2022 NFL Schedule to be Released on Thursday -- Some Thoughts
NFL Schedule Prompts Some Early Division Winner Picks for 2022
After three months of waiting, NFL football is back!
Oh, wait. It's still the offseason.
Didn't we just finish the NFL Draft a few weeks ago?
Here's the big news: The 2022 NFL schedule is being released this week, on Thursday.
The most interesting things about the schedule release this year is that the NFL is milking the drama out over the entire week. That means we'll be getting new game announcements every day between now (Monday) and Thursday. Today's announcement was the unveiling of ESPN's Monday doubleheader for 2022.
Indeed, after a one-year hiatus, the NFL will be bringing back the Monday night doubleheader in 2022 and it's coming back with a twist: For a short part of the night, the two games will be airing at the some time.
Under the old doubleheader format, one game would start at 7:15 p.m. EST and the second one would start at 10:15 p.m. EST, but this year, the second game will be kicking off at 8:30 p.m. ET, which means the two games will be airing simultaneously for roughly 90 minutes.
Boo! Go back to the old format please.
The doubleheader will be played in Week 2 (Sept. 19):
7:15 p.m. ET: Titans at Bills
8:30 p.m. ET: Vikings at Eagles
Early Division Winner Predictions (via CBS Sports)
With the 2022 NFL schedule coming out this week, now seems like the perfect time to start making some predictions for the upcoming season.
Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports) isn't quite ready to make a Super Bowl pick this early, but he did make a prediction about who would in each division.
He also predicted which 14 teams would be making the playoffs in 2022. The most surprising thing about JLC's predictions is probably the fact that he doesn't have the Packers winning the NFC North this year. Green Bay is one of three teams who won their division last year that won't be repeating as champs, according to La Canfora.
Alright, let's get to the predictions:
AFC East: Bills
AFC North: Bengals
AFC South: Colts
AFC West: Chiefs
AFC wild card teams: Broncos, Chargers, Ravens
NFC East: Eagles
NFC North: Vikings
NFC South: Buccaneers
NFC West: Rams
NFC wild card teams: Packers, Saints, Cardinals
One thing you almost always have to consider when making predictions is that the NFL has had at least four new playoff teams in every season since 1990 and there's no reason to think that lengthy streak is going to end this year. JLC actually has six new teams getting in with the Colts, Broncos, Chargers, Ravens, Vikings and Saints all making it after missing out in 2021.
Stay tuned here for more news and opinions about the NFL (offseason).
