NFL schedule released; Seahawks have five prime-time games

The Seattle Seahawks again will play a team-record five prime-time games in 2016, the maximum allowed, as well as host Arizona on Christmas Eve and play at San Francisco on New Year’s Day.

Those are among the highlights of the team’s 2016 regular-season schedule released Thursday.

Seattle will make its first trip to Los Angeles since 1994 when it plays the Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sept. 18, a game that also will serve as a homecoming for coach Pete Carroll, who coached in that stadium for USC from 2001-09. The Seahawks’ most-recent appearance in Los Angeles was Sept. 11, 1994, a 38-9 win over the Raiders at the Coliseum. That game will be the first in Los Angeles for the Rams since leaving St. Louis — they will open the season the week before at San Francisco.

Carroll also will make a return trip to New England, where he coached from 1997-99, for a game against the Patriots on Nov. 13. That game, also a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, is one of Seattle’s five prime-time games.

Of Seattle’s five prime-time games, three are at home — a Monday night game against Buffalo on Nov. 7, a Sunday night game against Carolina on Dec. 4 and a Thursday nighter against the Rams on Dec. 15. It’s the first time Seattle will play three home prime-time games since 2006.

The two road games in prime time are the contest against the Patriots and an Oct. 23 Sunday nighter at Arizona.

Seattle also played five prime-time games in 2015, with three on the road, and had just four in 2014.

The move of the Rams also helped put a limit on the often-vexing 10 a.m. Seattle time starts for the Seahawks, who are scheduled for just two — Oct. 2 at the Jets and Oct. 30 at New Orleans. The Seahawks had three 10 a.m. games last season and went 2-1.

The schedule begins with a home game Sept. 11 against Miami, only the second time since 2010 that Seattle has opened at CenturyLink Field.

Seattle’s bye comes after the fourth week, the second time in the past three seasons the Seahawks have had an early bye.

Seattle, though, will play just one game against a team coming off of a bye — New England. Last season, Seattle played four opponents coming off of byes and went 2-2.

Panthers, Broncos kick off season

Super Bowl rematch. Minus Peyton Manning, of course.

The NFL season will begin the way the last one ended, with the Denver Broncos playing the Carolina Panthers.

Denver beat Carolina 24-10 in February in the Super Bowl, Manning’s final game. The rematch will be on Thursday night, Sept. 8 in Denver.