The Atlanta Falcons play zero division games in September and October. Atlanta travels to Carolina in week 9, and doesn’t play another division game until hosting the Bucs in week 12. Atlanta’s schedule finishes with the Saints, Bucs, Saints, and Panthers in the final four weeks of the season. The six NFC South games for Atlanta occur in weeks 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17, which produces an average of 13.8.
The Patriots have a similar story, with an average of 13.0. New England travels to MetLife Stadium in week 6, before matching Atlanta with five of the six division games coming in the final six weeks: the Patriots final six games are, in order, Miami, @Buffalo, @Miami, @Pittsburgh, Buffalo, New York. Tampa Bay isn’t far behind, with its six division games coming in an average of week 12.8.
On the other hand, you have the Jets. New York’s average division game last year was week 11.8, which was the latest in the NFL. This year, the Jets have the earliest slate, at 7.2. New York travels to Buffalo in week 1 and the team’s home opener comes in week 3 against the Dolphins. The Jets play New England in weeks 6 and 17, but gets Miami in week 7 and Buffalo in week 9 on Thursday night. That means from November 3rd through December 30th, the Jets don’t play a single division game.
Here’s that data for every week, showing which week their division games are played. The table is fully sortable, so you can see, for example, that three teams have their 4th division game in week 15, and therefore their final three games are against division opponents:
| Team | Avg | Gm1 | Gm2 | Gm3 | Gm4 | Gm5 | Gm6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 13.8 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| New England Patriots | 13.0 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 12.8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| New Orleans Saints | 12.0 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 |
| Buffalo Bills | 11.8 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Miami Dolphins | 11.3 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 17 |
| Detroit Lions | 11.3 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 17 |
| Carolina Panthers | 11.0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 17 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 10.7 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 17 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 10.7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 17 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10.7 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 17 |
| New York Giants | 10.3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 17 |
| Chicago Bears | 10.3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 17 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10.3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 17 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 10.2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 10.0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 17 |
| Oakland Raiders | 10.0 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 17 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 10.0 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 17 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 10.0 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 17 |
| Houston Texans | 9.8 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 17 |
| Washington Redskins | 9.7 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 17 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9.3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 17 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 9.2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 17 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 9.0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 17 |
| Tennessee Titans | 9.0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 17 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 9.0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 17 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 8.8 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 15 | 17 |
| Cleveland Browns | 8.5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 17 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 8.2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 17 |
| Denver Broncos | 8.2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 17 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7.8 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 17 |
| New York Jets | 7.2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 17 |
But what about the question of the day: are division games being played later now? Well, that depends what “now” means. If you mean in 2017, the answer is no. But since realignment in 2002, division games are being scheduled later now. This appears to be a conscious decision by the NFL beginning with the 2010 season.
As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments.