Ranking The 5 Best Games On The 2023 NFL Schedule

The 2023 NFL season is here, and we've got some spicy contests this year.

The NFL's schedule-makers cooked up a solid slate of games for 2023-24 as teams claw to win the next Super Bowl. Here are the five games I'm most looking forward to, and some early odds for the contests:

#5: Ravens vs 49ers (Week 16)

We've got ourselves a late-season rematch of Super Bowl XLVII. Hopefully, the lights stay on this time.

The 49ers and Ravens have met just twice since that 2013 Super Bowl, splitting the two contests. So, let's call this the rubber match.

This game excites me because of the unknowns. Both Baltimore and San Francisco have some of the most creative coaching staffs in the NFL with plenty of offensive uncertainty entering the year. The 49ers could have one of their 15 different QB options starting by Week 16, while nobody really knows what a Ravens offense led by Todd Monken (and with OBJ) will look like.

OC Todd Monken on installing the new offense: pic.twitter.com/rRYFYBuoCm

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 10, 2023

Most importantly, this game will almost certainly have meaning. These two squads have combined for six playoff appearances in the last four years, and the Ravens have entered Week 16 fighting for an uncertain postseason spot in each of the last three seasons.

Early Lines:

#4: Texans vs Panthers (Week 8)

Now this certainly won't be a battle between 2024 Super Bowl favorites, but it might be a look ahead at the 2027 big game. In Week 8 we'll get the first meeting between the top two QBs from the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young and CJ Stroud.

Young and Stroud were both two-year starters at two of College Football's top programs, but the pair never got to match up against each other in a game. Young does have some bragging rights over Stroud, though, as the Alabama product got to kneel the ball on the final play of the Crimson Tide's 2020 National Championship victory over Ohio State. Stroud will be looking for revenge in Week 8. 

Now this game does have the potential to be pretty lame if the young QBs lose their jobs by Week 8 and it's Davis Mills vs Andy Dalton. Let's hope that doesn't happen, for entertainment's sake.

Early Lines:

#3: Bengals vs Chiefs (Week 17)

All signs point to this contest being the AFC Championship preview, as has been the case over the past two seasons.

The Bengals and Chiefs have played nail-biting conference finals the past two years, with the Bengals winning in OT in 2021 and then the Chiefs getting revenge last year in Kansas City.

Even if these two teams don't meet in the AFC playoffs this year, a Week 17 matchup will have massive implications. Unless the Bills force themselves into the conversation, this meeting could very easily decide the No. 1 seed in the AFC. In an NFL environment where only one team per conference gets a bye, this game will surely be huge.

Another interesting subplot is the flip from Orlando Brown Jr. from the Chiefs to the Bengals this offseason. The lineman signed a four-year, $64 million free-agent deal with the Bengals after winning the Super Bowl with the Chiefs in 2023.

A public service announcement from Bengals’ OT Orlando Brown Jr. and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval regarding the New Year’s Eve Bengals-Chiefs matchup in Kansas City:
📹 @Bengals pic.twitter.com/9wDIkvug1P

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 10, 2023

Early Lines:

#2: Bills vs Jets (Week 1)

Aaron Rodgers. Josh Allen. Monday Night Raw. This WWE promo cuts itself.

I'm just picturing Rodgers and Allen walking down the tunnel hours early for the first MNF game of the year in dueling jean jackets and handlebar mustaches. Oh, just me?

Aside from the overall hype of a meaningful AFC East game and the season's first Monday Night Football contest, this game will hold massive implications for the Jets' entire season. If Aaron Rodgers comes out looking like an MVP in Week 1, the Jets' season expectations will skyrocket. If Rodgers looks like the mediocre QB he flashed last season, vibes in New York will plummet.

I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that the well-being of every Jets fan you know will be decided by a few hours of Monday football in Week 1.

Unfortunately for Jets fans, this matchup hasn't gone very well for them recently, as Buffalo has outscored New York 154-86 in their last six meetings:

Early Lines:

#1: Chiefs vs Eagles (Week 11)

Do I really need to explain?

Okay, okay, I'll spell it out for ya. We are forced to wait 10 weeks for an anticipated Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and Eagles, so this better be a great game.

Even as far as Super Bowl rematches go, the storylines in this one are endless. Kelce vs Kelce. Mahomes vs Hurts. Andy Reid vs Philly. Both teams vs the Turf, again.

Naturally, the Chiefs are slight favorites months before this rematch after winning Super Bowl LVII by three points. However, I think the Eagles might be better positioned by the time this game actually rolls around.

The Chiefs suffered key losses this offseason, cutting Frank Clark, and losing S Juan Thornhill, OL Andrew Wylie, OL Orlando Brown Jr., and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency. The Eagles had their losses too, but had enough draft capital to replace them, earning consensus praise for their 2023 draft class.

Early Lines:

A SUPER BOWL REMATCH ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 🔥

EAGLES-CHIEFS | Nov. 20 🍿 pic.twitter.com/n4n3YFpHJD

— ESPN (@espn) May 11, 2023

How To Bet On Early NFL Lines:

It’s never too early to bet on these anticipated NFL matchups, with early lines already out many top NFL betting sites.

Find a point spread to wager on and lock in a bet you’ll be happy to cash in a few months. A spread in football is a figure made by odds specialists that reflects the expected margin of victory or defeat for NFL teams.

The “favorite” team would need to cover the set number of points (denoted by a minus sign) and the “underdog” has to win outright or not lose the game by more than the set number. Typically, the point spread for an NFL game would look like this:

Dallas Cowboys -7
Green Bay Packers +7

This means that the Cowboys are favored to beat the Packers by seven points or more.