Best and worst Monday Night Football matchups on 2022 NFL schedule

With the release of the 2022 NFL schedule, we can start making primetime viewing plans. This year’s batch of Monday Night Football games features a pretty good lineup of contests, with eight intra-divisional matchups along with a handful of tilts between early Super Bowl favorites. Let’s dive in and take a look at the best and worst Monday night games on the docket.

Best Monday Night Football matchups

Week 1: Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks

It starts in Week 1, with Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson going back to his old stomping grounds in Seattle. On paper, the Broncos shouldn’t have any trouble with the Seahawks, but because teams can be a little off in the opening week of the season and since coaches have a way of getting their players up for a big time rematch like this, things can get weird.

Week 4: Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers

The eventual Super Bowl champs struggled against the 49ers last year, losing both regular season contests against their division rivals, until they finally beat them in the NFC Championship game.

Week 5: Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs

The AFC West is going to be bananas this season, the kind of divisional race where the worst team could still finish with 10 wins and miss the playoffs. I still the think the Chiefs are the team to beat in that division, but we should get a taste early on with this game of just how close it could all be.

Week 17: Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals

These two squads never crossed paths last year, but both should be Super Bowl contenders again this season. This game could end up being a sneak peek at a potential AFC Championship game.

Worst matchups

Week 3: Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants

It’s way too early in the season to have to sit through this.

Week 7: Chicago Bears at New England Patriots

The Bears are going to be in contention for the worst team in the NFL this season. The Patriots looked pretty good last year, and they should have this one in the bag by halftime.

Week 10: Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles

A Carson Wentz revenge game just doesn’t have the same billing as, say, Russell Wilson going back to Seattle. Besides, there’s no small chance that Wentz won’t even be starting at this point in the season.

Sneaky good matchups

Week 13: New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It’s easy to look at this one as a rebuilding Saints team going up against a Super Bowl contender, but the Saints very nearly made the playoffs last year with Taysom Hill at quarterback, a hobbled Alvin Kamara and a group of receivers and tight ends that the expert-on-all-things in your fantasy league wouldn’t have recognized.

Week 15: Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers

A terrible offseason is causing a lot of people to sleep on Green Bay, but we should know by now that’s a mistake. Weirdly enough, this could end up being a defensive battle, especially in December at Lambeau.

2022 NFL season: Monday Night Football schedule

Week 1: Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 2: Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills, 7:15 p.m. ET; Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:30 p.m. ET
Week 3: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 4: Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 5: Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 6: Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers, 8:15 p.m. ET,
Week 7: Chicago Bears at New England Patriots, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 8: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 9: Baltimore Ravens at New Orleans Saints, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 10: Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 11: San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 12: Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts, 8:15 p.m. ET,
Week 13: New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 14: New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals, 8:15 p.m. ET,
Week 15: Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 16: Los Angeles Chargers at Indianapolis Colts, 8:15 p.m. ET
Week 17: Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals, 8:15 p.m. ET