Best and worst Sunday Night Football matchups on 2023 NFL schedule

The 2023 NFL schedule is out and we now have the full slate of Sunday Night Football matchups for the season. On paper, some matchups have the potential to be instant classics while others could end being total duds.

Below, we’ll go over some of the best and worst Sunday Night Football matchups for the 2023 season.

Best matchups

Chiefs at Jets, Week 4

Just about a month into the season, we’ll be treated to the highly anticipated Patrick Mahomes vs. Aaron Rodgers showdown as the Chiefs head to MetLife Stadium to face the Jets. This is the part of the schedule where you’d expect the Super Bowl contenders to get into a rhythm and for Rodgers, this will be one of his first big tests in New York. There will be plenty of hype heading into this showdown and we’ll most likely get one of the more electric atmospheres of the entire regular season.

Cowboys at 49ers, Week 5

A classic NFC rivalry will be renewed early in the season with the Cowboys heading west to Santa Clara, CA, to face the 49ers. San Francisco has put Dallas out of the playoffs for two years in a row, both games resulting in embarrassing endings for the Cowboys. Dak Prescott and company will have a chip on their shoulders heading into this matchup and on the other side, the incoming quarterback battle between Brock Purdy and Trey Lance should be settled by this point. This will be a good one.

Bills at Bengals, Week 9

These two franchises were forever linked Damar Hamlin’s collapse last January and just weeks later, the Bengals went into Buffalo and eliminated the Bills from the playoffs. These two teams sit right behind Kansas City as the biggest Super Bowl contenders in the AFC and a mid-season matchup like this could have major playoff seeding implications for down the road. This battle pitting Josh Allen vs. Joe Burrow could be a barnburner.

Worst matchups

Steelers at Raiders, Week 3

I don’t know about you, but an early season showdown between Kenny Pickett and Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t sound that appetizing. Don’t get me wrong, it is cool to see these two historic AFC franchises clash and we should get a few explosive plays from Davante Adams. But this has a 20-14 struggle written all over it as it won’t be the most aesthetically pleasing matchup.

Patriots at Broncos, Week 16

It appears that we have fallen into the Denver primetime trap yet again. Look, on paper, Russell Wilson and the Broncos should improve this year with Sean Payton at the helm. But they completely burned all benefit of the doubt with that atrocious season last year and I’m not trusting them to put out a decent product until I actually see it with my eyes. And then you’re matching them up against a middling New England late in the season? Gross.