Alright, football fans, this is not a drill, the NFL has officially released the schedules for all 32 franchises for the upcoming 2022 NFL season.
While NFL betting lines analysts and experts have already started cracking down on all the info and predictions, it’s time we get more personal, let’s talk revenge. Why revenge you may wonder? Because if there’s something better than an all-out battle for glory on the gridiron, it’s a battle where the taste of revenge is present. From old teammates linking up again, but this time in new threads, to coaches and players reuniting but on the opposite sides of the field, let’s break down the best revenge games for the upcoming season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New England Patriots (Week 4)
Did you know that there is only one team in the NFL that Tom Brady has never beaten? If you’re seriously wondering who that team could be other than the New England Patriots, then you should probably watch another sport. After running the league for as long as one can remember, last year was the first season we saw Bill Belichick and Tom Brady not sharing the same sideline. While Tom went on to win yet another Super Bowl ring, to add to the first six he won with Belichick and company in New England, his former team tanked, at least in Belichick’s way of seeing football.
While Tom and his band of Buccaneers will surely be on yet another run to winning the Super Bowl, don’t expect the Patriots to put up much of a fight against a team that clearly dominates them on almost all if not all aspects of the game, apart from coaching that is.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills (Week 5)
Even if this was a flag football game it would be one of the most exciting events in the sporting calendar, especially taking into consideration the way these two teams play football. It’s not too farfetched to say that this can easily be considered the best matchup in the AFC right now. Mahomes vs. Allen, the Chiefs video game offense against the Bills Spartan style defense. In a rematch from last year’s AFC Championship thriller that saw KC rout Buffalo 38-24 with yet another stellar performance from Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and company want another go at it.
One can easily think that this game might serve as a preview of a much-anticipated playoff reunion down the line. Both teams have their franchise QBs for the long haul set, now it’s time to go for it all and put the league on notice.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Houston Texans (Week 7)
Have you ever heard that saying “you never know what you have until it’s gone”? Well for the Houston Texans, when they go visit the Arizona Cardinals for their Week 7 matchup it’s going to be exactly that. It will be on that faithful Sunday when former Texans legends JJ Watt and DeAndre Hopkins, now donning the Cardinals colors play against their former team. While one can think that JJ Watt will take the classy way out of any controversy, the same can’t really be said about Hopkins.
Hopkins was traded for nickels and dimes, which is great for Arizona but a bit of a disrespectful move on Houston’s side towards their past star WR. Hopkins will be out for blood, Watt is a sack machine when healthy, the Texans can’t really get anything right, so yeah, Arizona is looking greater by the minute here.
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Week 12)
If you want to talk about bad blood, then look no further than any divisional game in the NFC East. Every single team there has one or many bones to pick with their divisional foes and this week 12 matchup between the Giants and Eagles in New York is no different. The reason for the revenge? The Eagles doing anything and everything to prevent the Giants from drafting Alabama WR and Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith.
In what can be considered a masterful evil move, the Eagles and Cowboys, yes, you read right, Dallas and Philadelphia, teamed up in the draft to trade first-round draft picks, giving the Eagles the 10th pick and Dallas the 12th pick allowing Philadelphia to snag up Smith, who the Giants, who were 11th to pick wanted badly.
Now one would think, that’s just regular draft room strategizing, but this plan was brewing from way before draft day. Football fans will surely remember the Week 17 matchup between the Eagles and Washington where Philadelphia, rather than going for the win which would have helped the Giants clinch the NFC East title, took out their starting QB, took the loss, moving three spots up in the draft and basically kicking NY to the curb. Talk about a great reason to want some revenge huh?
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