New England Patriots 2022 Schedule: Four Straight Primetime Games

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots’ 2022 schedule was released Thursday along with the rest of the NFL roster.

The 2022 NFL season will kick off on Thursday, September 8 with the Buffalo Bills taking on the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on September 12 with the Denver Broncos taking on the Seattle Seahawks.

The NFL expanded to 17 regular season games last season. The final regular season games for the 2022 season will be played on January 8, 2023. The playoffs begin on January 14 and continue through Super Bowl LVII on February 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

This is what awaits the Patriots:

Calendar

11 of September: in Miami

September 18: in pittsburgh

September 25th: vs baltimore

October 2nd: in green bay

October 9: against Detroit

October 16: in cleveland

October 24th: vs. Chicago (MNF)

30th of October: on the New York Jets

November 6th: vs. Indianapolis

November 13: GOODBYE

November 20: against the New York Jets

November 24: in Minnesota (TNF)

December 1st: against buffalo (TNF)

December 12th: in Arizona (MNF)

Dec. 18: in Las Vegas (SNF)

Dec. 24: against Cincinnati

January 1: against miami

January 7/8: in Buffalo (TBD)

Schedule Strength: 16, .498

largest takeaway

Four straight games in prime time from Nov. 24-Dec. 18 — three away from home and one against the defending AFC East champion Bills — show that the national intrigue surrounding the Patriots remains strong. The last two of those prime-time games, in Arizona and Las Vegas, create a scenario where the Patriots can stay in the West for the week, as coach Bill Belichick often likes to do. Overall, the team has five games in prime time.

Plus, this is the first time the Patriots have opened with back-to-back road games since 2014. The break is well placed after nine games, right in the middle of the season.

revenge game

What will the offense look like on Dec. 18 when the Patriots face their former coordinator, Josh McDaniels, in a prime-time matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders? The Patriots expected the game to be played later in the season, in part because they wanted to play the Raiders in the preseason and practice with them before the preseason game. If the game was earlier in the season, it would have been more difficult to pull off. Now those joint practices will happen.

What punters think

Punters have a Patriots win total of 8.5. Belichick’s team needs a few things to happen to make the hit, starting with quarterback Mac Jones making the oft-discussed sophomore jump. There are also big questions to answer at linebacker and cornerback, and the offensive coaching staff, where Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, whose primary backgrounds are defense and special teams, respectively, are taking on leading roles.

bold prediction

The Patriots will need to beat the Bills in the regular season finale to secure a playoff spot, and it will be intriguing to see how that plays out if Buffalo has already cemented its own playoff position. The Patriots’ 2021 season ended in embarrassing fashion in Buffalo in a 47-17 playoff loss, and in this scenario, they would have a chance to write a different story a year later.