ESPN to Offer Record 23-Game NFL Slate

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The ESPN NFL games include 21 regular season, one Super Wild Card Game and the Pro Bowl; ESPN+ will exclusively stream one game

ESPN
(Image credit: ESPN)

BRISTOL, Conn.—ESPN has unveiled a record-setting 23-game NFL slate for the 2022 Season that includes  21 regular season games, plus the Monday night Super Wild Card Game and Pro Bowl.

The record-setting regular season consists of 18 Monday Night Football games, including two games on one night across ESPN and ABC in Week 2, the first exclusive game on ESPN+ in Week 8, and a Saturday doubleheader in Week 18 featuring matchups with playoff implications on ESPN and simulcast on ABC. 

In addition to its Week 2 and 18 games, ABC is set to simulcast ESPN’s Monday Night Football presentation in Weeks 1, 3, 15 and 17.

The ESPN+ streaming service will exclusively stream one game on Week 8. 

ESPN’s expanded portfolio of games is a result of the long-term rights agreement that ESPN, the NFL and The Walt Disney Company reached in March 2021.

Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli will be back for 10 games in their second season after shattering ESPN’s alternate telecast viewership records in the show’s 2021 debut.

The complete regular season breakdown with commentary from ESPN: 

  • Week 1: Broncos at Seahawks (September 12, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN and ABC): Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson will make his return to Seattle in Monday Night Football’s season debut. Out of all 32 teams, the Seahawks have the best all-time record when playing on MNF (27-12).
  • Week 2: Titans at Bills (September 19, 2022 – 7:15 p.m. – ESPN): The AFC South divisional champion Tennessee Titans will travel to the AFC East champion Bills for Buffalo’s home opener in the first of two Monday Night Football games that evening. This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the franchises on MNF. The Titans beat the Bills 34-31 in Tennessee in Week 6 on MNF last season, stopping Josh Allen on 4th & 1 in the final seconds, after the Titans scored 10 unanswered points in the 4th The Titans are 4-1 in their previous five MNF appearances dating back to the 2017 season.
  • Also in Week 2: Vikings at Eagles (September 19, 2022 – 8:30 p.m. – ABC): This is the third all-time meeting between the franchises on Monday Night Football. The Eagles won each of the previous two matchups, most recently in 2004’s Week 2 (27-16).
  • Week 3: Cowboys at Giants (September 26, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN and ABC): The first of four consecutive weeks of divisional showcases on Monday Night Football. Dak Prescott will be looking for his 10th win against the Giants; he has not lost to the Giants since he was a rookie in 2016.
  • Week 4: Rams at 49ers (October 3, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): Monday Night Football will get its first glimpse of the Super Bowl Champion, Los Angeles Rams, when they travel to San Francisco. The last time the two teams met, the Rams scored 13 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to beat their divisional rival and advance to Super Bowl LVI.
  • Week 5: Raiders at Chiefs (October 10, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): The Raiders will travel to Kansas City in Week 10 with new star power – Head Coach Josh McDaniels, Davante Adams and Chandler Jones – in the hopes of taking down divisional rival, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
  • Week 6: Broncos at Chargers (October 17, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): This will be Russell Wilson’s first time taking on the former Offensive Rookie of the Year, Justin Herbert, in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium.
  • Week 7: Bears at Patriots (October 24, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): A showdown between two top-15 quarterbacks from the 2021 Draft class, the Bears’ Justin Fields and Patriots’ Mac Jones.
  • Week 8: Broncos at Jaguars from London (October 30, 2022 – 9:30 a.m. – ESPN+): ESPN will carry its first ever NFL game in London, an ESPN+ exclusive, as the Denver Broncos take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at London’s Wembley Stadium. Trevor Lawrence and Russell Wilson will both make their second career starts across the pond.
  • Also in Week 8: Bengals at Browns (October 31, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): The Cincinnati Bengals will travel to their in-state AFC North divisional rivals, the Cleveland Browns, for a Halloween night matchup. Joe Burrow will look to record his first win in Cleveland; the Bengals have lost all four contests against the Bengals during the Joe Burrow-era.
  • Week 9: Ravens at Saints (November 7, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): Jameis Winston will look to even the Saints’ all-time record against the Ravens as Baltimore holds a 5-2 edge in clashes between the two teams.
  • Week 10: Commanders at Eagles (November 14, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): Washington quarterback Carson Wentz, who was drafted by the Eagles with the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and spent five seasons with the team, will return to Philadelphia.
  • Week 11: 49ers at Cardinals (November 21, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): Monday Night Football returns to Mexico City for the first time since 2019, as the San Francisco 49ers take on the Arizona Cardinals in an NFC West showdown. In 2021, the Cardinals went 2-0 against their divisional foe. This will be ESPN’s fourth time televising an NFL game from Mexico City – previously, the franchise televised games from there in 2019 (Chiefs-Chargers) and 2016 (Raiders-Texans), following a Sunday Night Football telecast in 2005 (Cardinals-49ers).
  • Week 12: Steelers at Colts (November 28, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): This marks the first MNF game in Indianapolis since 2015. The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the second-highest winning percentage on MNF (67.1%).
  • Week 13: Saints at Bucs (December 5, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN):Tom Brady will look to record his 20th win on Monday Night Football.
  • Week 14: Patriots at Cardinals (December 12, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury will attempt to get his first win against the team that drafted him in 2003. Kingsbury was a backup QB on New England’s Super Bowl XXXVIII championship team.
  • Week 15: Rams at Packers (December 19, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN and ABC): When the Los Angeles Rams travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 15, the matchup will mark 30 straight seasons of the Packers appearing on Monday Night Football (longest current streak among all NFL teams). This game will also be quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ 20th all-time MNF.
  • Week 16: Chargers at Colts (December 26, 2022 – 8:15 p.m. – ESPN): Justin Herbert, one of the league’s top, young quarterbacks, will take on Matt Ryan, a former MVP and four-time Pro Bowler. Herbert and the Chargers beat Ryan in 2020 when Ryan was a member of the Atlanta Falcons.
  • Week 17: Bills at Bengals (January 2, 2023 – 8:30 p.m. – ESPN and ABC): After breakout seasons in 2021, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow will meet in Week 17 for the first time.
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George Winslow
George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.