NFL Schedule 2015: TV Start Time, Live Stream Info for Full Reveal

The 2015 NFL schedule will be released on Tuesday night. Although teams have already known their group of opponents for several months, the order of the games is equally important. Every franchise wants to avoid those three- or-four week stretches of potential doom.

Everything that has to do with the NFL, including the announcement for the dates of games, is a big deal. After tonight, the league will once again take center stage in just over a week for the draft. That's followed by various camps and team workouts. Before you know it, training camp will arrive.

It simply reinforces the idea that the league has become a year-round powerhouse. Let's check out all of the important details for the latest spotlight event, followed by a closer look at some things to examine during and after the release.

Viewing Information

When: Tuesday, April 21 at 8 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN and NFL Network

Live Stream: WatchESPN and NFL.com

What to Watch for

Where the Top Games Fall

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

The main focus for the top games this year will include any combination of the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Those are probably the top five draws right now, and any clash between them will be must-see television.

Whenever Tom Brady and Peyton Manning face off, it's ratings gold. That's especially true because it's unknown how many more times the legends will battle. Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal noted remarks from the Pats quarterback before their last meeting, but it's held true throughout their careers.

"He's a great player, and I think that you just know you're going to get one of the best offenses in the league," Brady said. "What that means for me is, our offense has to be at our best. You can't think you're going to go out and score 10 points and win the game, and I don't think any of our games have ever really come down to that."

A rivalry has developed because they face each other so often, but it's certainly a friendly one. In the bigger picture, it's a quarterback-driven league, and they've been the standard for a long time. But Aaron Rodgers against Russell Wilson or Tony Romo against Brady also sells.

There are obviously other big games. Almost every divisional game is key, and then there are notable events like LeSean McCoy going back to Philadelphia or the latest installments of the London series. But those five aforementioned teams will be in the spotlight a lot.

Prime-time Schedule

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Last year's set of prime-time games failed to provide much intrigue. Chris Chase of USA Today provided the "historically awful" numbers through 10 weeks, and things didn't get much better from there. There were too many blowouts and not nearly enough drama.

There isn't necessarily an answer to the problem. The league works to get every team involved in the night slate, and it still wants to feature the marquee players as much as possible. It just has to hope the combination it chooses works out a bit better this year.

The prime-time schedule doesn't need to shine for the NFL to succeed, of course. But memorable games in those spots can certainly provide an extra boost to a season. Steve Levy of ESPN joked about one method to guarantee extra attention:

While the Philadelphia Eagles are likely to have a few prime-time games, Tim Tebow probably won't have an impact on any of them. He's certainly a draw, though. The league hopes this year's night schedule can create nearly as much hoopla as the former Florida sensation.

Overall Schedule Structure

David Richard/Associated Press

This is something that's probably going to take some time after the schedule announcement itself. That said, one thing worth checking out is if there are any noticeable advantages or disadvantages in this year's slate.

It's an issue that grabbed headlines a few months ago. That's when Cory Nealon of the University at Buffalo noted two of the school's engineers, Niraj Pandey and Kyle Cunningham, were working on a system to create a fairer schedule.

The release noted the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants are among the teams that have filed complaints with the league about scheduling issues. One of the crucial factors is being forced to play teams coming off extra rest more often:

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The UB engineers examined NFL schedules from recent years. They found a disparity among teams that played against opponents coming off a bye or Thursday game.

For example, from 2002-14, they found that the Bills played more games against rested opponents (26) than any other team. From 2003-13, they found that the Atlanta Falcons played more teams coming off a bye (17) than any other opponent.

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Ultimately, it's the type of thing that's easily overlooked but actually has a major impact on outcomes. And for a franchise like the Bills, which owns the league's longest playoff drought at 15 years, avoiding those extra hurdles the schedule can quietly create is clearly preferable.