bears and Packers face off in Week 1 on ‘Sunday Night Football’

The NFL scheduled a traditional rivalry for the first “Sunday Night Football” game of the season. The Chicago Bears will take on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

There will be the traditional doubleheader on “Monday Night Football” in Week 1. The Detroit Lions host the New York Jets in the first game, then the Oakland Raiders — with Jon Gruden back on the sideline — will host the Los Angeles Rams in the second game. Gruden will go from the “MNF” broadcast booth to coaching on Monday evening in his first game back as Raiders coach.

The best Week 1 game that isn’t in prime time could be the Houston Texans, hopefully with quarterback Deshaun Watson and defensive end J.J. Watt back from injury, at the New England Patriots.

The Los Angeles Chargers will host the Kansas City Chiefs in the second set of games on the Sunday of Week 1, and that one will have big implications in the AFC West race.

Prime-time will be earlier, and the 49ers will appear often

Before the games were even announced, the NFL said that the times of prime-time games will move up. Monday night games will start at 8:15 p.m. ET, 15 minutes earlier than last year, Sunday night games will start at 8:20 p.m. (10 minutes earlier) and Thursday night games will kick off five minutes earlier at 8:20 p.m.

There are plenty of interesting parts of the prime-time schedule, but one that stands out is the San Francisco 49ers got five prime-time games. Credit a late-season winning streak with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, which vaulted the 49ers into relevancy again. The Rams are among the teams that have an NFL-best five prime-time games, and Cameron DaSilva of The Rams Wire said that is the most in team history.

According to Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network, the teams with five prime-time games are: Rams, Cowboys, Packers, Chiefs, Patriots, Saints, Eagles, Steelers, 49ers and Seahawks. Siciliano said the Cardinals, Bills, Bengals, Browns, Colts, Chargers, Dolphins and Buccaneers get just one prime-time game each.

NFL Network pointed out that every team will appear in at least one prime-time game this season. Also, no team with a “Monday Night Football” road game will have a road game the following week. In addition, there will be two Saturday games in Week 16, and the NFL will decide which games to move to that Saturday after Week 8.

Thanksgiving gets three divisional rivalry games

The Chicago Bears will play at the Detroit Lions to begin the Thanksgiving tripleheader. Then the Dallas Cowboys will host the Washington Redskins. The night ends with the best game of the three, the Atlanta Falcons visiting the New Orleans Saints.

Flexible scheduling between the networks has allowed the NFL more options for the three Thanksgiving matchups, and it has resulted in better games. For many years, the Lions or Cowboys had to host an AFC team so the network that broadcasts AFC games could have one. A recent change allows networks to swap games, so we have gotten many more NFC vs. NFC games. Even though the first two Thanksgiving games this year feature four teams that missed the playoffs last season, they’re division rivalry games. And Falcons-Saints, with two teams that are coming off playoff berths, is one of the best rivalries in the NFL.

Four international games, including three in London

There are four international games this season, with three in London and one in Mexico. The NFL offered those games as an appetizer to the release of the full schedule, announcing the international games on Thursday morning.

The good news is the NFL has kept two of the London games in the early Sunday morning time slot, which provides some value to American fans who otherwise wouldn’t gain much from games being played in England.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders, Tottenham Hotspur, London. Oct. 14, 1 p.m. ET

Tennessee Titans vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Wembley Stadium, London. Oct. 21, 9:30 a.m. ET

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Wembley Stadium, London, Oct. 28, 9:30 a.m. ET

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Rams, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City. Nov. 19 (Monday), 8:15 p.m. ET

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

</s>The Eagles held off New England Patriots in February’s Superbowl for their first ever championship.

And the Philadelphia side welcome Atlanta Falcons for Thursday Night Football to open up the new season.

WHEN IS THE NFL DRAFT? FULL DETAILS REVEALED

The Eagles will look to become the first team since the Patriots in 2003-04 to win back-to-back Superbowls.

Tom Brady’s Patriots begin their season by hosting Houston Texans before travelling to Jacksonville in Week 2 for an AFC Championship game rematch with the Jaguars.</s>As Super Bowl champions, the Eagles will have their work cut out for them in the 2018 NFL season. Showdowns with the Rams, Vikings, and Saints highlight Philadelphia’s schedule and will certainly have NFC playoff ramifications.

Things fell into line for the Eagles last season after an early-season loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City. The Eagles ripped off a nine-game winning streak before losing to the Seahawks in Seattle.

Philadelphia still finished with a 13-3 record and the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Doug Pederson said the success the Eagles experienced in 2017 is the “new norm.”

Can they repeat that success this season? Here is a look at the Eagles’ 2018 schedule:

Matt Ryan and the Falcons once again travel to Lincoln Financial Field to kick off the season after losing their last two games in Philadelphia. The Eagles secondary will have their hands full with one of the best receivers in the game in Julio Jones.

If they can slow down Atlanta’s high-octane offense, Pederson’s balanced attack should be able to put up enough points to come out on top.

DeSean Jackson has been a problem for the Eagles since he was released by Philadelphia. Along with Mike Evans, Jackson gives Jameis Winston two big-time target that will test the Eagles secondary. Tight end O.J. Howard is no slouch, either.

Week 2 will be a redemption game for former Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry who was released by Philadelphia and signed with the Bucs soon after.

Originally rumored to be the season opener, the Eagles and Vikings face off in a rematch of the 2017 NFC Championship game. Philadelphia will get to see old nemesis Kirk Cousins in his first game with his new team.

Add the intrigue of going against former quarterback coach turned Vikings offensive coordinator and the game becomes must-see TV.

The Eagles and Giants always play a tight game. Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard have been able to victimize Philadelphia’s secondary over the last two years. Tight end Evan Engram is another weapon for Eli Manning to use in the passing game. Will it be Manning under center for New York or will it go in another direction?

The Eagles finally take the trip to London when they face the Jaguars. The combination of A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey will be a key matchup for the Eagles wideouts. Jacksonville’s front four should present a formidable opponent for Philadelphia’s offensive line.

Defensively, the Eagles have to focus on stopping Leonard Fournette. If they can do that, they’ll be able to restrict Jacksonville’s offense.

It is going to be an exciting season as the Eagles look to defend their championship. Will they suffer a Super Bowl hangover?</s>The NFL will release its 2018 regular season schedule on Thursday night. Here's the latest news and rumors on the big reveal.

What you need to know about NFL schedule release:

When: Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 8 p.m.

 Where to watch: NFL Network

The schedule will be announced exclusively on NFL Network during the 2018 NFL Schedule Release Presented by Verizon at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday as part of a two-hour long special. The special will be hosted by Scott Hanson and feature NFL Network analysts Steve Mariucci, Kurt Warner and Maurice Jones-Drew.</s>Dates and times. Technically, that’s all we learned Thursday night with the release of the 2018 NFL regular-season schedule.

But the takeaways are innumerable.

Each team’s home and away opponents were determined months ago – by New Year’s Day, to be precise — because of the league’s highly structured scheduling formula, which guarantees all teams play one another on a regular, rotating basis. Fourteen of any team’s 16 annual games can be extrapolated years in advance, in fact.

So, all we learned Thursday night were the dates and times. Still, with the importance of everything in every walk of life seemingly magnified ever more with each passing year, anticipation for the release of this year’s league schedule swallowed NFL Twittersphere whole for much of the day.

— Prime-time games all will begin slightly earlier. Sunday night kickoffs move from 8:30 to 8:20 p.m. ET, Monday nights from 8:30 to 8:15 p.m. ET, and Thursday nights’ from 8:25 to 8:20 p.m. ET.

— The regular season kicks off Thursday, Sept. 6 with the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (yes, it happened) playing host to the Atlanta Falcons. If Eagles QB Carson Wentz cannot fully recover from his blown-out knee until, say, Canadian Thanksgiving, these are the four games he’d miss, and presumably Nick Foles would start: Atlanta, at Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, at Tennessee. That’s as tame a first month as a defending Super Bowl champ can expect.

— Ten teams will play the maximum number of five games in prime time: Dallas, Green Bay, Kansas City, New England, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams.

— The New York Giants will NOT open for the fourth straight year against the Cowboys at Dallas on Sunday night. Instead, the debut Sunday-nighter pits the Chicago Bears at the Green Bay Packers, in the 195th regular-season matchup of these old rivals. On that Sunday the Giants play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars, while the Cowboys play a late-afternoon game at Carolina. But guess what the Week 2 Sunday-nighter is? Right. Giants at the Cowboys.

— The annual Week 1 Monday-night doubleheader on Sept. 10 features the New York Jets at Detroit Lions (7:10 p.m. EDT) and Los Angeles Rams at Oakland Raiders (10:20 p.m. EDT). Right. That means Jon Gruden, fittingly, leaves the ESPN broadcast booth for his celebrated return to NFL coaching on Monday Night Football.

— Other openers of note include: a matchup of quarterbacks who this year signed new contracts worth just $3.5 million short of a combined quarter-billion dollars: Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers at Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings; Buffalo at Baltimore for the second time in three years; and Pittsburgh at the Cleveland Browns (losers of 17 straight and 38 of their, gulp, last 40) for the second season in a row.

— Speaking of the Browns, guess what?! Not every Cleveland game (except those played out west) will be played in the early Sunday timeslot. Last year the Browns didn’t play in a single prime-time game, even on Thursday. But in 2018 the Browns play host to the New York Jets in the Week 3 Thursday-nighter – their one whole deviation (besides late starts at Oakland and at Denver) from a string of 1 p.m. ET kickoffs.

— And will miracles never cease? Buffalo Bills droughts never stop ending? The Bills return to Monday Night Football after a 10-year drought, and at home, against their most hated AFC East rival, no less: the New England Patriots on Oct. 29.

— Overall, though, the MNF schedule once again pales by comparison to Sunday prime-timers. Top Sunday-nighters include: Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers at Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, on Nov. 4 (Rodgers has never played in Foxboro); head coach Bill Belichick and the Pats at the Detroit Lions and their new head coach, former Pats defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, on Sept. 23; a battle of young Texas QBs, with Dak Prescott and Dallas at Deshaun Watson and Houston, on Oct. 7; and cornerback Richard Sherman’s return to Seattle, with his new team the San Francisco 49ers, on Dec. 2. Flexible scheduling remains in effect for Weeks 11-17, and up to two times for Weeks 5-10.

— Three games will be played again in London, England. First the Jacksonville Jaguars (who are contracted to play one game a year over ’ome until 2020) play the ‘visiting’ Philadelphia Eagles at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 28, with kickoff at 9:30 a.m. EDT. The other two U.K. games: Seattle vs. Oakland at new Tottenham Stadium in London on Oct. 14 in a 1 p.m. EDT kickoff, and the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Tennessee on Oct. 14 at Wembley in another 9:30 a.m. EDT kickoff. Houston, Green Bay and Carolina are the only teams yet to play in England.

— For the third straight year a game will be played in Mexico City. It’s the Week 11 Monday-nighter on Nov. 11, with the Kansas City Chiefs playing ‘at’ the Los Angeles Rams.

— The annual U.S. Thanksgiving Day tripleheader, on Nov. 22, as usual leads off with Detroit at home (this year against Chicago) followed by Dallas at home (this year against Washington). The prime time game now usually pits heated division rivals against one another, and that continues with one of the NFL’s bitterest: the Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints.

— Saturday games in mid December continue in 2018, with two on Dec. 15 (Houston at the New York Jets, and Cleveland at Denver), and two more on Dec. 22, to be chosen – in a new wrinkle no doubt aimed to wring every last ratings drop – from these four matchups: New York Giants at Indianapolis, Baltimore at Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville at Miami and Washington at Tennessee.

— With Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve falling this year on Mondays, and Christmas Day and New Year’s Day on Tuesdays, Week 16 and Week 17 schedules aren’t affected at all. The Monday-nighter on Christmas Eve kicks off at the normal new time of 8:15 p.m. ET. And all Week 17 games – all division games for the ninth straight season – will be played Sunday, Dec. 30.

— Playoffs will be held Jan. 5-6 (four wild-card games), Jan. 12-13 (four divisional-round games), Jan. 20 (conference championships) and Feb. 3 (with Super Bowl LIII at Atlanta’s year-old Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

EXTRA POINTS: Green Bay plays only two home games combined in October and November … Minnesota’s first three road games: at Green Bay, at L.A. Rams on a short-week Thursday, at Philadelphia. Ouch … Atlanta’s first five: at Philly, Carolina, New Orleans, Cincinnati, at Pittsburgh. Atlanta’s last seven: Dallas, at New Orleans, Baltimore, at Green Bay, Arizona, at Carolina, at Tampa Bay. Double-ouch … The Panthers and Saints play their two games Dec. 17 and 30 … Seattle’s one home game before Oct. 7 is vs. Dallas … Bills fans better savour that playoff appearance in January. Their first five games: at Baltimore, L.A. Chargers, at Minnesota, at Green Bay, Tennessee … Miami has only two ostensible cold-weather games but they’re doozies: Nov. 11 at Green Bay, Dec. 30 at Buffalo … If New England drops a notch this year, its schedule might contribute. From Oct. 14 to Dec. 16: Chiefs, at Bears, at Bills on Monday night, Packers, at Titans, at Jets, Vikings, at Dolphins, at Steelers.</s>The NFL released its 2018 regular season schedule on Thursday night and, as usual, the Steelers schedule is full of marquee matchups and prime-time games, but for the first time in a few seasons, no Thanksgiving or Christmas Day games. The Steelers made that request from the NFL.

The defending AFC North champions will open the 2018 season on the road against Todd Haley and the Cleveland Browns. Traditionally, the Steelers are used to finishing the season with Cleveland, but this time it’s how they’ll start the season.

The home opener is the following week, Sept. 16, when they host the Kansas City Chiefs.

With the Steelers’ success often comes a chance to be the showcase in prime time for several games over the course of the season and 2018 is no different. And some good news for those who don’t like to stay up too late: the prime time game start times are moving up a little bit.

Sunday Night Football games will now start at 8:20 p.m. instead of 8:30 p.m. Thursday and Monday night games will also move up their start times a little bit.

The Steelers will be on WPXI three times this season: Sept. 30 for a home game against the Ravens; Nov. 18 for a playoff rematch at the Jacksonville Jaguars; and Dec. 9, when they head out west to take on the Oakland Raiders.

The season features more airplane travel time for the Steelers than last season. The Steelers traveled no further away than Kansas City in 2017. The 2018 season features road trips to Denver, Oakland, Jacksonville, Tampa and New Orleans, as well as division opponents Baltimore, Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Circle Dec.16 on your calendars. The Steelers will take on the defending AFC Champion New England Patriots at Heinz Field.

With the game being late in the season, homefield advantage could once again be on the line. Last season was the “Jesse James non-catch” game, where the Steelers thought they had come back to defeat the Patriots, only to be disappointed by a call that led to rule changes this offseason.

Fox and the NFL Network will split the Thursday Night Football slate this season, with Steelers Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw being part of the pre-game crew.</s>The NFL's annual dog and pony show that consists of a two-hour television event to announce its coming season's schedule took place on Thursday. We already knew the opponents for all 32 teams around the league. We now know when each game is going to take place.

Despite the league doing everything to milk the schedule release, there's a lot of intriguing matchups slated for the campaign. Here, we check in on the most marketable game for each week of the upcoming 2018 NFL regular season.

What else can we ask for to open the regular season? As defending champs, it was a foregone conclusion that Philadelphia would host the initial Thursday Night Football Game. But instead of pitting the Eagles against Minnesota in a rematch of last year's NFC Championship Game, it will be the 2016 conference champs with an opportunity to make an early-season statement.

The marketability here is real. Coming off a torn ACL, can Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz prove he's 100 percent in Week 1? Is Atlanta ready to rediscover its magic from two years ago after struggling last season? The NFL knows what it's doing here, and the opening game is going to be dynamite.

The leader in NFL merchandise sales for the past fiscal year, Tom Brady is obviously a brand in and of himself. It's been that way for the better part of his past near two decades with the Patriots. Fresh off leading New England to an eighth AFC title under his watch, this likely won't change all too much heading into the 2018 season. For their part, the Jaguars are an upstart team that came close to dethroning the Pats in the conference title game last season. Even with this game set to take place early in the season, it's going to be marketed like heck by the NFL.

Shockingly, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott finished the past fiscal year No. 2 in merchandise sales behind only Tom Brady. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson of the Seahawks found himself eighth in that category. It's all about the big-name quarterbacks in today's NFL. The league certainly knows this. That's why they scheduled this early-season affair for the No. 1 broadcast crew on Fox to call. Don't think any of this is lost on the powers to be in New York City.

A game between what will likely be two of the best teams in the NFL next season and two teams that made the most noise during free agency. Could this outing marking the quarter point of the season be a preview of the NFC Championship Game? There's a reason why the NFL decided to put this on Thursday Night Football. It's going to market extremely well to fans around the league.</s>LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – The Washington Redskins 2018 regular season schedule is out.

The ‘Skins open the Alex Smith era on the road at Arizona, but end the regular season at home vs. the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles.

News 3 is Hampton Roads’ home of the Redskins and nobody in this market covers the burgundy and gold like we do. Like years past, News 3 will have live coverage – home and road, of the Redskins all season.</s>ATLANTA - The Falcons’ 2018 schedule was released on Thursday night and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Falcons beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter broke down each opponent for the upcoming season.

After the exhibition schedule, the Falcons will play at the Eagles in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game to kick off the NFL season.

> Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles went 13-3 and went on to win the Super Bowl last season. Quarterback Carson Wentz is expected to return from reconstructive knee surgery and will take back over for Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. The Eagles defense is led by defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. The Eagles also added former Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett in free agency. The Eagles added former Falcons linebacker Paul Worrilow to help provide depth. Last meeting: Eagles won 15-10 in the divisional playoff round on Jan. 13, 2018 at Lincoln Financial Field. Overall series: Eagles lead the series, 16-13-1.

> Carolina Panthers: The Panthers are re-tooling the offense for quarterback Cam Newton with the addition of new offensive coordinator Norv Turner. The Panthers also waived long-time running back Jonathan Stewart. They picked up wide receiver Torrey Smith in a trade and signed former Vikings slot receiver Jarius Wright. The Panthers signed former Falcons defensive tackle Dontari Poe to help solidify the interior of the defense and keep blockers off of middle linebacker Luke Kuechly. The Panthers will be without stellar linebacker Thomas Davis, the former Georgia star, for the first four games of the season while he serves a suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. The home team won in both games last season. Last meeting: Falcons won 22-10 on Dec. 31, 2017. Overall series: Falcons led the series 28-18.

> New Orleans Saints: Quarterback Drew Brees is back for his 13th season with the Saints and 18th in the NFL. Brees did not show signs of slippage as he led the Saints to the NFC South title and the divisional round of the playoffs last season. The Saints are hoping that running back Alvin Kamara can follow up his sensational rookie season. The Saints added former Jets linebacker Demario Davis and former Panthers safety Kurt Coleman in free agency. A couple of former Saints, offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod and cornerback Patrick Robinson, returned to the team via free agency. Last meeting: Saints won 22-13 on Dec. 24, 2017 at the Superdome. Overall series: Falcons lead the series, 51-46.

> Cincinnati Bengals: Marvin Lewis enters his 16th season as the Bengals head coach. He’s reached the playoffs seven times, but has not won a game. The Bengals’ offense is built around former Georgia standout wide receiver A.J. Green and quarterback Andy Dalton. The Bengals went 7-9 last season and finished in third place in the AFC North. The Bengals signed former Bills linebacker Preston Brown and former Buccaneers tackle Chris Baker to help on defense. Last meeting: Bengals won 24-10 on Sept. 14, 2014 at Paul Brown Stadium. Overall series: Bengals lead series, 8-5.

> Pittsburgh Steelers: This one will feature to the game’s best wide receivers in Antonio Brown and Julio Jones. The two have contrasting styles but both have been highly productive over the past four seasons. The Steelers, who also feature quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Le’Veon Bell, went 13-3 last season but lost in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs. Last meeting: The Steelers won 27-20 on Dec. 14, 2014 at the Georgia Dome. Overall series: Steelers lead the series, 13-2-1.

> Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs, who are led by quarterback Jameis Winston, are coming off a disappointing 5-11 season. Former Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is Tampa Bay’s coach and is headed into his third season. Former Falcons head coach Mike Smith is the Bucs’ defensive coordinator. The Bucs defense is anchored by defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, a six-time Pro Bowler, and linebacker Kwon Alexander. The Bucs added defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul in a blockbuster trade with the Giants. Last meeting: Falcons won 24-21 on Dec. 18, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium. Overall series: Falcons lead the series 25-24.

> New York Giants: Eli Manning and Matt Ryan have done battle in the past with Ryan winning the last meeting. However, Manning has a 24-2 playoff victory over Ryan. Pat Shurmur takes over as head coach for the fired Ben McAdoo. The Giants went 3-13 last season and finished in last place in the NFC East. The overly dramatic Odell Beckham Jr. will try to bounce back from a season-ending fractured ankle that caused him to miss 12 games last season. The Giants also added left tackle Nate Solder in free agency. Giants tight end Evan Engram, the former Hillgrove High and Ole Miss standout, will get to play in front family and friends. Last meeting: Falcons won 24-20 on Sept. 20, 2015 at MetLife Stadium. Overall series: Falcons lead the series 12-11.

> Washington Redskins: The Alex Smith era starts after the team finally moved on from quarterback Kirk Cousins. Washington went 7-9 and finished third in the NFC East last season. The Redskins added linebacker Pernell McPhee, cornerback Orlando Scandrick and wide receiver Paul Richardson in free agency. They are re-tooling on defense after having the 27th ranked scoring defense (24.2 points per game) and the 32nd ranked rush defense (134.1 yards per game) last season. They let go starting cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and Bashaud Breeland, linebacker Trent Murphy, linebacker Su’a Craves, defensive end Junior Gallette and linebacker Will Compton. Last meeting: The Falcons won 25-19 on Oct. 11, 2015 at the Georgia Dome. Overall series: Redskins led the series, 14-9-1.

> Cleveland Browns: Former Falcons offensive coordinator Hue Jackson is back for his third season with the Browns, who are trying to rebound from an 0-16 season. They traded for former Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor and are expected to select a quarterback with the first overall pick in the draft. New general manager John Dorsey is attempting to build the defense around defensive end Myles Garrett and linebacker Jamie Collins. Last meeting: Browns won 26-24 on Nov. 23, 2014 at the Georgia Dome. Overall series: Browns lead series, 11-3.

> Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys, who went 9-7 and finished second in the NFC East last season, return to Atlanta for the second consecutive season. They dumped high-priced wide receiver Dez Bryant and will turn the offense over to quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekial Elliott. Right guard Zach Martin sets the tone up front on a mean and nasty offensive line. The Cowboys signed wide receiver Allen Hurns in free agency. The five-year veteran caught 64 passes for 1,031 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Jaguars in 2015. Last meeting: Falcons won 27-7 on Nov. 12, 2017 at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Overall series: Cowboys lead the series 14-11.

> Baltimore Ravens: Quarterback Joe Flacco, who was the first quarterback taken after Matt Ryan in the 2008 NFL draft, will lead the Ravens into Mercedes Benz Stadium. Since winning the Super Bowl and paying Flacco a lucrative contract, the Ravens have fallen on hard times. They have missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. Running back Alex Collins rushed for 973 yards last season to pace the Ravens. Last meeting: Ravens won 29-7 on Oct. 9. 2014 at M&T Bank Stadium. Overall series: Ravens lead the series, 3-2.

> Green Bay Packers: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is back to guide the Packers. He was not happy with the release of quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt and receiver Jordy Nelson, his favorite target. But the Packers still have several weapons and added tight end Jimmy Graham in free agency. Defensively, the Packers are moving in a different director with new coordinator Mike Pettine. The Packers plan to build their revamped defense around tackle Mike Daniels, linebacker Clay Matthews and safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Last meeting: Falcons won 34-23 on Sept. 17, 2017 at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Overall series: Packers lead the series, 15-14.

> Arizona Cardinals: Former Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks will be in his first season as the Cardinals head coach. The Cardinals went 8-8 and finished third in the NFC West last season. Veteran quarterback Carson Palmer retired over the offseason while receiver Larry Fitzgerald returned. The Cardinals picked up Sam Bradford to play quarterback and will likely select his heir-apparent in the draft. Defensively, the Cardinals are led by Chandler Jones, who had 17 sacks last season. Former Grayson High and Ole Miss standout Robert Nkemdiche has yet to blossom into a solid professional player. He had only 11 tackles last season. Last meeting: Falcons won 38-19 on Nov. 27, 2016 at the Georgia Dome. Overall series: Cardinals lead the series 15-14.</s>Unai Emery is confident Neymar will stay at Paris Saint-Germain beyond this season, despite ongoing reports of interest from Real Madrid.

The Brazilian attacker has been the star in the French capital since making the €222 million move from Barcelona last summer, scoring 20 goals in 20 Ligue 1 games before suffering an injury in March that has sidelined him since.

PSG's elimination from the Champions League by Real Madrid has only added to the suspicion that Neymar wants to unite with the Spanish capital club and will look for a way out this summer.

However, the former Santos star is most likely to stay in France and could return to the field for them this season if his recovery continues smoothly.

"I see Neymar in Paris next season, the Neymar-PSG partnership is going to continue," Emery told Cadena COPE.

"He's happy here, it's normal for other teams to be interested in him.

"I spoke with Neymar two or three weeks ago. The players talk between them and have direct communication with the club, there are specific moments to talk with him. He is recovering and could play a game before the end of the season."

Emery has faced criticism this season for PSG's last-16 exit from the European competition and reports suggest he will leave the club in the close season, despite sealing the Ligue 1 title on Saturday with a 7-1 win over second-place Monaco.

Although the Spaniard stopped short of admitting he will leave, he admits it is a possibility.

He added: "I do not see myself outside, nor do I see myself within the PSG project. We have not yet sat down to prepare for next season.

"You have to analyse everything in a more global way, the Champions League is the zenith, the football sky. PSG has the desire to reach that, but you have to create a history and strength first in France."
As expected, the regular-season schedule for the 2018 NFL season is released, with the defending champions Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Atlanta Falcons in the league's season opener on September 6.