As 2022 winds down, Sports Illustrated is looking back at the themes and teams, story lines and through lines that shaped the year.
In the NFL, the year started with a bang: a playoff classic between the Chiefs and Bills, then a Super Bowl between a true Cinderella in the Bengals against a fascinating case study in roster-building in the Rams. Off the field, we had Tom Brady’s retirement (and unretirement), the Russell Wilson trade, players unfollowing their teams on Instagram, players taking psychedelics and more turbulence in Washington.
Plus, the biggest story of the year was Deshaun Watson’s trade to the Browns, his suspension stemming from more than two dozen lawsuits detailing graphic accounts of sexual harassment and sexual assault, and his eventual return to the field. His year is covered several times in the list below.
