This article covers predicted Pro Football top 5 games to watch and top 5 upsets. Thursday Night Football on NBC is right around the corner on 9/8/22 and that means pro football is starting. Time to get into a weekly cadence of highlighting the best games to watch. Also determining the potential upsets lurking below the radar. Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl 55 at their home field (Raymond James Stadium) to close out the 2020 NFL season. Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl 56 at their home field (SoFi Stadium) to close out the 2021 NFL season. Since trends usually happen in threes, will the Arizona Cardinals win Super Bowl 57 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona? Time will tell after eighteen weeks of the regular season.
2021 Season Recap
Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl 56, held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. QB Matthew Stafford won his first Super Bowl after a blockbuster trade from the Detroit Lions to the Rams. San Francisco and Kansas City were the two teams eliminated during the Conference Championships round. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers won the NFL MVP award for the second straight season, with 4115 passing yards and 37 touchdown passes.
2022 Off-Season News and Notes
Ben Roethlisberger retired after an illustrious pro career as a QB with Pittsburgh. Frank Gore hung up his RB cleats after playing sixteen seasons in the NFL. Russell Wilson was traded from Seattle to Denver after spending ten seasons as a Seahawk. Tom Brady retired after twenty-two seasons, only to change his mind forty days later. The Buccaneers fan base is extremely happy with that decision to continue to play football. Numerous big name players switched teams during the offseason, highlighted by Khalil Mack moving to the Chargers, Matt Ryan traded to the Colts, Von Miller signing with the Bills, Tyreek Hill traded to the Dolphins and Davante Adams ending up with the Raiders.
Pre-season games have been reduced from 4 to 3. This directly led to an increase in regular season games from 16 to 17, to be played over an 18 week regular season. Super Bowl 57 will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ on 2/12/23.
Pro Football Top 5 Games to Watch
5. Buffalo vs. Los Angeles Rams
Primetime kickoff (8:20 PM EST) from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on 9/8/22. Tantalizing matchup to officially start the 20i22 NFL season. Buffalo is still trying to figure out how they lost an instant classic OT thriller (42-36), to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the 2021-2022 NFL playoffs. Josh Allen is officially a star QB, Von Miller’s free agent signing immediately strengthens the Bills defensive line, and head coach Sean McDermott needs to stop obsessing about Bill Belichick. Buffalo is loaded this season and ready to lead the AFC.
Rams are still celebrating their Lombardi Trophy run to Super Bowl 56 champs in February 2022. Head coach Sean McVay is back, after flirting with retirement and maybe being a color commentator for Amazon’s new NFL coverage. Matthew Stafford is more comfortable as the leader on offense, due to having Mr. Clutch, Cooper Cupp at WR. Defensive corps will welcome Bobby Wagner at LB with open arms. Who is going to run the ball for the Rams? Cam Akers had his moments in the playoffs, but can he stay healthy for an entire season is a tough question.
Prediction: Buffalo wants to make a statement on the road that they are focused and ready for big game matchups. Bills win by 4 points due to a late TD throw by Allen.
4. Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati
Early afternoon kickoff (1:00 PM EST) from Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio on 9/11/22. Interesting AFC North battle that has two teams seemingly moving in opposite directions. Steelers start the post Ben Roethlisberger era, with Mitch Trubisky as the starting QB, and rookie Kenny Pickett on the sidelines. Something about that depth chart doesn’t seem right and it gets even worse with Mason Rudolph as the third string QB. Pittsburgh will continue to rely on second year RB Najee Harris and a stout defense, that seems to get key sacks and turnovers at will. Can that game plan keep them afloat in a deep AFC?
QB Joe Burrow and rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase showed during the 2021 season, that Covid-19 didn’t affect their mental bond in big game situations. Teams will be better prepared in 2022 for that tandem, and it’ll be interesting to see if the Bengals adjust their play calling. RB Joe Mixon had a breakout season in 2021, but he was on the sideline in crunch time during the last offensive drive of Super Bowl 56. No matter what Mixon does in 2022, the talking heads will continue to ask him why he wasn’t on the field when a championship was at stake. Cincinnati’s defense is sneaky good, but they are injury prone up and down the depth chart. That’s the only Achilles heel they have heading into 2022.
Prediction: Game will have a weird ebb and flow due to Pittsburgh’s defense keeping the score close for 45-50 minutes, but the Bengals win by 9 points.
3. Kansas City vs. Arizona
Late afternoon kickoff (4:25 PM EST) from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on 9/11/22. Now things are getting interesting in Week #1. Chiefs will rely on worldly QB Patrick Mahomes to run their motion offense and throw a ton of passes to TE Travis Kelce. When Kelce is double and triple teamed where does the ball go? JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marcole Hardman and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are supposed to fill the WR void caused by Tyreek Hill being traded to Miami. C’mon’ man, that isn’t going to work and Kansas City may look vulnerable for the entire 2022 season. Have had a great four year run in the top tier of the AFC, but this season will be a real test for all seventeen games.
Cardinals were the feel good story for the first ten games of the 2021 season and then reality set in. Los Angeles Rams won a close game in Week 14 and then Arizona lost five of their last six games, including the NFC Wild Card game. QB Kyler Murray pouted during the off-season until he received a massive contract extension (5 years for $230M). RB James Connor is the real deal and scored 15 TDs in 2021. He’s ready to carry the running game on his shoulders. WR Marquise Brown was acquired from the Ravens during the off-season and he’ll the be primary target for most of Murray’s deep throws. Arizona is a feast or famine team, either they’ll score a ton of points or have a bunch of infighting amongst teammates in the locker room. Must watch tv in Week #1!
Prediction: Best game of Week #1 and the Chiefs somehow win by 7 points due to more experience on offense and Andy Reid outcoaching Kliff Kingsbury.
2. Tampa Bay vs. Dallas
Primetime kickoff (8:20 PM EST) from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on 9/11/22. Tom Brady comes out of retirement to face America’s Team on Sunday Night Football on NBC. Buccaneers ran out of gas and had too many injuries down the stretch run in 2021. Brady is motivated to show that he has more gas left in the tank for new head coach Todd Bowles. Tampa Bay’s depth chart looks questionable with some holes, but with Brady under center on offense, never count out the GOAT and enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.
Cowboys had a bounce back season in 2021, with NFL Comeback Player of the Year, QB Dak Prescott leading the offense. Rookie LB Micah Parsons is an absolute beast on defense and may start to draw comparisons with Lawrence Taylor. RB Ezekiel Elliott seems to be running on tired legs. CeeDee Lamb moves the chains as a deep threat, but he doesn’t score touchdowns. Sounds like a typical Mike McCarthy coached team in his third season. I’m not buying what the talking heads and experts are selling with Dallas. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Prediction: Tight game from start to finish with the Buccaneers winning by 3 points on a walk-off field goal
1. Baltimore vs. New York Jets
Lock of the week is an early afternoon kickoff (1:00 PM EST) on 9/11/22, from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Ravens are always ready to play due to the preparation and game planning of head coach John Harbaugh. Started the 2021 season quickly, going 5-1 and then cratered down the stretch with six straight losses to finish 8-9. QB Lamar Jackson’s ongoing contract extension talks have been a small distraction, but won’t matter during this Week 1 matchup. Jets started the 2021 season slowly at 1-3 and continued to sputter through Week 18 ending up at 4-13. One of the lone bright spots last season, was rookie QB Zach Wilson and his pocket awareness. Wilson is currently ruled out for Week 1 and his injury could extend to Week 4.
Prediction: Baltimore is currently a 7.0 point road favorite and will cover easily
Pro Football Top 5 Upsets that might happen
5. New England vs. Miami
Year 2 of the Mac Jones project at QB starts for the Patriots and the roster is still shaking their heads, due to the 47-17 Wild Card playoff drubbing by the Bills in January 2022. AFC East starts to bunch up and New England may get squeezed out of the playoff race this season.. New Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is a cerebral play caller and completely enamored with his starting third year QB, Tua Tagovailoa. If Tua can get time in the pocket, he’ll be ecstatic to find new WR Tyreek Hill on crossing patterns and dump offs. Dolphins are currently 3.5 point underdogs at home and this game is currently a coin flip to pick the winner.
4. Cleveland vs. Carolina
Two of the worst run franchises in the entire NFL line up in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ex-Browns QB, Baker Mayfield, gets his first start for the Panthers and will be amped up to face his old team. I won’t even discuss the high profile QB that the Browns traded for during the 2022 off-season. Jacoby Brissett gets the nod at QB for the Browns, and he’ll get used to throwing deep balls to WR Amari Cooper. Cooper has plenty of gas and talent left in the tank to have a comeback season with monster statistics. Betting line is currently even, but since the world is against Baker Mayfield (see his Heisman statue in Norman, OK), the Browns find a way to win this ugly game.
3. New York Giants vs. Tennessee
Instead of picking another lock of the week (Colts vs. Texans), this matchup looks intriguing and strange on paper. New York Giants have been a mess for the last four-to-five seasons and there’s no signs of improving quickly. QB Daniel Jones is in the last year of his rookie contract. He might be motivated to produce some respectable stats, if he wants to continue playing in the NFL via free agency. Backup plan is to join Mark Sanchez as a television analyst. Titans were rolling in 2021 until RB Derrick Henry was injured and they lost their mojo. Head coach Mike Vrabel is an underrated X’s an O’s coach, but he’ll need another magical season from QB Ryan Tannehill to maintain pace in the deep AFC. Tennessee is currently a 5.5 point home favorite, but the Giants will keep this game interesting late into the third quarter.
2. Green Bay vs. Minnesota
How long has it been since the world’s greatest QB, Aaron Rodgers, won a Super Bowl? Twelve long years since the Packers beat the Steelers in Super Bowl 45. Rodgers has won four NFL MVP awards in 2011, 2014, 2020 and 2021. Early and untimely playoff losses have derailed promising Green Bay seasons since 2011. Some have been Rodgers fault, some haven’t. Rodgers handling of his Covid-19 vaccination status, and the fact he sounds like a person auditioning for Fox News in press conferences has caused many fans to shout “just play!” 2022 will be the season that Rodgers gets to show how good he is or isn’t due to a brand new WR corps.
Vikings were snake bit in 2021, due to losing seven games by seven points or less. Karma has a way of evening things out in football at all levels. Green Bay is currently a 1.5 point road favorite, but Minnesota is more than due to win a close game at their Death Star stadium.
1. Las Vegas vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Raiders currently lead this old-fashioned AFC West series 67-56-2. For the past twelve seasons, this series is even at 12-12, which makes this matchup a true toss up. Chargers are moving up the AFC power rankings due to QB Justin Herbert and statistically driven head coach Brandon Staley. Las Vegas will take some time trying to gel under new head coach Josh McDaniels. Trying to forget that McDaniels ran the Denver Broncos franchise into the ground due to drafting QB Tim Tebow way too early in 2010. Not to mention McDaniels likes to videotape opposing teams walk throughs. QB Derrick Carr and newly acquired WR Davante Adams will have a big game and suddenly the AFC West is a four team race, just like the NFC West was in 2021.
Storylines Heading into Week 2
- What type of homecoming reception does the new Broncos QB Russell Wilson get in Seattle during Monday Night Football?
- How annoying is Cris Collinsworth during NBC telecasts now that Al Michaels has moved onto Amazon?
- Which QBs and head coaches will be on the hot seat after poorly played season openers?
Same bat time, same bat channel next week. I’ll review the results of Pro Football Top 5 Week 1 and try again in Week 2.
Never walk away from the table when you’re on a heater in Vegas!
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