15 Matchups we want prioritized by NFL schedule makers

It’s going to be a little while before NFL fans are able to watch games that count in the standings, but fans are already dreaming about the 2023 slate. The league always has an interesting challenge trying to put the schedule together with a wide variety of things to consider. We’ll take a closer look at 15 contests that should get prime window consideration this year.

Due to patterns in NFL schedule logic, Super Bowl rematches don’t always take place the following season. However, the Philadelphia Eagles are slated to visit Arrowhead Stadium in 2023 to take on the Kansas City Chiefs, and the NFL would be wise to put this game front and center. Imagine the Chiefs raising a championship banner on opening night, with the Eagles on the opposing sideline.

The Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals have squared off in the last two AFC championship games, and will once again vie for conference supremacy in 2023. The two teams have played memorable contests in the postseason and the regular season, and their scheduled clash this year should be just as exciting.

It was a tightly contested division in 2023 that will only get more challenging this season. Aaron Rodgers’ arrival in New York has Jets fans dreaming of the playoffs, while Miami Dolphins supporters will hope Tua Tagovailoa can stay healthy all year. These teams played twice last year, featuring reserve signal callers rather than their preferred option under center.

The Bengals used the league’s coin flip to determine home-field advantage in last year’s AFC playoffs as motivation. En route to the title game, Cincinnati thoroughly dismantled the Buffalo Bills on the road, in a game that didn’t unfold the way many predicted. Buffalo thought they were destined for a deeper run and will seek revenge when the teams match up this season.

The New York Giants enjoyed a resurgence last year under first year head coach Brian Daboll. He seemed to press all of the right buttons, and the Giants got to experience the postseason. Daboll was previously the offensive coordinator in Buffalo, where he helped develop star quarterback Josh Allen. It will be interesting to see what adjustments are made when Daboll faces his former team.

For the better part of the last three decades, the Green Bay Packers have completely owned the Detroit Lions. Green Bay featured stellar quarterback play, while the Lions struggled to find any type of consistency. With Rodgers no longer in Green Bay, there’s an opportunity for Detroit to continue what they started in 2022. They knocked the Packers out of the playoffs in Week 18 last year.

Dallas Cowboys fans don’t want to reminded of the end result of their last two postseason matchups with the San Francisco 49ers. Both tilts came down to the wire, but the 49ers were able to hang on and advance. Both franchises figure to factor into the NFC postseason picture again in 2023, making this an important game in the standings.

When organizations make successful runs, teams at the bottom of the league look to cherry pick members of their coaching staff. That happened this offseason, when the Arizona Cardinals hired Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to be their head coach. It’ll be interesting to see if Philadelphia has any new wrinkles for their former defensive boss.

When the Chiefs decides to trade superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins in March 2022, many thought Kansas City’s standing as a Super Bowl contender would take a hit. Many also thought Hill’s production would diminish greatly not playing with Patrick Mahomes. Neither scenario materialized, which will make it fun to watch these teams go at it at full strength.

There might not be a lot of people around the country holding their breath for a Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans game. It makes sense considering both teams were amongst the worst in the NFL last year, but they will look at lot different this season. These two teams had the top picks in the draft, and used them on quarterbacks Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud respectively.

It’s hard to think of a more hotly contested NFL rivalry in the last 20 years than the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Both teams have deployed smash mouth styles that leave opponents feeling sore the next day. The games that are decided in the first half are few and far between with these two teams, so fans expect a game that comes down to the wire.

By most accounts, Dallas had an impressive campaign last season, but were still not close to winning a division title. That’s because Philadelphia raced out to a nearly unblemished start, and could not be caught in the NFC East. The Cowboys will have two chances to prove that they can close the gap in 2023.

It was extremely ironic for longtime Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson to make his NFL return with the Cleveland Browns against the team he started his career with. Watson was predictably rusty in that game, but Cleveland will once again travel to Houston in 2023. Watson will be expected to play much better in that contest considering he won’t be coming back from suspension.

The New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders played a game last season that had one of the most incredulous endings in NFL history. The two teams will once again meet at Allegiant Stadium this year. The Patriots will not only reunite with former offensive coordinator and current Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels, but they’ll also face former backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

For the first time in several years, both the Jets and the Giants have a chance to qualify for the postseason in the same season. It’s going to be fascinating to see whether the league schedules this game early or late in the calendar, because it could have more serious implications than just New York bragging rights.