With the NFL schedule being released, the professional football hype machine can get rolling. Sportsbooks have already placed opening lines and fans now have the opportunity to start following the moves of their favorite teams and players as the season quickly approaches. With that in mind, it is a good time to look forward and see what will be going on and as everyone prepares to build toward another season.
Things that happen in the offseason go a long way to determining How to Bet on Football.
Updates of this 2022 NFL season
Here are some important dates to look forward to.
- July 15, franchise tag deadline.
- Mid-July, teams report for training camp
- Aug. 4, Hall of Fame game between Las Vegas and Jacksonville
- Sept. 8, Buffalo Bills travel to take on Los Angeles Rams in the season opener
Opening NFL Regular Season Odds
NFL Kickoff game
The NFL Kickoff game was introduced during the 2002 season and has been hosted by the defending Super Bowl champion from 2004 onward. The only deception was in 2019 when the New England Patriots didn’t play in the game due to the league instead honoring the 100th anniversary of the league with a meeting between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
This year’s Kickoff game will feature the defending champion Rams hosting the Buffalo Bills. Preseason odds have the Bills as 1-point favorites. The team that has won the Super Bowl has won the last three times they played in this game. The New England Patriots were the last team to lose the game when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 opener.
Guess who is back?
Tom Brady deciding to unretire likely swung the odds for the opening game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys. The Buccaneers are now 2-point favorites according to NFL betting odds against the defending NFC East champion Cowboys. Tampa Bay, which bowed out in the divisional round last season, will be eager to get back to the Super Bowl.
No breathing room
The Pittsburgh Steelers will be trying to break in either veteran Mitch Trubisky or rookie signal caller Kenny Pickett during the first week of the season. They won’t have a chance to allow either to ease into the situation. Pittsburgh will be 6.5-point underdogs on the road to defending AFC champion Cincinnati.
This is a good spot for the Bengals to put their old rival on their heels early in the season. NFL betting tips will hint toward a Cincinnati victory.
2022 Opening NFL Regular Season key matchups
- Kansas City at Arizona, Week 1, Sept. 11, 2022. The Cardinals will want to show their swoon late last season was just due to bad luck and not a hint of decline.
- Tennessee at Indianapolis, Week 4, Oct. 2, 2022. The Colts won’t want to concede home field against their division rival which will be battling them for the AFC South Crown.
- San Francisco at Los Angeles, Week 8, Oct. 30, 2022. The 49ers have to still feel bitter they weren’t able to finish the fight against the Rams last season. Look for San Francisco to try and make a big statement.
- Miami at Buffalo, Week 15 Dec. 18, 2022. The Dolphins could be needing a win in the playoff race against a division rival.
- New England at Buffalo, Week 18, January 8th, 2023. This game could decide the AFC East crown.
Conclusion
It is hard to believe the NFL calendar is already churning toward another season. This was supposed to be another year of transition for the league with Brady on his way out. However, with Brady returning, the result was just another cog in what was an active quarterback carousel.
Teams will be discovering if their win-now strategy by grabbing veteran quarterbacks will work like it did for the past two Super Bowl champions, the Rams and Buccaneers. However, a number of teams are still working with young, homegrown players who are showing potential.
Neither system is more correct than the other, but the veteran presence the lats few years has provided a stark example of what could be for teams that go that route.
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