The 2023 NFL schedule is out. Every week has at least one game that, on paper, looks like it’ll both play a role in the 2024 Playoff lineup and be an absolute laser show.
The ever-shifting landscape of a league defined by parity means some of those games will be underwhelming and a handful of favorites will instead sink down the standings. Surprise contenders will rise in their stead, making something like, say, a toss-away showdown between the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons a vital and entertaining firework in this fall’s night sky.
But since we don’t have more than a hunch about which bad teams will rise from the ooze, this list is all about the best and most interesting matchups on paper. There’s one game in each of the 18 weeks that stands above the rest. Here’s how they look, starting on opening weekend and ending at the base of the playoffs.
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Week 1: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
The opening week of the 2023 season has no shortage of high profile games. But the most intriguing one may be the battle for the Buckeye State. The Bengals will likely be something like a three-point road favorite in Cleveland, but there’s more to this matchup than last year’s disparate records suggest. Deshaun Watson, the star the Browns traded for despite more than 20 accusations of sexual misconduct and what the NFL described as “predatory behavior” will have the chance to make a statement after playing like the league’s 32nd-best quarterback last season. He’ll test himself against Cincinnati’s rebuilt — and prospect filled — secondary.
Week 2: Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City stifled Jacksonville’s playoff hopes in last year’s 27-20 Divisional Round win. Since then, the Chiefs have lost some key talent — JuJu Smith Schuster, Orlando Brown, Juan Thornhill — and now have to face a rising Jaguars team in Duval County. We’ll get to see Calvin Ridley test Steve Spagnuolo’s ever-shifting secondary and even a “hello, old friend” moment when $80 million free agent addition Jawaan Taylor faces the Jags team that drafted him.
Week 3: New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers (Thursday Night Football)
Two teams with overlooked quarterbacks trying to follow up on breakthrough seasons could meet to kick off the third week of the season. New York bolstered Daniel Jones’ offense by franchise tagging Saquon Barkley and drafting John Michael Schmitz as well as Jalin Hyatt. San Francisco may have Brock Purdy — 7-0 as a starter in games where he did not tear his UCL — back in the lineup or have to rely on former third overall pick Trey Lance behind center. The Niners are capable of winning with either guy, but only if new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks can replicate DeMeco Ryans’ game-planning prowess.
Week 4: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
With all due respect to a Chiefs-Jets matchup that should be a clacker, Week 4 will be the biggest early test for both the Dolphins and Bills as they battle for supremacy in the AFC East (and try to keep the Jets and Patriots at bay). Can Jalen Ramsey’s addition be enough to shut down Stefon Diggs and the Buffalo passing game? Will Tua Tagovailoa continue the ascent that made him 2022’s most efficient quarterback even despite multiple head injuries?
Week 5: New York Jets at Denver Broncos
The Russell Wilson experiment failed to pan out last season for the Broncos, so they brought in Sean Payton — the man who navigated the final years of Drew Brees’ career with aplomb — as a high-priced fix. He’ll see a familiar foe in Week 5 when he faces a Jets team trying to avoid the pitfalls that doomed Denver in 2022. Aaron Rodgers is 4-3 against Wilson in his career.
Week 6: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers (Monday Night Football)
The Chargers’ Week 5 bye isn’t ideal, but it does add an extra rest-and-prep week before a brutal stretch that features the Cowboys, Chiefs, Jets and Lions across five games. That adds an extra layer of difficulty for Dallas, who has a massive opportunity to shine in a depleted NFC. Mike McCarthy will have to poke holes in a glitchy defense to stay on track for a potential top seed come playoff time.
Week 7: Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday Night Football)
Week 7 has plenty of good games on the docket (Lions-Ravens, Chargers-Chiefs, etc). This showdown in eastern Pennsylvania may be the best. Jalen Hurts gets to test the Miami defense, while the Dolphins’ high octane offense will give us an idea of just how ready the Eagles’ young defensive prospects are for prime time.
Week 8: Atlanta Falcons at Tennessee Titans
The Titans will likely be sinking to the bottom of the AFC standings, but this matchup lingers in my brain as a proof of concept for the Falcons’ NFC South title hopes. Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator for two years, ranking in the top three in rushing yards in each. Now he’s working to replicate that design with Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and the running chops of Desmond Ridder behind center. The onus will be on Mike Vrabel to find a way to stop what he’d done so well in Nashville.
Week 9: Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore Ravens
Both teams reloaded at wideout this offseason, but this battle of teams who look like second-tier contenders may come down to bruising defenses and the ground attack. Two newly extended quarterbacks will be the focal point. Geno Smith with his scrambling ability as well handoffs to Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III vs. Lamar Jackson through his, well, Lamar Jackson-ness. We’ll also see if a deep Seattle receiving corps can strike at the Ravens’ weaknesses in the secondary.
Week 10: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
The Giants haven’t won in Dallas since 2016 — a Tony Romo-Eli Manning matchup that serves as the team’s only road win in the rivalry in the last decade. The Cowboys’ 28-20 win at home last season wasn’t as close as it looked and furthered the narrative the two teams weren’t on the same level. A win in the Lone Star State would go a long way in legitimizing Brian Daboll’s revival.
Week 11: New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
Aaron Rodgers opens his Jets tenure with a home game against the Bills in September. The return matchup will allow Sean McDermott and Robert Saleh to fine tune their approaches as the push to the playoffs begins. Unless New York exceeds expectations, any playoff run will likely come on the road. Orchard Park, in front of a raucous crowd spewing Fireball fumes into the crisp air, is a great way to test that mettle.
Week 12: Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (Thanksgiving Day)
Rodgers may have owned the Bears, but his grasp over the Lions loosened late in his career, particularly on the road. The Packers have lost three of their last five games at Ford Field, giving Jordan Love an immediate goal in his first season as a starter. The general weakness of the NFC means Green Bay has a shot at a playoff run even without a four-time MVP behind center. Knocking off the NFC North favorites on the road on the holiday they claim as their own would be one hell of a way to get there.
Week 13: San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles
We get a rematch of last winter’s lopsided NFC Championship Game — but this time the Niners will hopefully have someone capable of throwing the ball more than four yards downfield in the second half. That playoff showdown was marred by injuries to Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson that left Christian McCaffrey as the only player who could whip the ball past the line of scrimmage with any reasonable chance of success. That, predictably, ended in disaster. A healthy Purdy (or Trey Lance!) could tilt the tables in San Francisco’s favor in December.
Week 14: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
The Bills and Chiefs have met four times since 2021 — each time at Arrowhead Stadium. Buffalo managed to split the series despite the disadvantage, but both its wins came in the regular season and preceded postseason heartbreak. Each of the last two games between these teams have been decided in the final 64 seconds of the game or later; expect another clacker in Week 14.
Week 15: Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday Night Football)
The Jaguars are going to win the AFC South almost by default thanks to the presence of the rebuilding Colts, Texans and Titans. To prove they’re more than just the best of a weak crop they’re going to have to handle the rest of the AFC contenders that dot their weak schedule. Hosting the Ravens provides an opportunity to test a shallow secondary against a shallow receiving corps — and could be the win Baltimore needs to keep its place in the AFC North race.
Week 16: Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers (Saturday Night Football)
The 2022 Chargers went 1-6 against playoff teams; the only win came against the Miami Dolphins. That leaves Brandon Staley’s team with a ton to prove in 2023. A statement win over the Bills as the playoffs loom could stake LA’s claim as a contender.
Week 17: Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs
This matchup has decided the AFC Champion in each of the last two seasons and has been played four times since 2022 — with every game decided by three points. These two look like the class of the conference once more, leaving Week 17 as a potential playoff preview.
Week 18: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
This may be the de facto NFC South title game. Sure, it might be between two 8-8 teams (or worse), but it’s between two win-now(ish) teams battling for supremacy in a weak division. Can the Saints hold up to the Falcons’ run-heavy approach? Can Derek Carr play savior en route to the second playoff start of his career?
