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The NFL schedule for 2022 was published on Thursday.
Can quarterback Matthew Stafford and Los Angeles Rams repeat as champions?
Stafford and Rams will start the NFL season on Thursday, September 8, hosting the Buffalo Bills. The opening of football on Monday night on ESPN is on September 12 and will include the debut of Russell Wilson with Denver Broncos, host of his former team Seattle Seahawks.
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Based on the strength of the schedule – which is determined by the records of opponents in 2021 – Rams have the most difficult schedule for the 2022 season, and Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders are equal to the easiest.
The NFL has expanded to 17 games from the regular season last season. The final matches of the 2022 regular season will be played on January 8, 2023. The playoffs begin on January 14 and continue through the Super Bowl LVII on February 12 in Glendale, Arizona.
Here is a bold forecast for each team that follows the publication of the schedule. Click on the links to see the full schedule and more analysis.
Skip to: ARI ATL | BAL | BUF | CARS CHI | CINCLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | INDJAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | Ministry of the Interior MINNE | NO | NYG | NEW | PHI | PIT | SFSEA | tuberculosis TEN WSH
AFC EAST
Winning AFC East for the third year in a row at Bills is not a bold prediction. This is a trend. Instead, look for a difficult start to the season. The first seven games feature five playoff teams from last year and Ravens and the Dolphins on the road. It is not an easy feat, but Buffalo will go through this section with at least 5-2, which is good for the rest of the rankings. Read more from Alena Getzenberg
The Dolphins will start the season 8-2 in their first 10 games. This section from the beginning of the season will be difficult, but it is also full of winning games. If coach Josh McDaniel’s system works and Miami clicks early, it could start the season with a hot note. Read more from Marcel Louis-Jacques
The Patriots will have to beat Bills in the final of the regular season to secure a place in the playoffs, and it will be intriguing to see how things develop if Buffalo has already secured its own playoff spot. The Patriots season 2021 ended shamefully in Buffalo with a loss of 47-17 in the playoffs and in this scenario they would have a chance to write a different story a year later. Read more from Mike Reiss
The Jets will finish 7-10, not well enough to be a serious contender, but a significant improvement from last season. Quarterback Zach Wilson will fight from the door against the different defensive styles of AFC North, but he will find support in the second half of the season, when the schedule softens. Read more from Rich Cimini
AFC NORTH
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The Ravens win AFC North to become the newest NFL team to move from last place to first. This has happened in 17 of the last 19 seasons and the Ravens are in a great position to continue this trend. Baltimore are returning six starters who suffered injuries at the end of last season, along with the healthy and motivated Lamar Jackson, who is playing in the fifth year of his rookie. This is a big boost for the Ravens, who lost five games by three points or less last season, including a one-point defeat by eventual Super Bowl champions Rams. Read more from Jamieson Hensley
The Bengals are repeated as champions of AFC North. The rest of the AFC has definitely grown stronger this offseason, but Cincinnati is still ready to be the team to win the division. Leaving aside the loss of Cleveland in Week 8, the Bengals played some of their best football games against their division rivals in 2021. This should continue as the Bengals strive to make another deep post-season series. Read more from Ben Baby
It’s hard to predict Cleveland’s season without knowing whether quarterback Deshon Watson will be penalized. But if not, the Browns won their first division title since 1989. Read more from Jake Trotter
The Steelers will have three wins this week. Not only are the first five games difficult, but every game before bye will be difficult to navigate for a new quarterback. The Steelers have a solid defense, but will face great attacks from Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Miami and Cincinnati. Brown, the Patriots and the Eagles are also not a walk in the park. Read more from Brooke Pryor
AFC SOUTH
The Texans will enter their week 6 bye at 2-3. Houston has three of those five away games, but can win over the Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Read more from Sarah Barshop
The Colts will win their first win over New England coach Bill Belichick at Gillette Stadium for the first time since 2006 in Week 9. The Colts lost six straight to the Patriots at their home stadium with an average of 19.6 points per game during that period. Read more from Mike Wells
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The Jaguars, who have won four games in the last two seasons combined, will end two long streaks of losses by beating Washington on the road earlier this season. They lost 17 consecutive games on the road, dating back to a victory in Auckland on December 15, 2019, and 16 consecutive games against NFC teams dating back to the victory over the Giants at the start of the season in 2018. Read more from Michael DiRoco
Tough games with the Eagles away and at Nissan Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys could hurt their chances. But the Titans will conquer the NFC East, although the Washington Commanders and New York Giants have made slight improvements since last season. Read more from Turron Davenport
AFC WEST
If quarterback Russell Wilson stays healthy and has missed just three games in his previous 10 years in the league (all three last season after finger surgery), the Broncos will end up – finally – with a winning record at AFC West. It is difficult, given that the division is suddenly becoming one of the most difficult in the league with a high class of quarterbacks and passing for a start. In the last six seasons, they finished 1-5 in the division twice, 2-4 three times and 3-3 once. Read more from Jeff Leguold
The Chiefs will go 5-1 in the AFC West matches. They will part with the Chargers (each team wins at home) – but will sweep the Broncos (making 15 consecutive wins in the series) and the Raiders. Read more from Adam Teicher
Quarterback Derek Carr drowns out his haters – real and imaginary. Encouraged by the presence of successor Davante Adams, Carr plays as the senior statesman, he is among the defenders of AFC West and excels in the system of coach Josh McDaniels to lead the Raiders to a second consecutive playoff playoffs. Carr defeated Kansas City in the final from bending to prime time, and for the first time since 2015, a team other than the Chiefs won the AFC West. Hey, he wanted it boldly. Read more from Paul Gutierrez
The Chargers opened 2-0, gaining a big leap over the rest of AFC West and finally living up to pre-season expectations by ending the Chiefs’ six-year reign as division champions. Read more from Paul Gutierrez
NFC EAST
The Cowboys smashed the NFC East mosques and won the division in successive years. The last time the same team won the NFC East in consecutive years was when Philadelphia did so in 2003-04. The Cowboys have not entered the playoffs in consecutive years from 2006-07. Read more from Todd Archer
The Giants will win twice as many games after goodbye as before their break in week 9. So these are two wins in their first eight games and four in their last nine. It’s a byproduct of a heavy early schedule, easier games after a goodbye (starting with home games against Houston Texas and Detroit Lions) and the time it takes to get used to a new coaching staff. Read more from Jordan Raanan
The Saints (whose first round pick for 2023 belongs to Philly) will miss the playoffs, and the Eagles will have a first round pick in 2023 in the top 16, which will allow GM Howie Roseman to make a big quarterback game if quarterback Jalen Bolly not to do our job this season. Read more from Todd Archer
• Cyprus project ratings for each team »• McShay’s 32 favorite picks» • Standings | Analysis of each choice • Winners losing: Day 1 »| Day 2 »• Answering big questions from round 1» • More coverage Complete order project »
Washington won 10 games and entered the playoffs. The commanders stepped up their attack with Wentz and first-round successor Jahan Dotson. In defense, this will matter: in 2021, they face six quarterbacks who finished in the top 10 in the QBR and nine in the top 14. This season, they face two who were in the top 10 and only five in the top 14. Read more from John Came
NFC NORTH
Chicago will avenge its loss to San Francisco in 2021 by defeating the 49ers earlier in the season. Read more from Courtney Cronin
Detroit will win at least seven games. Although the Lions were 3-13-1 last season, anyone who has watched them closely knows they were competitive. If the Lions play as hard as they did for coach Dan Campbell in his first season – and can stay healthy – they could win at least seven wins for the first time since 2017, when they finished 9-7. For Detroit, this would be a victory, as it continues to build a foundation for the future. Read more from Eric Woodyard
The Packers will not coincide with coach Matt Lafleur’s winnings in each of his first three seasons; they will surpass him. NFC North is recovering, while the matches against the two New York teams, Philly and Washington, should not be too difficult. These are already 10 victories. All they have to do is go 4-3 in the remaining matches. Read more from Rob Demowski
The Vikings enter the playoffs in the first season of coach Kevin O’Connell. They …
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