With the release of the 2009 NFL schedule , the Patriots, not surprisingly, have learned that they’ll be playing several night games on national television.

The NFL limit per team per regular season is six primetime games. At the moment, New England is booked for five (sort of).

We already knew that the Pats would open the season by hosting division rival Buffalo in the first half of a Monday Night Football doubleheader on September 14 (kickoff at 7:00 Eastern).

The next night game is actually on the schedule as a day game. Sunday, October 25, the Pats will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at London’s Wembley Stadium. Fans back in the U.S. will see the game begin at 1 o’clock Eastern, but with the five-hour time difference, the Patriots will be taking the field at 6 p.m. U.K. time. 

Three weeks later, New England will go back to Indianapolis for the third straight season to face the Colts on Football Night in America on NBC (8:20 kickoff).

But the most surprising development, perhaps, is the back-to-back road night games just two weeks after Indy. On Monday, November 30, the Pats will play the New Orleans Saints on ESPN (8:30 kickoff); the following week, on Sunday, December 6, they’ll travel to Miami to face the Dolphins on NBC (8:20 kickoff). That’s a lot of traveling and a lot of late nights in a month’s time.

Then, of course, there are the flex games, which begin in Week 11. From that point on, the NFL has the discretion to change the lineup on any given week to slot what is perceived to be the most entertaining match-up of that week on Sunday night. 

So, it’s possible the Pats could be chosen to play a sixth primetime game as the playoffs draw near. 

For instance, if the Patriots end up acquiring Julius Peppers, as has been rumored for weeks, the December 13 tilt with Carolina could take on added significance. But since that comes after the Saints and Dolphins road games, it’s unlikely the NFL would have the Pats play three consecutive primetime games.

Which means the Week 11 home game against the Jets, right now a 4:15 kickoff and likely the second part of a national TV doubleheader on CBS that day, will also likely remain in that spot. So, the next possibility would be the following week against Buffalo, if the AFC East race is a tight one.

And if either of the AFC South opponents, Jacksonville and Houston, that close out the season are playoff-bound and the Pats are, too, one of those contests could move to the evening. 

As it stands today, however, New England will play at least a quarter of its 2009 regular season games under the lights on national television.