The next NFL season is scheduled to start on September 8th, 2022, and is set to be the 103rd season. Previous champions the Los Angeles Rams are hosting the Kick-off Game in Buffalo and the final game in January. The odds for different teams are now being released so you can get your bets in early too. So, if you’re already buzzing for the next season of this wonderful sport, keep reading, and let’s take a look into the new NFL season!
A Look Into The New NFL Season
Teams And Their Odds
With so many teams participating in the NFL season, the time has never been more exciting to start placing some sports bets. Last year’s champions are already at odds of +600, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following close behind at +700. Other fan favorites include the Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, and the Minnesota Vikings. The Ravens odds are at +2200, while the Dolphins and Vikings are at +4000 and +5000 respectively.
The Buffalo Bills are the favorite to win again, and this is thanks to Josh Allen and Von Miller who have shown that they’re planning to stick around and hopefully take their team to victory once again. The Bills are now actually considered to have the greatest roster in NFL at the moment, so they could be a hard one to beat.
The Houston Texans currently have the worst odds at +25000, and it’s not likely that they’ll be able to recover from last season either. They’re also said to have the worst roster at the moment too. However, they did have a successful draft, so they might not end up last, but they certainly won’t end up victorious.
With the NFL season just over a month away check out the latest 2023 Super Bowl odds 📊
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— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) August 1, 2022
Movement Of Players
The NFL trading period started on March 16th, and teams were then allowed to contact other players and start contract negotiations with players who were free agents due to their contracts expiring. Free agents must have less than three seasons worth of credit too.
The Buffalo Bills lost a fair few players to other teams such as Harrison Phillips to the Vikings and Mitchell Trubisky to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This year teams were also required to ensure they were under the salary cap. This is where the combined salary of the 51 highest paid players on the team must be below or at the cap.
Trades also happened during this time, with Las Vegas trading Yannick Ngakoue for Indianapolis player Rock Ya-Sin. The Ravens also traded Marquise Brown and a third selection round to Arizona for a 2022 first-round selection. There were also some retirements, with Frank Gore, who is a five-time Pro Bowler, ending his 16-year stint in NFL. The draft itself took place in Nevada between April 28th-30th, completing the first part of the season.
Rule Changes
There have been a few rule changes this year too and they’ve been enforced since March 28th. One rule is that all teams are required to have a female or minority offensive assistant starting from the new season. The Rooney Rule was also expanded to now include women of all racial backgrounds. These rule changes make seem small, but they will hopefully have a positive impact on NFL.
Division Pairings
The division pairings have already been decided for the season, check them out below:
Four Intra-Conference Games
- AFC East vs AFC North
- AFC South vs AFC West
- NFC East vs NFC North
- NFC South vs NFC West
Four Interconference Games
- AFC East vs NFC North
- AFC North vs NFC South
- AFC South vs NFC East
- AFC West vs NFC West
Fifth Interconference Games (Based on 2021 Positions)
- AFC North at NFC East
- AFC South at NFC North
- AFC West at NFC South
- AFC East at NFC West
Game Schedule Highlights
Although all games are equally as exciting, there are some that take place around celebratory times, allowing the whole family to get together and enjoy them. The Kickoff Game will take place on September 8th, followed by the NFL International Series in London during October. Then the Thanksgiving games will commence on November 24th, followed closely by Christmas with three games being played on Christmas Day. The New Year’s Day game will be played on January 2nd as it falls on a Sunday, so in line with NFL regulations, the game was moved forward.
The Kickoff Game will soon roll around and the new season will begin. With so many trades and team player changes, it will be interesting to see how this year plays out. Will there be any unexpected victories or shocking losses? It’s not long until we find out! Bring on the new NFL season!
