Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggested that the NFL is “considering the possibility of embracing geographic rivalries between teams from opposing conferences,” according to Mike Florio of PROFOOTBALLTALK. Appearing on Dallas-based KRLD-FM, Jones said, “You can add that in the mix, and I’m not saying it’s not in the mix.” He added, “But it’s certainly something that I would look at … And I wouldn’t just narrow it down to Dallas and Houston. I’d look at the entire league, you saw a game on TV [Thursday] night between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. They’re in the same division, but those kinds of proximities, those kinds of ‘my town against your town, and who’s the best town?’ Which I think is a fundamental of our game of football.” Florio wrote there would not be 16 natural fits, so the league “would have to identify one annual rival for each team if it ever adopts that approach” (PROFOOTBALLTALK, 10/4).
EXPANSION PROBLEMS: CBSSPORTS.com’s John Breech wrote at some point, the NFL schedule is “going to expand to 18 games, and when that happens, the league could reconsider adding an annual geographic game.” However, when the 18th game gets added, the “more likely scenario is that the NFL simply adds an annual international game for each team against an interconference opponent (AFC vs. NFC)” (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/4).