Buffalo Bills to visit Los Angeles Rams in 2022 season-opener, New York Giants to take on Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins kick off blockbuster Christmas Day triple-header.
Friday 13 May 2022 11:17, UK
Josh Allen and the Super Bowl-chasing Buffalo Bills will go to the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the opening game of the 2022 NFL season.
It marks the first of a 272-game, 18-week regular season, the schedule for which was officially released overnight.
The unretired Tom Brady leads out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Dallas Cowboys in the first Sunday Night Football contest of the year, before quarterback Russell Wilson returns to face the Seattle Seahawks, where he played for 10 seasons, as the Denver Broncos meet Pete Carroll's side in the opening Monday Night Football showpiece.
Among the marquee matchups across the first NFL Sunday slate is the Las Vegas Raiders against the Los Angeles Chargers in a repeat of last season's tense playoff-deciding regular season-finale, while the Kansas City Chiefs travel to face the Arizona Cardinals.
Thanksgiving traditionally opens with the Detroit Lions as they host the Bills, before the New York Giants take on the Dallas Cowboys in an all-NFC East clash followed by the New England Patriots at the Minnesota Vikings.
Christmas Day boasts a mouthwatering triple-header beginning with the Green Bay Packers against the Miami Dolphins, continuing with the Broncos at the Rams and concluding with the Bucs at the Cardinals.
Awaiting in Week Four is a Super Bowl LV rematch when the Chiefs take on the Bucs in Tampa, before Andy Reid's side host the Bills in Week Eight in what has become one of the most sought-after fixtures on the calendar on the back of their thrilling 2020 AFC Championship Game and 2021 AFC Divisional Round game.
The schedule also includes the already-announced International Series games, which will see London stage three in October followed by the Seahawks against the Bucs in the first regular season game in Germany and the San Francisco 49ers against the Cardinals in Mexico City.
The NFL's regular season will conclude on Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8 and for the third consecutive year, 14 teams will make the postseason following its introduction in 2020.
