The NFL released its full 2022 regular-season schedule on Thursday night with no shortage of intriguing matchups.
Recent playoff game rematches and star-studded quarterback faceoffs — Patrick Mahomes vs. 45-year-old Tom Brady, anyone? — pack drama into the 18 regular-season weeks. So do some, well, interesting reunions of players, coaches and former teams on this unprecedented era of blockbuster NFL trades. Latest Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, for instance, won’t wait long before the league sends him to play against his former team, the Seahawks.
Whether you’re dialed into draft-day dilemmas, free-agency frenzies, postseason principles or just the league’s most enjoyable stars, USA TODAY Sports ranked the top-10 most alluring grudge matches of the 2022 season.
Behold, NFL fans’ road-to-revenge guide:
10. Indianapolis Colts at Las Vegas Raiders
Week 10, Nov. 13 at 4:05 p.m., CBS
Josh McDaniels takes the Raiders head post after 10 seasons as Latest England Patriots offensive coordinator. However it was the Indianapolis Colts, just 4 years prior, who thought McDaniels was coming to guide their franchise. As a substitute, McDaniels withdrew from an agreement to educate Indy, leaving the Colts “surprised and dissatisfied,” the team said in a press release on the time. McDaniels has faced off against the Colts and head coach Frank Reich — whom they hired from Philadelphia after McDaniels backed out — twice as offensive coordinator since. But hosting the Colts for the primary time calling the shots takes on a latest level of gravity. The Vegas glitz will likely be a fitting background for a drama-laden show.
9. Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 16, Dec. 4 at 4:25 p.m., CBS
The Bengals’ time beyond regulation win at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC championship featured excitement from each team that declared: The rivalry between Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes’ squads is just starting. The Chiefs’ first half was stellar before their attack steadily unraveled to permit 21 unanswered second-half points followed by a scoring drive off a Mahomes interception in time beyond regulation. Will the Bengals’ zero-to-100 squad take the subsequent step to win a Super Bowl in Burrow’s third season because the Chiefs did in Yr 3 of Mahomes? Or will Mahomes, with latest offensive challenges sans receiver Tyreek Hill, rise to the occasion to indicate Burrow and Co. he’s not done running the conference yet? Keep an eye fixed during this matchup on Bengals stud kicker Evan McPherson, who was 4-of-4 on field goal attempts, including a 52-yarder, within the Bengals’ conference championship victory at Kansas City.
8. Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 9, Nov. 6, 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS
Since Tom Brady bolted to the NFC two years ago, he has yet to defeat the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. The Rams triumphed 34-24 the primary time Brady the Bucs faced them. Much more memorably, the Rams knocked the Buccaneers out of last season’s playoffs — despite the Bucs scoring 24 unanswered points within the second half, including on a 55-yard touchdown from the 15-time Pro Bowler, to tie the sport in the ultimate minute. The Rams’ championship, and Brady’s transient retirement, followed briefly order. Now, Brady will again must ward off a defense with stars like defensive tackle Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Matthew Stafford might want to defend Los Angeles’ attack from the second-half collapse that nearly proved fatal in January. Don’t be surprised if this Week 9 matchup is a preview of NFC postseason play.
7. Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans
Week 13, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m., CBS
The Texans awarded Deshaun Watson a four-year, $160 million contract in September 2020 just for Watson to … demand a trade after one season, frustrated with franchise management decisions including player trades and front office hires. Watson sat out the whole lot of 2021 while waiting for a trade, legal battles also ongoing as 22 women accused him of impropriety during massage sessions. The franchise managed just 4 wins last season without its quarterback, and Watson’s frustration festered as trade talks stalled. Will Watson, who led the NFL with 4,823 passing yards his last energetic season, remind the Texans of the caliber of talent they lost when he arrives back in Houston rocking Browns gear and a $230 million fully-guaranteed deal? Or will the Texans parlay a growing collection of talent they acquired due to his trade haul to frustrate Watson yet again? Just a few teams could have bones to choose with Watson this season, including the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4. Watson’s hometown team thought it had closed the deal to amass the talented 26-year-old and as an alternative now carries $40 million in dead money after trading former QB Matt Ryan. The Falcons have reason to wish to spite Watson, though perhaps not enough talent.
6. Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans
Week 12, Nov. 27, 1 p.m. on CBS
Any playoff loss hurts. However the AFC’s top-seeded Titans suffered acute sting when rookie kicker Evan McPherson kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to bounce Tennessee within the divisional round. Count quarterback Ryan Tannehill amongst probably the most pained, his three-interception playoff exit sending him to a “dark place” with a “deep scar,” the quarterback told reporters this month. Tannehill said he struggled to sleep before working through the pain via methods including therapy. Tannehill and Co. can have one other likelihood to exorcise demons — with a healthier running back Derrick Henry this time, they hope — when the Bengals return to Nissan Stadium.
5. Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 4, Oct. 2 8:20 p.m. SNF on NBC
Any matchup of quarterback GOATs like Mahomes and Brady is must-see TV, because the schedulers duly noted when awarding “Sunday Night Football” billing. Add within the teams’ first faceoff for the reason that Buccaneers’ 31-9 trouncing in Super Bowl 55, and the stakes only rise. Will the Chiefs’ offensive line proceed the support that it has given Mahomes since that two-interception, three-sack Super Bowl performance have the ability to ward off Tampa’s nasty pass rushers? Will Brady’s offense, without Bruce Arians on the helm anymore, be jelling by Week 4 after the 44-year-old (he’ll be an informal 45 before kickoff) emerged from a transient retirement with what he said was the hearth to still compete? Losses of Arians on Tampa’s sideline and receiver Tyreek Hill for Kansas City tweak the revenge dynamic perhaps barely. But the chance to observe conference title contenders face off for what could thoroughly be the last time in Brady’s profession greater than restores any luster lost.
4. Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 10, Nov. 14 8:15 p.m. MNF on ESPN
Sure, this may technically be Wentz’s second NFC East game against the Eagles, who travel Sept. 25 to play Wentz’s latest squad at Washington. But Wentz’s nationally televised first trip back to the Linc — with its rowdy, egg-throwing fan base — is bound to bring drama. Will the Eagles have selected Wentz successor Jalen Hurt’s long-term potential by then? Will Wentz have settled into the Commanders’ offense and located a greater rhythm than his 2021 Colts campaign that ended with an interception-and-fumble performance in a loss to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars? Philadelphia fans aren’t shy after they have something to say, and Wentz’s return to Eagles territory should prove no exception.
3. Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers
Week 10, Nov. 13, 4:25 p.m. on Fox
Some NFL fans may be sufficiently old to recollect when Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers won the Super Bowl together following the 2010 season. But relationship between coach and quarterback strained mightily within the years that followed, and Rodgers has shown no shortage of ability to levy a grudge. For the primary time since he was fired Dec. 2, 2018, McCarthy will return to Lambeau Field. Will Rodgers be deep right into a defense of his MVP campaign by then, or will McCarthy’s third Cowboys yr be rounding into top form to play their best football in November and December, as McCarthy often advises? Rodgers has won six of his last seven contests against the Cowboys, though an upstart 2016 Cowboys team with then-rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott won the last matchup at Lambeau Field. Can Dak and Zeke remain unbeaten in Green Bay, McCarthy leveraging 13 years’ price of inside knowledge to beat Rodgers? Or will Rodgers’ already-MVP game burn even brighter against his former coach?
2. Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks
Week 1, Sept. 12, 8:15 p.m. MNF on ESPN
Your eyes don’t deceive you in the event you think you see Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson opening his season in Seattle. Even the NFL couldn’t wait to see the nine-time Pro Bowl passer return to face the franchise he won a Super Bowl with — the one franchise, until this very game, that Wilson can have played for during his decade as a professional. Wilson and the Seahawks’ front office spun conflicting narratives concerning the divorce, and the Seahawks’ public statements that Wilson wanted to depart likely only fuels the quarterback more. Will Wilson thump his maiden team to kick off his campaign to change into the league’s next perennial Pro Bowler to win a Super Bowl in Act 2 in Denver? Or will Pete Carroll and Seattle’s seeming rebuild materialize far quicker than a fanbase in quest of a quarterback to adore expects? The Week 1 national billing is due.
1. Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 6, Oct. 16 4:25 p.m. on CBS
The Bills had the Chiefs right where they wanted them with 13 seconds to play in regulation of the AFC divisional game. Josh Allen had just found Gabriel Davis for the receiver’s fourth touchdown of the day, Buffalo taking a three-point lead with 13 seconds to play at Arrowhead Stadium. But in some way, a way, Mahomes moved magic downfield to send the sport to time beyond regulation. Kansas City won the coin toss, Mahomes found Travis Kelce for a touchdown on the primary drive, and a talented Bills team’s season ended abruptly. The confluence of events prompted a lot outcry over NFL time beyond regulation rules that the league has since modified protocol to permit each team an time beyond regulation possession within the postseason and hopefully avoid stars like Allen being subject to the whim of a coin. But regular-season time beyond regulation rules remain the identical, so Allen and Co. best mount their lead in regulation during Week 6. The matchup of two talented AFC quarterback stalwarts guarantees entertainment, further intrigue warranted by the Bills’ addition of pass rusher Von Miller to torment quarterbacks like Mahomes, who will even be competing without speedy wideout Tyreek Hill for the primary campaign of his profession. Perhaps the 2022 rematch won’t reach classic status like Kansas City’s 42-36 win in January, but well-constructed and well-coached rosters nonetheless offer a tantalizing matchup.
Honorable mentions
Eagles receiver A.J. Brown faces the Titans squad that traded him on draft weekend during a Week 13 matchup in Philadelphia. … Saints coach Dennis Allen hosts the Raiders, whom he coached from 2012-14, Week 8 on Oct. 30. … Top 2022 draft pick Travon Walker’s Jaguars travel to the Detroit Lions and No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson in Week 13, Dec. 4. … The 2021 top two draft picks, quarterbacks somewhat than the 2022 defenders, also face off again: No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence’s Jaguars visit the Latest York Jets and Zach Wilson on Thursday, Dec. 22 for a Week 16 game broadcast exclusively on Amazon Prime. … Brady’s Bucs could have beat the Saints when it mattered most, within the playoffs en path to their Super Bowl LV victory. But he’s 0-4 within the division against Latest Orleans, with possibilities to treatment that blemish Week 2 in Latest Orleans and Week 13 — on “Monday Night Football” — in Tampa.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.
