NFL’s Toughest Schedules, Expectations For Aaron Rodgers? Expanded College Football Playoff

Colin is joined by John Middlekauff, host of "3 and Out" to talk football. They start with their reactions to the NFL schedule and discuss the 49ers incredibly brutal travel schedule and Colin argues it may be punishment from the league (3:15) and also how the addition of international games and new holiday games has created more tough scheduling (11:00). Colin also pushes back on the idea that the Bears have the toughest schedule (15:45). They move to Aaron Rodgers finally signing a one year deal with the Steelers and debate what type of season to expect from the veteran (27:30). They pivot to college football looking to expand to a 24 team playoff and Colin explains why it will encourage teams to schedule better opponents during the season and will create a better regular season even if it creates more blowouts in the playoff (38:30). They also push back on the fan backlash to more NFLgames being broadcast on streaming services (49:00). Finally, they examine the terrible quality of the games on the Sunday Night Football schedule and debate whether the NFL's partnership with NBC could be nearing its end soon (1:00:00). (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!

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NFL’s Toughest Schedules, Expectations For Aaron Rodgers? Expanded College Football Playoff is an episode from The Colin Cowherd Podcast by iHeartPodcasts and The Volume.

This episode is 60:13 long.

This episode was published on May 18, 2026.

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