The 2022 NFL season is not scheduled to begin for another matter of months, with the first game of the regular season slated to take place on Thursday, September 8, 2022, with last year’s Super Bowl LVI champions Los Angeles Rams hosting Buffalo Bills in the NFL Kickoff Game at SoFi Stadium.
Nonetheless, whilst there is still a relatively long time between now and then, it does not mean we can not already start to take a look at the teams that will be competing and making a number of very early predictions, does it?
A very early look at the 2022 NFL Season
In this article, we will take a look at the opening weekend’s schedule, try and predict who will take the win based on the rosters that they have available to them at the moment, whilst also looking at who the potential Super Bowl LVII contenders are.
Call us crazy for doing this at the beginning of June, but hey, it is all part of the fun that sports brings, isn’t it?!
Week 1 predictions
Naturally, the best place to start with our very early NFL 2022 season predictions is the very beginning of the season. Of course, whilst the first game of the season may not tell us everything, it can provide us with an indicator about how a season might go for a franchise.
It can reveal whether an organization is gelling together as there will have been significant changes made, whilst it would also show us if the offseason had been a success and players have been able to buy into the playbook and the culture that has been formed around the team.
Let’s take a look at the opening fixtures for Week 1 and make our predictions:
- Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams – Rams to win
- New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons – Saints to win
- Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers – Browns to win
- San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears – 49ers to win
- Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals – Bengals to win
- Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions – Eagles to win
- Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans – Colts to win
- New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins – Dolphins to win
- Baltimore Ravens at New York Jets – Ravens to win
- Jacksonville Jaguars at Washington Commanders – Jaguars to win
- Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals – Chiefs to win
- Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers – Chargers to win
- Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – Packers to win
- New York Giants at Tennessee Titans – Titans to win
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys – Cowboys to win
- Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks – Broncos to win
Naturally, there will be some that will be disagreeing with the picks that have been made above, with some perhaps likely to go and make their own predictions by using the available sportsbooks that have emerged in recent years.
Indeed, with the rise of online sports betting sites in the US, punters now have a lot more freedom to make the predictions they want and put their money where their mouth – and gut – is when it comes down to watching the NFL.
However, whilst there will be some that will likely be making a number of Week 1 predictions for the 2022 NFL season, there will be others that will perhaps look a little ahead, as they may think about who the contenders for Super Bowl LVII are!
Who are the favorites to win Super Bowl LVII?
Given that we are still some distance from the first game actually taking place in the 2022 NFL season, there are a number of odds already being made available regarding the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year.
Of course, these are likely to change and fluctuate over the remaining weeks and months that still exist, especially as injuries and numerous moves continue to take place amongst the 32 National Football League franchises.
However, when taking a look at the early betting favorites, it would seem that the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs are the most likely to challenge for the Vince Lombardi trophy from the AFC, whilst the Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys are thought to be the NFC’s best chance of capturing the title.
Naturally, we could write all day about why one team can win the Super Bowl and why another can not, but those are the favorites that have been identified at this stage, and it is perhaps easy to understand why.
The Bills were impressive until they crashed out in the playoffs to the Chiefs in overtime, and the franchise has managed to keep much of its roster together. Of course, there have been some moves, but the team has largely stayed intact, which is why they are considered a safe option for some. Indeed, with the addition of Von Miller to the defense, the organization will immediately feel a lot stronger.
The Chiefs are also considered a safe bet, too, with the franchise having managed to add some experienced names to its roster that further strengthens it. Indeed, they lost a few top players from the team, but they did add JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to its wide receiver room, joining an offense that boasts Travis Kelce, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and Patrick Mahomes. Tyreek Hill’s trade to the Miami Dolphins is perhaps the biggest question mark about this team’s chance of winning.
Final Thoughts
As we have already stressed, it is extremely early to make a number of predictions for the 2022 NFL season. Nonetheless, there is nothing really stopping them from being made and it will be interesting to see if they come to fruition, especially those that are related to Week 1.
There are a number of interesting storylines and sub-plots to the games that will be played in Week 1, too, which is why some of the predictions have been made the way they have. Of course, you are free to disagree with what we believe, and that is the beauty of making predictions!