NFL Rewind: A Look Back at Top Plays and Highlights from 2022
05.24.2023 
Marco Ochoa
4 min
Are you ready for some football? Well as we’re getting into summer we can start counting down the days until the return of the NFL season. For Cox Media, that means the return of Monday Night Football and a full slate of supporting NFL programming across ESPN and NFL Network.
Before we start looking ahead to the 2023-2024 season, let’s take a quick moment to look back at some of the best NFL moments we aired in last season.
The 2022 Monday Night Football season kicked off with a bang as Troy Aikman and Joe Buck made their ESPN debut on September 12, 2022. At the same time, Russell Wilson and his new Denver Broncos squad made a trek up to the Pacific Northwest to face his former team, the Seattle Seahawks.
While the game was a slow start for Wilson (and would ultimately prove to be a tough season for the All-Pro QB), the game was a coming out party for journeyman and Seattle QB, Geno Smith.
What a START! @GenoSmith3 improvises to @Will_Diss. Place is electric!
📺: #DENvsSEA on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/54o9fOPBKO pic.twitter.com/kKRPdF44Nl— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2022
Ultimately, Russell and the rest of the Denver Broncos fell short after missing a game winning kick.
This close.
📺: #DENvsSEA on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/54o9fOPBKO pic.twitter.com/aFh1JlpasF— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2022
While Seattle was the game’s winner, ESPN also scored big as the game saw a national audience of 19.8M – the best MNF audience since the package went to ESPN in 2006.
A few weeks later, ESPN scored again when the Dallas Cowboys faced their division rival New York Giants. The first match of these two eventual playoff teams proved to be a classic NFC East contest.
Largely a defensive battle through the first two quarters, the Giants were the first to find paydirt when the quad-god himself, Saquon Barkley, showed that he’s BACK.
.@Saquon for 6! 💪
📺: #DALvsNYG on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/D62zaILv7u pic.twitter.com/56gBEaf2Sf— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2022
As the game wound down, however, Cowboy’s receiver, CeeDee Lamb, hauled in a one-handed touchdown that would prove to be the nail in the coffin for the Giants.
OH MY. CEEDEE LAMB ONE-HANDED SNAG😯
🎥: NFL
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) September 27, 2022
The game also made a splash nationally, as the game set another viewership record driving in more than 19.3M viewers. This was the most watch week 3 MNF game since 2006.
Jumping forward to the postseason, ESPN once again simulcasted a Wildcard game. In what turned out to be Tom Brady’s final NFL game, the Cowboys took their show on the road to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Cowboys got off to a hot start, and while Dallas kicker, Brett Maher, missed four of his five extra points, Dak Prescott made quick work of the Bucs.
Dak takes it in himself for another Dallas TDpic.twitter.com/S4tap2jWza
— Sports by Tampa Bay Times (@TBTimes_Sports) January 17, 2023
Now Tom Brady did give us some highlights, but it was too little, too late for the GOAT.
Don’t call it a comeback 😅 pic.twitter.com/MhEbpyCciv
— Sports by Tampa Bay Times (@TBTimes_Sports) January 17, 2023
Now, while the game was seen as a blowout, 31.2M viewers tuned in to the game making it Disney’s largest NFL audience since Super Bowl XL in February 2006.
Besides live NFL games, one other element of the NFL season is undoubtedly ancillary coverage where former NFL players and analysts break down the week’s games. Several of ESPNs studio programming saw great viewership growth in 2022 including: Sunday NFL Countdown (best regular season viewership since 2019, and viewership lift of 7% YoY), Monday Night Countdown (up 4% YoY among Adults 18-24), and NFL Live (Matched best regular-season viewership since 2016).
It’s only a matter of time until this blogger kicks his feet up on Monday nights watching the best show in town. The question is, will viewers see your message during the games?
Be sure to contact your local Cox Media representative to learn more about how to get your brand in LIVE NFL games this year!
About the Author
Marco Ochoa
Marco Ochoa is a marketing professional with over 10 years of experience across B2B and B2C channels. He is the Customer Experience Manager on Cox Media’s Corporate Marketing Team and has been with the organization for over 7 years. As the customer experience leader for the organization, Marco spends much of his time developing and enhancing programs designed to help Cox Media be the best media partner possible for our clients. Aside from work, Marco spends his time with family, cooking, and tinkering with his ever-growing list of DIY projects.
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