Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Circle these games on the calendar now.
The NFL will officially release the 2023 regular season lineup on Thursday night, when teams roll out their incredible, over-produced schedule videos which have fast become one of the highlights of the calendar for football social media. Every team is allowing their creative talent to flex their muscles, and we’re seeing truly wonderful creations that turn a mundane event into can’t-miss moments.
As we look ahead to 2023 these are the games we’re most-excited to see when football returns in the fall, based on everything we know about these teams right now.
No. 1 Bengals vs. Chiefs: Week 17
Before you head out for the night on New Year’s Eve, it is time for Burrow-Mahomes V.
Kansas City and Cincinnati have met in the last two AFC Championship Games, and the teams renew their brewing rivalry at the end of the season, meeting in Week 17. Sure, there is a chance that their playoff destinies will be settled by then.
But there is also a chance this game could have massive implications for the postseason, including home-field advantage in the AFC.
Plus, there is no love-loss between these two teams, given their history. Add in the holiday and you have the makings of a memorable regular-season affair.
No. 2: Lions vs. Chiefs: Week 1
There’s so much hype surrounding the Lions, and that on its own is a hilarious sentence we rarely get to say. Opening up the 2023 season against the Chiefs will give us a good idea whether this hype is justified. It’s less about beating the Super Bowl champs, but giving them a serious run for their money — and if Detroit can do that it’ll go a long way to telling us whether the Lions are contenders or pretenders. Meanwhile for Kansas City, it’s more of the same. We know this team is elite, they’ll be in the conversation in the winter, and it’ll be a nice chance to see if they avoid a Super Bowl hangover.
No. 3: Eagles vs. Chiefs: Week 11
The Super Bowl rematch is always fun to watch, but there’s a little added pepper to this. Outside of the Kelce bros, there’s no love lost between the Eagles and Chiefs — but this meeting could be a little different for several reasons. Philadelphia is adapting to losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators, who were hired as head coaches, however they get to integrate Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith into their defense. It’ll be a fun game that could be a Super Bowl preview once again.
No. 4: Bengals vs. Jaguars: Week 13
Jacksonville enters year two of the Doug Pederson era, and don’t let their 9-8 record from a year ago fool you. The Jags closed out 2022 as one of the hottest teams in the NFL, winning six of their seven games after the bye, and pushing Kansas City to the limit in the playoffs, losing by just one score.
The AFC South is prime for the Jaguars to dominate, but this serves as a major barometer game for their playoff potential. The Bengals are one of the toughest teams in the AFC, but Jacksonville absolutely has the talent to win. Circle this one to get a good idea of how both these teams could fair in the postseason.
No. 5: Bills vs. Jets: Week 1
Will the Aaron Rodgers win-now experiment work? It’s a moot point if the Jets can’t at least put up a good fight against the Bills. The AFC East is a brutal division, and we can’t count out the Dolphins from postseason possibility, but Buffalo is still the gold standard in the division. On paper this is the best team Rodgers has had in years, and any potential dream of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February requires proving that the Rodgers-led Jets can put up a fight against the Bills. This should become one of the great rivalries in the NFL this season, and the first meeting between these teams will be appointment television.
No. 6: Lions vs. Cowboys: Week 17
As noted in our discussion of the season-opening game between Detroit and Kansas City, there is a lot of buzz about the Lions this season. Detroit kept themselves in playoff contention up until the final day of the 2022 NFL season, and while they missed out on the playoffs, the Lions added a ton of talent this offseason. New faces such as David Montgomery, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Cameron Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley were added in free agency, and the Lions drafted six players in the first three rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, including running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta, and safety Brian Branch. Those four are expected to play big roles this year.
Then there are the Cowboys, who are coming off a playoff appearance a season ago and are expected to be contenders once again.
This game will tell us a lot about the hierarchy in the NFC.
No. 7: Lions vs. Chargers: Week 10
You didn’t think we’d have this game on here? These two have received a lot of hype in the last two seasons and square off in a battle between two teams with dark horse Super Bowl potential and aspirations. On one side we have Justin Herbert, the Chargers’ football throwing warlock who is led by new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. In addition, we’ll see the new Chargers trio at wideout, which now includes rookie WR Quentin Johnston. Defensively, the Chargers still are star-studded with Khalil Mack, Derwin James and hopefully JC Jackson is returning from injury to complete what looks to be a formidable defense on paper.
They’ll face a young, punishing Lions team that’ll look to replicate the success they had on the ground last year. The offensive line remains intact with star RT Penei Sewell leading the charge up front. Rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs will work with David Montgomery, and QB Jared Goff just has to keep the wheel steady and let the engine that OC Ben Johnson created go to work.
This game could end up being a shootout, with the last team to have the ball ending up as the winner.
No. 8: Colts vs. Texans: Week 2
A lot of the games we have discussed concern the NFL’s present.
This one, however, gives us a window into the league’s future.
The debut meeting between the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts could be the first of many meetings between C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson. the quarterbacks drafted second- and fourth-overall, respectively. The AFC South is now loaded with young talent at the quarterback position, between these two, Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville, and potentially Will Levis taking over in Tennessee for the Titans. But at different points in the draft process, Stroud and Richardson were in the discussion for the first-overall selection. While that ultimately went to Bryce Young, these two could be a huge part of the AFC South story for years to come.
No. 9: Panthers vs. Falcons: Week 1
Sure, this could set the barometer for the NFC South this season — but being excited about this game is far more about individual players than competing for supremacy in football’s worst division. This will be our first chance to see two major offensive rookies on the field with Bryce Young almost assuredly starting for the Panthers at quarterback, with RB Bijan Robinson getting the run for the Falcons. This early in the season it’ll be difficult to really learn anything about the players, but it will be fun to see them on the field.
No. 10: Bears vs. Panthers: Week 10
The first meeting between these two teams post-blockbuster trade that would send multiple assets including WR DJ Moore to Chicago for the rights to the first overall pick. Many have high hopes for Bears QB Justin Fields, who has another year of development under his belt and a roster more befitting for his success. The young Bears team will take on a similarly young Panthers roster, who will be led into the game by rookie QB Bryce Young.
The battle along the offensive and defensive lines should be interesting as well, with rookie OT Darnell Wright potentially seeing a lot of EDGE Brian Burns. With the two teams potentially being on the rise this season, this game could get really interesting.
No. 11: Vikings vs. 49ers: Week 7
It’s a battle of stars in Vikings-Niners, with the biggest names taking center stage like a blockbuster Hollywood movie. On one side, we have all-world WR Justin Jefferson leading a Vikings offense that should be even better in year two with Kevin O’Connell at the helm. TE TJ Hockenson remains a solid second receiving option and rookie WR Jordan Addison should be a nice addition to the offense.
However, the Niners defense remains terrifying to play against. Nick Bosa is coming off a DPOY campaign, and they added DT Javon Hargrave to the mix up front as well. Fred Warner continues to man the middle and Talanoa Hufanga remains a banshee at safety.
Of course, we know about the Niners offense. Deebo, Aiyuk, Kittle, CMC, and Juszczyk are the most formidable skill group in the league, and watching them is always great television. The question is: who’s going to play QB?
