2022 NFL season
The 2022 NFL season was the 103rd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 8, 2022, with the defending Super Bowl LVI champion Los Angeles Rams falling to Buffalo in the NFL Kickoff Game, and ended on January 8, 2023. The playoffs started on January 14 and concluded with Super Bowl LVII, the league's championship game, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on February 12, with Kansas City defeating Philadelphia.[1]
This article is about the American football season in the United States. For the Gaelic football season in Ireland, see 2022 National Football League (Ireland).Regular season
September 8, 2022 – January 8, 2023
January 14, 2023
February 12, 2023
February 5, 2023
The former Washington Redskins, after two seasons of using the placeholder name Washington Football Team, were renamed the Washington Commanders prior to the start of the season.[2]
The week 17 game between Buffalo and Cincinnati was canceled after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered a nonfatal cardiac arrest on the field of play. It was the first regular season game to be canceled and not rescheduled since the 1987 NFLPA players' strike.[3]
Officiating changes[edit]
Among the officiating changes in 2022, referee Tony Corrente retired after 27 seasons in the NFL. Umpire Tra Blake was promoted the replace Corrente. Blake had been a referee in the Alliance of American Football in 2019 and in the 2020 version of the XFL before joining the NFL later in 2020.[102]
Side Judge Lo van Pham was hired from the Big 12 Conference, becoming the league's first Asian-American NFL official.[103]
Down Judge Robin DeLorenzo became the third female NFL official, joining Sarah Thomas and Maia Chaka.[104]
The NFL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee announced the following policy changes on March 28:[105]
The following rule changes were approved at the NFL Owner's Meeting on March 28:[106]
The following changes to roster management were made on May 25:[107]
The following change to the concussion protocol was made on October 8, following Tua Tagovailoa's injury in week 3:[108]
The following enhancements and updates to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts was announced at the NFL Fall League Meeting on October 18:[109]
Preseason[edit]
The majority of training camps began on July 27. The preseason began on August 4 with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which Las Vegas (represented in the Hall of Fame Class of 2022 by Richard Seymour and Cliff Branch) defeated Jacksonville (represented by Tony Boselli).[122]
In March, the league passed a resolution to require the use of "Guardian Caps", oversized outer layers of padding placed on the helmet, from the start of training camp through the second preseason game for offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, and tight ends.[123] A guardian cap is a soft-shell padding aimed to decrease forces sustained during head-to-head contact and limit head injuries that may come with such contact.[124]
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Wild Card Round
Divisional Round
Conference Championship Games
Super Bowl LVII
Media[edit]
Television[edit]
This was the ninth and final season under the current broadcast contracts with CBS, Fox, and NBC, before new 11-year contracts for all three networks begin in 2023.[374] This included "cross-flexing" (switching) Sunday afternoon games between CBS and Fox before or during the season, regardless of the conference of the visiting team. Super Bowl LVII was televised by Fox in English and Fox Deportes in Spanish.
Following the expiration of their eight-year contract, ESPN and ABC agreed to a one-year bridge contract for the 2022 season, before their new 11-year contract takes effect in 2023 to coincide with those of the other three broadcasters. As with the previous season, ESPN held the rights to a Saturday doubleheader during the final week of the season, simulcast with ABC, along with more simulcasts of select Monday Night Football games on ABC. Also this year, ABC aired its first exclusive game since 2005 on September 19, as part of a split-network doubleheader with ESPN.[375]
Under separate deals, this was the second postseason in NBC and ABC/ESPN's seven- and five-year deals to air the Sunday and Monday night Wild Card games, respectively.[376][377] Fox replaced CBS in televising two Wild Card games during this postseason.[378]
The 2022 season was the first time that three games aired on Christmas Day, consisting of an afternoon doubleheader on CBS and Fox. with the traditional Sunday Night football game on NBC.
NFL Network continued to televise select regular season games, including three International Series games.[379][375]
Fox Deportes aired Spanish-language coverage of Fox games. ESPN Deportes did the same for ESPN/ABC games, CBS games was available on SAP, and Universo/ Telemundo Deportes (select games) did the same for NBC games.
ESPN2's Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli was renewed for an additional season, taking it through the 2024 NFL season.[380] CBS will continue to produce alternative, youth-oriented telecasts of selected games on sister channel Nickelodeon; Nickelodeon simulcast CBS's Christmas Day game, marking its first regular-season broadcast, however Nickelodeon did not air a Wild Card game this season as in previous years.[132]
This was the final season under DirecTV's deal for exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market sports package. DirecTV has held exclusive rights since the package's launch in 1994. DirecTV executives have questioned the current value of NFL Sunday Ticket after losing money over the past few years. In September 2021, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested that NFL Sunday Ticket could be more attractive on a digital platform.[381] On December 22, 2022, it was announced that Google had acquired the rights to Sunday Ticket and that it would be streamed on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels starting in 2023.[382]