2022 opponents almost set

[sb1]

Assuming a second place finish in the division it will probably be this based on division crossover schedules:

Home: Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Bengals, Ravens, Bears, Lions, Colts(?)

Road: Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Steelers, Packers, Vikings, Cardinals, winner of Chargers/Raiders(?)

We’ll have one extra road game since the NFC is hosting the “17th game” in 2022. That’s a tough road schedule.

Not sure about home/away for Colts and Raiders/Chargers. I’m guessing Raiders/Chargers will be the road game since Pats will be in Arizona anyway.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

That looks like a pretty tough schedule but who knows how some of those teams will be next year.

 

[sb1]

If the Pats somehow win the division this weekend then substitute Rams for Cardinals, Titans for Colts with Henry certainly back and Chiefs for Chargers/Raiders.

That would not be a cake schedule.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

We are used to playing a first place schedule.

 

[jmt57]

I don't see that schedule as being any more difficult than most previous schedules.

Bears and Lions at home, and Browns, Steelers, Vikings, Chargers/Raiders on the road are all winnable.

Tougher games are the Packers, Colts, Bengals, Ravens and Cardinals. (I take it you are working on the premise that Arizona will be game #17? It will be an NFC West team, so let's leave it in this category no matter who it is.)

The six division games are the same every year. Maybe the schedule looks more difficult than usual because the Bills finally have a good team, which adds two more games to the 'tough' list.

Split with the Bills and Dolphins, go 2-3 versus the teams in the tough list, and lose one WTF game against the others and the record is 11-6. Even if you make that two upset losses you are still at 10-7.


But as mentioned above, a lot will change for many of those teams between today and when the Patriots play them in 8-12 months.

 

[Steve102]

*deadpan*

We will play who is on the schedule.

 

[Sicilian]

The difficulty of the Packers and Steelers games changes dramatically depending on who their QB is next year. No guarantee Rodgers is back, and Steelers will be in year one after a long time franchise guy (which we've seen how hard that is between us last year and the Saints this year).

Ravens and Cardinals games will be tough, but Jackson and Murray tend to get hobbled at some point every year, so when those games are played could have a big swing.

 

[Triumph]

Burrow, Herbert, Allen x 2, Rodgers, Cousins, Murray and possibly Deshaun Watson x 2 in Miami.

9 good QBs that we know of.

 

[jah]

Assuming a second place finish in the division it will probably be this based on division crossover schedules:

Home: Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Bengals, Ravens, Bears, Lions, Colts(?)

Road: Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Steelers, Packers, Vikings, Cardinals, winner of Chargers/Raiders(?)

We’ll have one extra road game since the NFC is hosting the “17th game” in 2022. That’s a tough road schedule.

Not sure about home/away for Colts and Raiders/Chargers. I’m guessing Raiders/Chargers will be the road game since Pats will be in Arizona anyway.

I don't think the Pats playing in Arizona would have anything to do with where the Raiders/Chargers game would be played. It's a set rotation.

 

[Username]

Burrow, Herbert, Allen x 2, Rodgers, Cousins, Murray and possibly Deshaun Watson x 2 in Miami.

9 good QBs that we know of.

I would argue that it's unlikely to be Watson or Rodgers. Unless Rodgers is at Steelers.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

I don't think the Pats playing in Arizona would have anything to do with where the Raiders/Chargers game would be played. It's a set rotation.

Agreed, but he does have it right. Raiders/Chargers on the road, Colts/Titans at home, Cards/Rams on the road.

 

[Triumph]

I would argue that it's unlikely to be Watson or Rodgers. Unless Rodgers is at Steelers.

Will Rodgers leave GB if he wins the SB?

I'm not so sure.

 

[Triumph]

I would argue that it's unlikely to be Watson or Rodgers. Unless Rodgers is at Steelers.

Rumors were that Dolphins upper management love Watson. Tua sucks ***. Dude is a bust.

In this short attention span world Watson problems will disappear like AB and others.

Rodgers in Pitt makes them dangerous.

 

[XLIX]

AFC East: 4-2
NFC North: Should be at least 3 wins (I think GB keeps Rodgers so I don't see us winning in Lambeau against him)
AFC North: Should be at least 3 wins. Pittsburgh is going to suck, and we can do 2 out of 3 from Clev/Cinc/Balt
The rest: TN-Indy, KC-LAC-LV, LAR-AZ. While possible, it is doubtful we get KC. We win at least 1 of those, maybe 2.

12-5

 

[PScottman]

AFC East: 4-2
NFC North: Should be at least 3 wins (I think GB keeps Rodgers so I don't see us winning in Lambeau against him)
AFC North: Should be at least 3 wins. Pittsburgh is going to suck, and we can do 2 out of 3 from Clev/Cinc/Balt
The rest: TN/Indy, KC/LAC/LV, LAR/AZ. While possible, it is doubtful we get KC. We win at least 1 of those, maybe 2.

12-5

That is some cojones right there - huge amount of unknowns in team creation between now and then...COVID...free agents...JC Jackson....replacing Mac and High (most likely)...draft...preseason injuries...and this <insert preferred pronoun here> stands up, plants the flag and says "prove me wrong".

(and it wasn't the usual "20-0" prediction so it has that going for it too)

 

[jmt57]

I don't think the Pats playing in Arizona would have anything to do with where the Raiders/Chargers game would be played. It's a set rotation.

True, it does not. Maybe he meant that the Pats would opt to play the two games back-to-back, and stay out west during that time?


Teams can make requests for their schedule and it is granted all the time. The Jets for example usually ask that home games not be scheduled on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; in recent years the Dolphins have asked for fewer home games in September because too many fans were staying away due to the heat. The Pats have asked for back-to-back west coast games (Chargers/Rams in 2020; Broncos/Raiders in 2017).

However, there is absolutely No Way that the NFL should allow a team to request a specific opponent for the new "17th game". It appears that the 17th game is set up in a similar fashion as the final two conference games (1st place vs 1st place, 2nd vs 2nd), and it goes opposite of the rotation of each AFC team in a division playing every team in an NFC division. Doing so avoids the potential of playing a non-conference game against the same opponent in consecutive regular seasons.

The AFCE played the NFCE in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, next up is 2023. So for the initial 2021 season, each AFCE team played game 17 vs an NFCE team; Pats-Dallas this past season. NEP and Dallas both finished third in their divisions, and the same held true for the rest of the division, so that was apparently the criteria (1vs1, 2vs2, 3vs3, 4vs4).

NFC West was similarly on a 2016, 2020, 2024 cycle, so game 17 in the 2022 schedule should be against an NFCW team. It should be 1st in AFCE vs 1st in NFCW, 2nd in AFCE vs 2nd in NFCW, etcetera. Which would mean either Arizona (most likely) or the Rams (possibly).

If that is not the case then something is seriously flawed with the setup - but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Water Boy]

I'm curious how many teams we will face coming off their bye.

 

[p8ryts]

That looks like a pretty tough schedule but who knows how some of those teams will be next year.

every year is tough but it looks doable.

 

[Bill Lee]

Assuming a second place finish in the division it will probably be this based on division crossover schedules:

Home: Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Bengals, Ravens, Bears, Lions, Colts(?)

Road: Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Steelers, Packers, Vikings, Cardinals, winner of Chargers/Raiders(?)

We’ll have one extra road game since the NFC is hosting the “17th game” in 2022. That’s a tough road schedule.

Not sure about home/away for Colts and Raiders/Chargers. I’m guessing Raiders/Chargers will be the road game since Pats will be in Arizona anyway.

Doesn't seem that bad to me. The main "arrow up" teams are GB, IND and BUF in my opinion. Not saying the rest are cake walks, but then again we won't be cake walks for them either. GB may lose Rodgers so that would change the concern a lot IMO.

 

[BadMoFo]