The Best Games to Watch Each Week on the 2022 NFL Schedule

The NFL returns in early September with a slew of matchups scheduled through the end of the year. With division rivalries and playoff rematches littered with coaching battles and star quarterbacks, this season is sure to keep fans entertained each week. But with about 16 games per week and usually only one screen to stream from, it can be hard to choose what to watch. Here is a list from week to week of the best games to watch this NFL season. 

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Week 1: Bills at Rams

September 8, 8:20 p.m., NBC

This Thursday-night matchup is the clear winner for NFL fans in Week 1. Not only do we get to see Von Miller line up against the team he just won a Super Bowl with, but this game is also a potential preview of what this year’s Super Bowl could shake out to be: The defending champs are in the top five betting choices to win, while the Bills actually lead the betting odds altogether.

Week 1 honorable mention: Monday Night Football’s Broncos at Seahawks, when Russell Wilson makes his return to Seattle. 

Week 2: Chargers at Chiefs

September 15, 8:15 p.m., Prime Video

Thursday Night Football wins again in Week 2 with a quarterback battle that no fan is going to want to miss. The last time Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert went head-to-head, there were four touchdowns during the fourth quarter alone in a game that ended with a Chiefs overtime win. Plus, it may be a good indicator of whether Kansas City can continue its record-setting AFC West streak and make it seven division titles in a row. 

Week 3: Packers at Buccaneers

September 25, 4:25 p.m., Fox

Tom Brady without Gronk. Aaron Rodgers without Davante Adams. This game will pit two of the best veteran quarterbacks in the game right now against each other. What else do we need to say?

Week 3 honorable mention: Sunday’s Bills at Dolphins. The Bills have a seven-game win streak in this rivalry right now, but there’s been a lot of hype coming out of the Dolphins organization surrounding QB Tua Tagovailoa ahead of what is going to be a make-or-break season for him. 

Week 4: Rams at 49ers

October 3, 8:15 p.m., ESPN

Last season, the Rams lost twice in the regular season against the 49ers before snapping what had grown to be a six-game losing streak against their rival to win the NFC title and punch their ticket to the Super Bowl (which obviously worked out well for them). The two teams will face off in both Week 4 and Week 8.

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Week 5: Bengals at Ravens

October 9, 8:20 p.m., NBC

The Bengals and the Ravens headline the AFC North and are largely considered to make up the stronger half of the division (at least right now). Both teams boast electric, fun-to-watch offenses with Joe Burrow throwing to Ja’Marr Chase on Cincinnati’s side, and Lamar Jackson targeting Mark Andrews for Baltimore. 

Week 6: Broncos at Chargers 

October 17, 8:15 p.m., ESPN

Russel Wilson has beat all but two teams in his time as an NFL quarterback: the Seahawks (duh) and the Chargers. After being traded to the Broncos, 2022 is his first chance to notch those two additional wins and join just four other quarterbacks (Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning) who have beaten every team in the league. 

Week 6 honorable mention: Bills at Chiefs on Sunday afternoon. If it's anything like last year’s divisional playoff game, no fan will want to miss it. 

Week 7: Saints at Cardinals

October 20, 8:15 p.m., Prime Video

The Cardinals take the Thursday Night Football slot just in time for Deandre Hopkins to make his return to the field. Hopkins faces a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs—which comes on top of missing seven regular-season games in 2021 due to injury. With Kyler Murray locked in as well, fans should be interested to see if Hopkins can come close to the production level of his first season. 

Week 8: Bengals at Browns

October 31, 8:15 p.m., ESPN

The “Battle of Ohio” is slated for Week 8 with the in-state rivals facing off during Monday Night Football. The Browns won last season, but they faced a Bengals team without Burrow (who obviously makes a big difference, considering where the team went in the postseason).  

Week 9: Rams at Buccaneers

 November 6, 4:25 p.m., CBS

Remember when Brady was doing his thing, pulling the Bucs back from a third quarter 27–3 deficit in the NFC title game—and Rams QB Matthew Stafford stole the thunder with his own Brady-esque pass to set up a walk off field goal win? That was how this matchup went last year. No one is competing for a Super Bowl spot this time around (at least not yet), but the action is bound to be good nonetheless. 

Week 9 honorable mention: Colts at Patriots in the first round of Sunday games. Though Brady was part of what made this rivalry so special (his first start after being a sixth-round draft pick was in a win against the Colts), it is still a game to watch as Brady's replacement finds his footing in his second season. 

Week 10: Cowboys at Packers

November 13, 4:25 p.m., Fox

This game will be one to watch as Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy takes on his former team for the first time since he took over for the Cowboys in January 2020. McCarthy spent over 12 years as the head coach of the Packers and is widely recognized for leading them to eight consecutive postseasons and a Super Bowl win—what will he be able to do with a healthy Dak Prescott?

Week 11: Bengals at Steelers

November 20, 8:20 p.m., NBC

Week 11 will be the second time the division rivals meet this season. By then, maybe we’ll know for sure who the starting quarterback for the Steelers is. Will Kenny Pickett live up to his preseason hype after a tough start to training camp, or will the Steelers go with good (bad? Depends who you ask.) ol’ Mitch Trubisky?

Week 12: Bills at Lions

November 24, 12:30 p.m., CBS

If you’re forced to pick just one of the Thanksgiving games to watch (maybe you have to take a break for like, dinner or something), it’s only right that it should be either the Lions or the Cowboys. But Detroit has slightly more history here—the Lions started playing on Thanksgiving in the mid-1930s and have missed only the years during which World War II was occurring—so we have to give them some credit. 

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Week 13: Packers at Bears

December 4, 1 p.m., Fox

Yes, this rivalry isn’t the most competitive. The Packers have won 21 of the last 24 matchups, including the postseason. But it is one of the most well-known in the league, and it felt wrong not to include it. Plus, there is potential for Justin Fields to make a much larger impact this year with a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator—whose last job just so happened to be the Packers’ quarterbacks coach. 

Week 14: Ravens at Steelers

December 11, 1 p.m., CBS

This rivalry, on the other hand, is actually one of more intense in the league. A matchup during Week 14 has potential to decide the division if things go well for both of these teams this season (although recent years have proven we cannot count the Bengals out).

Week 15: Patriots at Raiders

December 18, 8:20 p.m., NBC

This is your classic Bill Belichick coaching tree at work in the league: Las Vegas’s Josh McDaniels enters his first season as coach for the Raiders after leaving his longtime role as Belichick’s offensive coordinator. There will hopefully be enough time for McDaniels to find his groove with Derek Carr and Davante Adams before Week 14, but the pressure will be on up against his former boss. 

Week 9 honorable mention: The Giants at Commanders game this week is yet to be scheduled, but it will be interesting due to the face that Washington has a bye in week 14, meaning that it will play the Giants in a rare back-to-back Week 13 and 15 lineup. 

Week 16: Broncos at Rams

December 25, 4:30 p.m., CBS, NICK

Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, which means that NFL fans get an extra gift in the form of three games. Not only will the game be on CBS, but it will also air as one of the fan-favorite NFL on Nickelodeon broadcasts, meaning that we might see some virtual slime hit 2022 Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, or whoever the starting quarterback for the Broncos ends up being. 

Week 17: Cowboys at Titans

December 29, 8:15 p.m., Prime Video

These two teams haven't faced off since 2018, but they both have some big names that should be fun to watch go head-to-head. Kevin Byard and Trevon Diggs are bound to shake things up defensively, while stars like Derrick Henry, CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper are electric on offense. 

Week 18: Lions at Packers

TBD

The Lions are the only team in the NFL this year that did not get slotted for a single prime time game, so it feels like we have to shout them out at one point. This NFC North matchup is a good time to do it. All the games in Week 18 have yet to be scheduled, so who knows, maybe by this point in the season the NFL will be ushering the Lions into prime time? 

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