Recapping The National Football League’s 2022-23 Season

By Isaac Sharret ’26  and Sam Kishelev ‘26
    The 2022-23 National Football League’s (NFL) season was an especially impactful one, with many key moments that could have a permanent influence on future NFL seasons. 

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Midway through the season, Tom Brady officially retired on February 1st, 2023, ending his career with seven Super Bowl rings, three Most Valuable Player awards and 15 Pro Bowls.
Over the course of the season, many quarterbacks became more versatile members on their respective teams. Jalen Hurts tied for second in rushing touchdowns and Justin Fields earned seventh in rushing yards, with four of the five players who finished in the top five in rush yards per carry being quarterbacks. This season solidified the previously emerging trend of NFL quarterbacks adapting to the changes in the game and becoming more comfortable running with the ball. 
    The 2022-23 NFL draft class played a significant role in the season. Jets rookies Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner won Offensive and Defensive rookies of the year, while the last pick of the draft, Brock Purdy, led his team to an 8 game winning streak. Other late-round steals like Tariq Woolen led the league in interceptions, along with Dameon Pierce, who was fourth in broken tackles. 
“This rookie class will provide many stars that people will talk about for decades to come,” said freshman Brandon Schall.
    Aside from their rookies, there is a lot of potential for the New York teams overall. Currently, the Giants finished 9-7-1 this year and are only poised to improve. Daniel Jones is beginning to prove himself as a starting quarterback in the NFL finishing the season with 3,205 passing yards and 22 total touchdowns, and star running back Saquon Barkley also provided a huge spark for the team finishing with 1,650 total yards and 10 touchdowns. The Giants’ strong run ended in the Divisional round of the playoffs, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles.
    The Jets, however, did not have as good a season as the Giants, finishing 7-10 and missing the playoffs, despite drafting many young stars like Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, as well as Breece Hall, who was unfortunately injured early in the season. The Jets seem to be a quarterback away from a great season, and are looking for potential options like Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr.
    “Anything is better than Zach Wilson,” said junior Talia Perlstein. “A good quarterback is the Jets’ missing piece.”
    The two biggest improvements this season were the Detroit Lions and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last season, the Lions finished the season with a record of 3-13-1, and although they failed to make the playoffs this year, they surpassed many expectations, finishing with a 9-8 record. 
Their recent success can be credited to quarterback Jared Goff, who had a big comeback season going from 3,245 yards and 19 touchdowns to an impressive 4,438 yards and 29 touchdowns, alongside young receiver Amon Ra St. Brown and the rushing touchdown leader Jamaal Williams.
 The Jaguars also improved greatly this season. Last year, they finished with a record of 3-14, but made the playoffs this season, led by sophomore Trevor Lawrence who threw 500 more yards, 13 more touchdowns and 9 fewer interceptions than last year. Trevor’s receivers also improved this year, with players Evan Engram, Chrisitan Kirk and Zay Jones all exceeding expectations. 
The Houston Texans could be an interesting team to look out for next year, as they have the 2nd and 12th picks in this year's draft as well as the 33rd pick to start the 2nd round. The Texans have hired Demeco Ryans as their head coach, previously the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, who won assistant coach of the year. They finished the season strong by being in close one-possession games with the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys and beating the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. They could be a dark horse to make the playoffs next year in an otherwise weak AFC South.
The Super Bowl featured the Eagles and the Chiefs, and was a tense and highly contested game throughout. The Eagles were up 10 at halftime, but the Chiefs came back to win 38-35, marking quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 2nd Super Bowl win in just 6 years in the league. Mahomes is now the 7th quarterback to win Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl MVP in the same season.
This season has been highly entertaining overall, with large comebacks, unpredictable upsets and lots of surprises. 
“There were many surprises that I think shifted the way the NFL operates,” said freshman Henry Sacks.