More 2022 Patriots schedule leaks continue to drop, and it seems like they’re all coming from the north -- the NFC North -- thus far.
The Patriots play the NFC North in 2022, and now all four games have dates and times, in addition to Week 4 at Green Bay, 4:25 p.m. Week 5 features the Patriots hosting the Detroit Lions at 1 p.m. on Oct. 9. Then the Patriots will host the Chicago Bears to wrap up Week 7 on Monday Night Football at Gillette Stadium, Oct. 24, 8:20 p.m. Finally, the Patriots travel to Minneapolis to play the Vikings Week 12 at US Bank Stadium on Thanksgiving night.
The Lions game presents some intrigue as it will be the first matchup of Matt Patricia, in his new role of senior football advisor/offensive co-coordinator vs. the team he coached for just under three seasons. The Lions fired Patricia before the end of the 2020 season after he went 13-29-1, ultimately replacing him with current Lions HC, Dan Campbell.
Bears at Patriots will be the first matchup between 2021 first-round quarterbacks Justin Fields and Mac Jones. Some thought the Pats might have been in on Fields, the former Ohio State star, whom the Bears traded up for to take at 11th overall. The Pats took Jones four slots later at 15th overall. Mac Jones had a solid rookie campaign, while Fields struggled in The Windy City under former coach Matt Nagy, showing promise but never seeming comfortable as the Bears lost his final seven starts.
Patriots vs. Vikings presents plenty of interest as, of course, it will be served up on Thanksgiving, likely after dinner for most. The Vikings are now coached by first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell, a former Pats backup QB drafted in 2008. O’Connell has worked his way up the ranks in the NFL as an offensive assistant and coordinator before becoming the second youngest coach in the league (he is four months older than former Rams boss, Sean McVay). This game also represents the first time the Patriots will play a regular-season game at US Bank Stadium, their only other game there being Super Bowl 52. No need to get into what happened then.
For the sake of needed levity after that nostalgic nugget...the Patriots last played on Thanksgiving night in 2012, vs. the Jets at MetLife Stadium, otherwise known as the night of The Butt Fumble. Hopefully that put a smile back on your face.
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