You ask, and you shall receive. At least, that seems to be one of the themes from this year's NFL schedule, according to Peter King of NBC Sports.
It's no coincidence that the San Francisco 49ers will play back-to-back road games at MetLife Stadium during Weeks 2 and 3. At least, that is what the schedule shows right now. The coronavirus may have something to say about that.
For now, San Francisco will face the New York Jets and New York Giants in consecutive weeks. It's what the 49ers asked for. In fact, eight NFL teams asked the league to pair two long-distance games together so they could reduce travel, according to King, turning two trips into one longer one.
"The Chargers (at Bucs, Saints), Rams (at Eagles, Bills), Jets (at Seahawks, Rams), Dolphins (at 49ers, Broncos), Cardinals (at Panthers, Jets) and Raiders (at Falcons, Jets) all got their road requests answered," writes King in his regular Monday-morning feature.
The 49ers and New England Patriots are also on the list.
Added King: "San Francisco plays in MetLife Stadium in Weeks 2 and 3—at Jets on Sept. 20, at Giants on Sept. 27, both 10 a.m. PT body-clock games."
San Francisco has already started looking into places to practice for its extended stay on the East Coast in September. The team did the same thing last year when it kicked off the season with consecutive road games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The 49ers emerged 2-0 after decisive victories and went on to win their next six games.
"We do a lot of traveling in the NFC West, and where we are, and last year we had great success (staying on the East Coast)," general manager John Lynch said last week.
In between the two games last year, the 49ers stayed and practiced in Youngstown, Ohio. It helped the team get acclimated to the time zone, and not feel like it was playing an early-morning 10 AM game a couple of days after a cross-country flight.
"Those 10 AM (Pacific time) starts, if you allow it to be, can be rough on your team," Lynch continued. "We don't make any excuses, but we do try to prepare, and a great way to counteract some of those negative effects is to stay out there.
"So, believe me, as soon [the schedule] came out, we started looking at spots. We're looking at some different venues that will host us, and pretty sure we're going to stay out East."
San Francisco also lucked out by having the games scheduled earlier during the season rather than later, when it would be much colder in New Jersey.
The pair of East Coast games is much better than the situation the 49ers will face starting in Week 7. The team will travel as far east as you can go for an NFL game—to face the New England Patriots. It will return to California for a week of practice—again, assuming the coronavirus doesn't alter plans—and then head north to play the Seattle Seahawks during Week 8. The 49ers will host the Green Bay Packers in Week 9, but just four days after their divisional battle in the Pacific Northwest.