The 2022 season kicks off Thursday in Los Angeles with the Super Bowl champion Rams playing the AFC preseason favorite Buffalo Bills.
Thoughts on the start of the 2022 season: Five new teams who’ll make the playoffs
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Thoughts on the start of the 2022 NFL season …
1. The most direct route to the playoffs for any team is winning its division. Every team in each division plays 14 common opponents. The three uncommon opponents are based on 2021 records, where the first-place finisher plays three other first-place finishers, the second-place finisher plays three other second-place finishers, and so on.
This year, the AFC North draws its uncommon opponents from the AFC West, AFC South and NFC East divisions.
This system serves to even the playing field in a division. Here are the uncommon opponents for every team in the AFC North.
Cincinnati: Chiefs (12-5 in 2021), Titans (12-5), Cowboys (12-5).
Pittsburgh: Raiders (10-7), Colts (9-8), Eagles (9-8).
Cleveland: Chargers (9-8), Texans (4-13), Commanders (7-10).
Baltimore: Broncos (7-10), Jaguars (3-14), Giants (4-13).
Due to this brilliant, under-rated system, the Bengals have by far the toughest schedule in the AFC North. Theirs is the third-toughest strength of schedule in the NFL, whereas no other team in the division ranks in the top 10.
Partly because of this, I don’t foresee any AFC North team winning more than 10 games – just like last year.
2. Since 1990, a minimum of four teams each year have qualified for the playoffs that were not in the postseason the year before. Last year, seven teams turned this trick, including the Bengals, who won the AFC Championship and advanced to the Super Bowl.
Which teams on the outside last year have the best chance of reaching the postseason in 2022? I pick five.
Los Angeles Chargers: Only some questionable decisions by rookie coach Brandon Staley in their final game kept them out a year ago. The offense is stacked and you have to believe quarterback Justin Herbert will step up to his first postseason appearance in his third season. The big question is the defense. The additions of pass rusher Khalil Mack and cornerback J.C. Jackson are good answers.
Denver Broncos: New coach Nathaniel Hackett inherits a top 10 defense and quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson reached the playoffs in each of his first nine seasons with Seattle. The streak ended last year when he suffered the most serious injury of his career and came back too soon after missing three games following surgery on his right middle finger. Wilson may have more playmakers on offense in Denver than in any of his years in Seattle.
Baltimore Ravens: They were 8-3 and leading the AFC North until hit by a COVID outbreak and then more injuries than they could handle. The loss of quarterback Lamar Jackson in the second game against the Browns sealed an 0-6 finish. They loss by only one point to the Packers and Rams.
Minnesota Vikings: They replaced negative coach Mike Zimmer with a polar opposite, bubbly first-timer Kevin O’Connell. They still have a lot of talent and they play Detroit and Chicago four times. Give any team a 4-0 head start and it should make the playoffs.
Washington Commanders: This depends on Carson Wentz reacquiring the leadership skills he lost from the beginning of his career. Ron Rivera is a good coach and his schedule is the easiest in the league. Among the opponents: Jacksonville, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and, of course, the Giants twice.
3. How ‘bout some trivia? Don’t peek at the answers at the end of this column.
A. Who has more career forced fumbles -- Jadeveon Clowney or Myles Garrett?
B. Who has the highest interception percentage in his career – Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, or Jameis Winston?
C. Who has more fourth-quarter wins in his career – Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garoppolo, or Baker Mayfield?
D. Who has been sacked more in his career – Jacoby Brissett, Garoppolo, or Mayfield?
E. Who has more touches in his career – Nick Chubb, Joe Mixon, or Kareem Hunt?
F. Which running back has the highest career rushing average – Nick Chubb, Aaron Jones, or Derrick Henry?
G. Who has more career Pro Bowl appearances – Matthew Slater, Russell Wilson, or Aaron Donald?
H. Who has thrown more pick-6s – Matthew Stafford, Tom Brady, or Winston?
I. Who has returned more pick-6s – Richard Sherman, Janoris Jenkins, or Chris Harris?
J. Who has the most field goals made – Justin Tucker, Nick Folk, or Robbie Gould?
4. Since division realignment in 2002, only two teams have never won their division – Detroit and Cleveland. They’re also two of the four teams never to appear in a Super Bowl. The others are Jacksonville and Houston.
5. Here are the records of AFC North division coaches in season-openers:
Baltimore’s John Harbaugh is 10-4, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin is 9-5-1, Cincinnati’s Zak Taylor is 1-2, and Cleveland’s Kevin Stefanski is 0-2.
Only one coach with a minimum of three seasons has an undefeated record in season-openers. The Rams’ Sean McVay is 5-0 in Game 1s. Next-best is Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson at 4-1.
6. One of the oldest NFL records on the books is Norm Van Brocklin’s 554 yards passing for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1951 NFL season opener against the now-defunct New York Yanks.
The Rams had lost the NFL Championship the year before to the Cleveland Browns, who were in their inaugural season in the NFL after the collapse of the All-America Football Conference. The Browns had four interceptions of quarterback Bob Waterfield – the hero of the Cleveland Rams’ NFL championship in 1945, their last season before moving to LA. Waterfield was scheduled to start in 1951, but an injury gave Von Brocklin the assignment in the opener.
Van Brocklin’s magnificent day in a 54-14 rout of the Yanks -- 554 passing yards and five touchdowns – is considered the greatest passing game in NFL history.
“They don’t need me out here anymore,” Waterfield said after the game.
But Waterfield’s demise didn’t come until the last game of the 1951 season. The two quarterbacks split time throughout the year. In the Championship, Van Brocklin relieved a struggling Waterfield and tossed a 73-yard touchdown to beat the Browns, 24-17.
Trivia answers: A. Clowney, 12; B. Winston, 3.3 percent; C. Garoppolo, 10; D. Mayfield, 134; E. Mixon, 1,275; F. Chubb, 5.3; G. Slater, 10; H. Stafford, 27; I. Jenkins, 8; J. Gould, 420.
