The 2023 NFL schedule is officially out. Here are the 10 best games for fans to look forward to when the new season kicks off in September.
There are milestones in the long NFL offseason. The league has smartly spread them out to ensure they are relevant throughout the calendar year, including a recent decision to push the release of the NFL schedule from April until mid-May.
The official schedule release has arrived, allowing fans to plan road trips to visit NFL cities and see when the top Super Bowl contenders are coming to town. Most of the league's 272 regular season games over the 18-week season have intrigue but these 10 are most worth circling on the calendar.
10. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks in Week 12
One of the NFL's best rivalries of the 2010s was San Francisco and Seattle, which famously went toe-to-toe for NFC supremacy in the early part of the decades. The rivalry gained new life last season as both teams made the playoffs and played a Wild Card game that San Francisco ran away with on their way to the NFC Championship Game.
The two teams seem to take the intensity up a level when they play in Seattle in front of the 12th Man at Lumen Field, one of the league's most rowdy fan bases. Seattle is a very difficult place to play and seeing how the Seahawks look to get revenge for their playoff exit will be must-see TV in the fall.
9. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are the league's top attraction and will pop up four times in the course of this list. The first is here as they welcome back old friend Tyreek Hill to Arrowhead Stadium with the Miami Dolphins coming to town.
Kansas City famously traded Hill prior to the 2022 season after opting not to give him a hefty long-term extension. The move worked out for Hill, who put up another explosive season in Miami, and for the Chiefs as they were able to develop a more balanced receiving corps without him.
The NFL loves putting return games in the spotlight, notably scheduling Russell Wilson's return to Seattle as a member of the Denver Broncos in Week 1 of the 2022 season on Monday Night Football. Hill's return to Kansas City is the most high-profile example of a reunion this season so expect it to receive plenty of fanfare in the leadup to the contest.
It also doesn't hurt that the game is a showdown between AFC contenders as Miami looks to make the leap into the top contender status that Kansas City occupies. Expect plenty of points in a highly emotional game for Hill, who will want to show Andy Reid that the Chiefs made a mistake by moving on from him.
8. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — New York Jets at Buffalo Bills in Week 11
The addition of Aaron Rodgers has set the New York Jets up as one of the NFL's top teams. Rodgers can significantly raise the ceiling of the Jets' roster and give them a chance to win the AFC East for the first time since 2002.
In order to win the division for the first time in two decades, the Jets will need to go through the Buffalo Bills, one of the NFL's best teams. The two division rivals split their meetings last season as New York's defense managed to contain Buffalo's explosive offense in both games.
This game would also give us a marquee quarterback matchup between Rodgers and Buffalo's Josh Allen, which could lead to plenty of fireworks on the scoreboard. The fact that this contest is a heated division rivalry should also raise the stakes for the contest nationally.
Picking the game in Buffalo also adds to the atmosphere since Bills Mafia is one of the most intimidating fan bases in the league. There are a lot of attractive games on the schedule for both teams but Jets-Bills is worth grabbing the popcorn for during the season.
7. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7
Kansas City is back in the spotlight again as they take on the Los Angeles Chargers in a prime AFC West matchup. The Chargers have one of the few offenses in the NFL capable of going up and down the field with the Chiefs, which has led to some epic games in recent years.
The quarterback matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert is worth the price of admission as well. Herbert has more than held his own, winning two of the six meetings with Mahomes since he came into the league in 2020, and two of the four losses have come in overtime.
The six Chiefs-Chargers games with Herbert and Mahomes have also been very tight, with five of them coming down to one possession.
A win for the Chargers would also make an early statement that they are a force to be reckoned with in the AFC West. The entire league has been waiting for a crack in the Chiefs' burgeoning dynasty and Los Angeles has an excellent chance to show the rest of the NFL where it is.
6. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions in Week 18
The Packers are no longer the kings of the NFC North after last season when Minnesota had a surprising 13-4 season to win the division. The Vikings did fall flat in the playoffs and lost some key pieces in free agency, opening the door for Detroit to make its mark on the league by winning a division title for the first time since 1993.
Dan Campbell's program really took hold in the second half as the Lions surged to a 9-8 finish, missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker. One of the key wins for Detroit down the stretch came as they beat the Vikings at Ford Field in a game where they were surprisingly favored and backed it up with a blowout.
There is no doubt that Minnesota will want to avenge that game and prove that they are still the class of the division. The Lions are a popular sleeper pick for a run to the Super Bowl out of the NFC and finding a way to topple Minnesota would cement their case as contenders.
These two teams also feature explosive offenses with suspect defenses, a formula that should lead to plenty of points. Ford Field should be rocking for this contest as the Lions can set the stage for a special season with a win in this one.
5. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9
The NFC East usually delivers excellent games when two of its teams match up and the best squads on paper entering 2023 are Dallas and Philadelphia. We know the Eagles are fresh off a Super Bowl appearance but have lost some talent due to salary cap constraints, giving the Cowboys a chance to make up ground in the division.
The two teams split their meetings during the 2022 season but neither game was played with fully healthy teams. Dak Prescott missed the first game with a thumb injury, which led to Philadelphia's defense hammering Cooper Rush, while Jalen Hurts sat out of the rematch with a shoulder issue that led to a huge Dallas win.
Getting to finally see Prescott take on Hurts in a big game makes this one a must-watch for NFL fans. The matchup at Lincoln Financial Field is also a great choice since Eagles fans can get quite rowdy in primetime, making this a great choice for NBC to get on Sunday Night Football.
There is also a strong case to be made that these are two of the three best teams in the conference. That factor raises the stakes of the game, making Cowboys-Eagles must-see TV in 2023.
4. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers in Week 5
Playoff rematches always make for excellent theater and these teams have become regular playoff foes. The Cowboys and 49ers have met in each of the last two postseasons with San Francisco winning a game at home last season and in Dallas during the 2021 campaign.
January's Divisional Round campaign was an absolute slugfest that San Francisco hung on to win 19-12 as Dallas' offense sputtered after Tony Pollard went down with a broken leg at the end of the first half. The Cowboys have made some offensive upgrades this offseason, notably trading for Brandin Cooks to give Prescott another weapon, but the 49ers' defense remains a tough opponent for them.
This game will also be a good measuring stick for Dallas, which is a clear third in the NFC hierarchy behind Philadelphia and San Francisco. Getting a road win over the 49ers would be huge for playoff seeding and show that the Cowboys are an actual threat to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in nearly 30 years.
The 49ers will also look to maintain their psychological edge over the Cowboys, which could be critical if there is yet another playoff rematch. The physicality of both defenses should lead to another tight game, which makes this one a can't-miss affair for football fans.
3. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9
NFL scheduling chief Mike North recently described the Bills, Cincinnati Bengals and Chiefs as the top three teams in terms of fan interest at the moment. Any matchup featuring two of those three will be highly coveted by all of the league's broadcast partners, but Bills-Bengals has a lot of storylines involved outside of the field.
This game was one of the most highly-anticipated on last year's schedule before getting canceled after Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field. Hamlin has made a full recovery and is planning on playing football again, so the Bills' return to Cincinnati will be an emotional moment as the league will surely plan to honor the first responders who saved Hamlin's life prior to the game.
The Bengals also played Buffalo in the playoffs and beat them badly in a snow game, giving Buffalo a revenge angle to play as well. Cincinnati's Joe Burrow appears to have surpassed Allen in terms of being one of the league's best quarterbacks, but any matchup with both of them could lead to plenty of points.
This game will also be extremely important to the AFC playoff picture since the winner will secure a critical tie-breaker for seeding purposes. Expect this contest to draw a huge audience for both the Hamlin factor and a showcase of two of the league's top quarterbacks.
2. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17
All great teams need a true rival and it appears the Chiefs have finally gotten one in the Bengals. Burrow is not intimidated by going head-to-head with Mahomes and has guided Cincinnati to three victories in four games against Kansas City, including the 2021 AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes and the Chiefs finally beat Burrow in the AFC Championship Game last season but that game was highly controversial due to poor officiating. A series of questionable calls led fans on Twitter to scream that the game was rigged and that the NFL was scripted, which will surely be a storyline that carries over to this game.
In terms of on-the-field storylines, this contest has a ton of intrigue since Cincinnati is not intimidated by playing Kansas City, a huge distinguisher between them and the Bills. The Bengals also have the firepower necessary to go up and down the field with the Chiefs along with a defensive coordinator in Lou Anarumo who has figured out game plans to slow down Mahomes.
There is a good chance that Bengals-Chiefs matchups will become prominent fixtures on the schedule like Patriots-Colts games were back in the 2000s as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning squared off. Each previous meeting has come down to the wire so no one will want to miss Burrow-Mahomes V.
1. Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule — Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11
The odds of seeing a Super Bowl rematch in the following season aren't great due to the mechanics of the NFL schedule. Each team only plays five games against the opposing conference in a given season, which means the rematch can only happen if the teams happen to draw each other's division or the newly-added 17th game, which is a placement game.
The 17th game is how we got the Super Bowl rematch on the schedule and it will take place in Kansas City since the AFC teams host nine games this season. If the rematch is anywhere near as epic as the Super Bowl, which saw Kansas City rally from a second-half deficit to win 38-35, fans will be in for a treat.
There is also a bit of unfinished business from the game as James Bradberry's late holding penalty took all the drama away from what should have been a spectacular finish. Seeing these teams get the chance to duke it out again without having the refs get in the way of a tremendous ending would be immensely satisfying.
There is no question that the Chiefs and Eagles are two of the most talented teams in the league this season. Seeing the rematch come up was a stroke of good luck for football fans, who will enjoy the season's best game as a result.