NFL fans know the opponents for their favorite teams, but they won't know the dates of all the games until the 2023 schedule release, which is targeted by the league for Thursday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Here's what you need to know about one of the best days on the sports calendar:
The 2023 NFL season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 7 in Kansas City. Intriguing options abound for the opener for the Super Bowl champs.
Will it be a rematch of Super Bowl LVII opponent Philadelphia or a rematch against AFC Championship Game foe Cincinnati? NFL fans can't lose either way, as either game would feature a rising star QB -- Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts or Cincinnati's Joe Burrow.
Bills-Chiefs -- and thus Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes -- also would be tantalizing. Kansas City leads the series 3-2 since 2020.
If the league goes with a divisional matchup, which seems unlikely, it could go with the Chargers -- the only other team in the AFC West to make the playoffs last season.
Five teams are scheduled to host an international game in 2023, and although nothing is official yet, some details leaked to a newspaper in Germany.
It is believed that the Chiefs will host the Bears (Week 10) and Patriots will host the Saints (Week 11) at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany.
Three games will be played in London, with the Bills and Titans each hosting a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Jaguars hosting a game at Wembley Stadium.
There will be 272 games during the regular season, with many having the potential to be the Game of the Year.
Eagles at Chiefs: The defending AFC and NFC champions will meet again in 2023. After blowing a 10-point lead in the Super Bowl, Philadelphia is looking for revenge.
Bills at Bengals: The Bengals defeated the Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs last season. In the regular season, the teams will play in Cincinnati, where Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during a Week 17 game in 2022. In April, Hamlin was cleared to play again.
Cowboys at 49ers: These teams seem to always play each other in the postseason. San Francisco, led by rookie QB Brock Purdy, got the best of Dallas again last season.
Bengals at Chiefs: Another rematch, this time of last season's AFC Championship Game. These teams have met in back-to-back conference championships, with both games decided by three points. Each won once.
Jets at Giants: The battle for New York. The Giants are feeling good after making the playoffs last season for the first time since the 2016 season, and the Jets now have four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers at QB.
Texans at Panthers: The top two picks of the 2023 NFL Draft are set to face off -- C.J. Stroud of the Texans and Bryce Young of the Panthers. Will Young start? He should.
Dolphins at Chargers: If you want to see a high-scoring affair, watch this one. Both teams boasted top four passing offenses in 2022 and show no signs of slowing.
Ravens at 49ers: Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson may have the best supporting cast of his career. The 49ers, who have a loaded roster, have own questions at quarterback -- will Purdy or Trey Lance start? -- but their offense is fun to watch no matter who plays QB for head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Jaguars at Colts: In 2022, QB Trevor Lawrence took a massive jump in his second year, leading Jacksonville to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season. In 2023, he'll presumably play against new Indianapolis quarterback Anthony Richardson, the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Packers at Broncos: Both teams should look very different in 2023. The Jordan Love era has officially begun in Green Bay, and Denver is hoping new head coach Sean Payton can fix what looked to be a broken Russell Wilson a season ago.
In 2022, ESPN broadcast 18 Monday night games -- one game during Week 1 and Weeks 3-17 and a doubleheader in Week 2.
With three "Monday Night Football" doubleheaders scheduled for 2023, ESPN will broadcast 20 MNF games this regular season. Chris Fowler will replace Steve Levy as the play-by-play man in the No. 2 ESPN booth.
Flex scheduling allows the league to move games around to put the best matchups in the time slots that draw the biggest audiences.
Per NFL.com, for Sunday nights, it may be used twice from Weeks 5-10 and at the NFL's discretion during Weeks 11-17. In 2023, the league is also expanding its flex scheduling to include "Monday Night Football" for Weeks 13-17.
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Quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent the bulk of the spring as an unsigned free agent and, thus, only began officially practicing with Pittsburgh Steelers teammates during the team's three-day mandatory minicamp in June. During a Monday appearance on Pittsburgh radio station 102.5 WDVE, Steelers reporter Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addressed how Rodgers looked during his first few training camp practices with the club. "His release is just astonishing to watch," Dulac said about Rodgers, as shared by Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "Everybody knows about it, and when you see it in person, you see it every day in practice, you just marvel at it. To me, he's the greatest thrower of the football I have ever seen, even at 41 (years old). That flick of that wrist and that ball comes out, it's moving and it is something to see." Rodgers was with the New York Jets when he suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the 2023 regular-season opener. He was then slowed by a nagging hip issue, injuries to both his knees, a low ankle sprain and a serious hamstring problem as the 2024 Jets went 5-12. According to Pro Football Reference, Rodgers finished last season ranked 28th in the NFL among qualified players with a 48.0 adjusted QBR and 26th with a 43.9 percent passing success rate. That said, he was also eighth with 3,897 passing yards and tied for seventh with 28 passing touchdowns. Rodgers and Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson endured some struggles during training camp sessions last summer before the two allegedly "never saw eye-to-eye" during the season. It sounds like Pittsburgh fans should be encouraged by how Rodgers performed in recent practices. "That guy can get rid of the ball as quick as anybody," Dulac added. "He made three throws in seven-on-seven (drills) the other day that the cumulative total I bet couldn't have exceeded 2.1 seconds. And two of those were for touchdowns." Rodgers wants to finish his career "the right way" and help the Steelers notch at least their first playoff win since January 2017. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Pittsburgh at -150 betting odds to miss the playoffs for the upcoming season.
Seranthony Dominguez certainly had an eventful day on Tuesday. The veteran MLB reliever began the day on the Baltimore Orioles and was with his teammates in the dugout during the first leg of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays. The O's went on to win, 16-4, at Oriole Park in Baltimore, though Dominguez did not pitch during the game. But the day took a bizarre turn when the two teams agreed to a deal in the middle of the doubleheader. The Orioles traded Dominguez to the Blue Jays in exchange for minor league pitcher Juaron Watts-Brown. That led to a strange scene where Dominguez switched clubhouses after being traded, walking across the hallway to get to the Toronto side. Things got even weirder during the second leg of the doubleheader. Dominguez got the call to pitch for the Blue Jays against his former team. He had to walk past his ex-Baltimore teammates to get to the Toronto bullpen, and then entered the game in the seventh inning to pitch. Here is the unusual spectacle that saw Dominguez pitch against the guys that he began the day as teammates with. The whole thing was so bizarre that it even looked like Dominguez received a hastily-made Blue Jays jersey with the “8” in his No. 48 apparently stuck on backwards. Dominguez, a 30-year-old in his seventh MLB season, ended up striking out two in a scoreless frame against his former team. We have certainly seen instances of MLB players getting traded in the middle of games before, but that had to be the first instance of a player starting the first half of a doubleheader on one team and then pitching in the second half for the other team.
After getting their seven-game win streak snapped against the San Diego Padres on Monday, the New York Mets are looking to get back on track with a victory on Tuesday. Despite their latest loss, things are looking good for New York. With a 62-45 record, they hold a one-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. A big reason for the Mets' success is Juan Soto, who is in the midst of his first season with the team. However, the 26-year-old left the game early after fouling a ball off his foot in the fourth inning. Following Soto's exit, the team made an announcement and gave an update regarding his injury. As the Mets look to continue their strong campaign, they will need Soto as healthy as possible. Fortunately for them, while he was forced to leave Tuesday's game injury, it seems that not all is bad as he has been diagnosed with a foot contusion, rather than a break or something more major (h/t Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) "Juan Soto exited tonight's game due to a foot 'contusion,' or bruise, according to the Mets, DiComo wrote on X. "That would imply nothing is broken at first glance, but the Mets will likely test him thoroughly. Until there is more clarity, Soto's status will be worth monitoring for the foreseeable future as he is a crucial part of the team's success. The Mets will take on the Padres for the series finale on Wednesday before heading back home to take on the San Francisco Giants in a three-game weekend series. Hopefully for New York, there will be another update about Soto's injury sooner rather than later.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the more bizarre teams heading into the 2025 NFL season. The team has a ton of new pieces, so it is hard to determine just how well it will perform. On paper, the team should be one of the better groups in the AFC, but it will be interesting to watch how everyone ingratiates themselves into the organization, and whether or not the execution is where it needs to be. Regardless of what happens, there are a ton of reasons for excitement in Pittsburgh. The main reason for excitement in Pittsburgh is the new quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. There are some other important pieces as well, including DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey. Jonnu Smith is also a new factor on the offense that could play a key role. Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was discussing all of the reasons to be excited about the Steelers on the most recent episode of Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger. He mentioned the new additions, but he also spoke about the overshadowed special teams unit, including Chris Boswell. "I'd say the best kicker in the game, [Chris] Boswell," Roethlisberger said. "Special teams, that gets overlooked so much. You know, we talk about offense, defense, talk about Aaron, talk about TJ [Watt], we talk about all this stuff. What about the best kicker in the game? I know he's not up for a new contract, he should get one. They should actually probably make him the highest-paid kicker if he's not already. So, Omar [Khan], the Khan-Man, should get that done." Boswell signed his most recent extension with the Steelers back ahead of the 2022 season. He signed a four-year deal worth $20 million that runs through the 2026 season. He could be extended now, but Pittsburgh usually waits until before the final year of the contract to get a new extension done. He has been one of the best kickers in the league since joining the Steelers back in 2015, and Roethlisberger thinks he has earned a new deal. In terms of average annual value, Boswell is currently the NFL's 11th highest-paid kicker. He is one of the most efficient and reliable players at the position in the league, and Roethlisberger believes he needs to be at the top of that list. A new contract would likely result in the kicker becoming the highest-paid in the NFL, as he deserves it based on nearly every metric. Boswell led the NFL in field goals made during the 2024 season, and he went 13 of 15 from past 50 yards. His accuracy is unmatched, and he is coming off of his first All-Pro season in 2024. He was often overshadowed in the AFC due to Justin Tucker, but Tucker's career has seemed to fall apart after some off the field issues came to light during the 2025 offseason. Tucker also had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2024, which allowed Boswell to take the title of being the best kicker in the league. Steelers' Chris Boswell Is Searching For More Playoff Success When fans talk about the longest-tenured players on the Steelers, the first name that is always mentioned is Cam Heyward. Rightfully so, but Boswell has also been around Pittsburgh for a long time. He joined the team during the 2015 season, and he immediately solidified himself as the organization's kicker. There have been multiple instances where Pittsburgh has won contests with the only scoring coming from the leg of Boswell, but hopefully the offense can take a step forward in 2025 to take some pressure off of the kicker. Boswell has won in the playoffs with Pittsburgh before, and he is trying to get back to that point in 2025. Would you like to see Boswell get a new deal?