Bets Dressed - 2022 Aesthetic Awards - The Unis

Welcome to an awards show unlike any other. A time to gather and celebrate the best, worst, and most memorable uniform moments of the 2022 NFL season.

Eat your heart out, NFL Honors. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Unis!

Like any other awards show, we're going to run through a bunch of awards/superlatives and fire off the winners (or losers depending on how you look at it). We tried to get Billy Crystal to host, but he politely declined. Looks like you're stuck with me.

Without further ado, let's get this party started.

The Awards.

All great award shows should start with a cold open. And nothing is colder than the icy white excellence of Cincinnati's White Bengal ensemble. The Bengals and their new helmet did not disappoint - well exceeding the offseason hype. And bonus points for treating us to an iced out field design to boot. Looking ahead to next season's schedule, I'd love to see the White Bengal against the Ravens in black over purple.

Honorable Mention - the Arctic Cowboy* outfit worn by Dallas against the Titans in Week 17.

*Advice for NFL teams: ditch the blackout obsession. The people cry out for the icy whites.

I'm going to keep this short and (not so) sweet. The Washington Commanders black uniform is the worst new uniform of the 2022 season - and one of the worst uniforms in NFL history.

Honorable Mentions - the rest of the Washington Commanders uniform wardrobe. And the Jets and Cardinals blackout looks.

The return of Pat the Patriot was the moment all uniform afficionados were waiting for in 2022. And it was all that and more. The Week 5 matchup between the Lions and Patriots was one of the aesthetic high points of the season and on the shortlist for best uniform matchup of the year.

Honorable Mention - the return of the red helmet for the Atlanta Falcons.

Back in Week 4, the Vikings and Saints paid a visit to foggy London Town, the capital of England and the UK. Not only did the NFL subject the Brits to one of the worst uniform matchups of the season, they (unintentionally?) pulled off an all-time, under-the-radar troll job. The Saints train wreck of a black helmet was the most aggressive display of the fleur-de-lis in the face of the English since the Hundred Years' War. And that's nothing compared to the almost 300 years of the Viking Age. I'm looking forward to next year's Raiders-Bucs game in the Caribbean.

If you've been following me for any period of time, you know that I'm a sucker for the icy white look. You also know that I generally dislike the all-black look. However, the Steelers color rush outfit is the exception to that rule. The block numerals and yellow numbers and stripes complete the best blackout uniform in the NFL. We already sang the praises of the White Bengal as the best new uniform of the season. Together, these teams combined for the best matchup of the week and one of the sneaky great showdowns of the season.

Few people are bigger fans of the Bills uniforms than I am. They're Top 5 in the Uniform Wardrobe Power Rankings for a reason. But beginning in Week 1 against the Rams, Buffalo revealed an unhealthy obsession with the blue unitard look. In 12 games this season wearing blue jerseys, the Bills completed the blue jumpsuit 10 times. Woof. Power Rankings downgrade incoming.

Honorable Mention - the general lack of thought league-wide that goes into uniform matchups and how outfits complement/play off each other.

It may be cheating to consider Ravens-Bucs as seasonal. But this Halloween week matchup was the best of the week and looked fantastic on the screen. Edgar Allan Poe, Skulls, and Crossbones. Sounds plenty seasonal on Halloween to me.

Honorable Mention - Bengals at Browns on Halloween Night: Clash of the Pumpkin Heads.

The Week 4 matchup between the Bears and Giants was a delicious shot of nostalgia. The "Legacy Game" from the Meadowlands was one of the best dressed affairs of the season. The classic red endzones were glorious. And the takeaway is clear: it's time to return this outfit as the primary Giants uniform. The Daboll era is here. Dress accordingly.

Let's call a spade a spade. The Jets uniforms are less than ideal. But life is what you make it. Glass half full, when life gives you lemons, etc. And more than anything, find the humor in everything. Which brings us to the instant award. The New York Jets - Gang Green themselves - did not wear green below the helmet until WEEK 14. Three-fourths of the season came and went before the Jets decided to wear the only color they're actually known for. Never change, Jets. Don't cry because it's over. Laugh because it happened.

I love a good Triple Mismatch Club outfit (different color helmet, jersey and pants). So nothing makes me happier when two Triple Mismatch Club members take the field for an epic showdown. And we got just that with Steelers-Falcons in Week 13. Between the fantastic Falcons throwbacks and the pop of the Steelers gold pants, we got our fix of uniform nirvana.

Honorable Mention - Bucs-Cowboys in the first Sunday Night Football game of the year.

Tom Brady has officially hung up his cleats. For good this time. The greatest to ever play the game. And it's not particularly close. 23 seasons in the league, seven Super Bowl rings, and one glaring omission: despite playing three years in Tampa Bay, Tom Terrific never donned the creamsicles. For shame, Buccaneers. For shame, NFL.*

*Give us Throwback Thursdays next season and all is forgiven.

It was an incredible fashion season for the Steelers. No team appeared in more Best of the Week uniform matchups than Pittsburgh. But one night stood above the rest. The 50th Anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. And more importantly, a night to honor the Franco Harris. So when Kenny Pickett hit George Pickens for a last minute game winner over the Raiders while decked out in the block numeral throwbacks, it felt like a moment out of a movie. And it was hands down the most feel-good aesthetic moment of the year.

Back in Week 6, I announced Commanders-Bears as leader in the clubhouse for worst uniform matchup of the year. Well looks like this one grabbed the lead and just refused to let go. Where to begin? The Commanders are what they are. The uniform is mess. No gold below the helmet, bizarre gradients, and white practice pants. But the real culprit here is the Bears. The orange helmet is a bad choice to begin with. And paired with the orange jersey it becomes a radioactive nightmare. It's a tale as old as time: just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

We had to wait until the playoffs for the aesthetic highpoint of the 2022 season. But it was sure worth the wait. The Divisional Round showdown between the Cowboys and 49ers was pure uniform nirvana. Silver against gold. Blue against red. Perfectly balanced as all things should be.* And bonus points for playing on top of the best field design of the year.

*People love to bash the Cowboys for the various shades of blue going on in their primary white outfit. But I absolutely love it. It's organized chaos and a quirk that's unique to them. With that said, I'm ready with the Money Mayweather counter for those ready to throw the perfectly balanced comment back in my face. Remember in Remember the Titans when Julius Campbell (played by Wood Harris) gives his speech about perfection? He says he isn't perfect and won't ever be. But the team is perfect, and that's how they want to leave it. So allow me state the following: the Dallas Cowboys and their hodge-podge of silvers and blues do not have perfect uniforms. But the Cowboys-Niners uniform matchup is perfect. And that's where I'll leave it.

Parting Words.

Strike up the band, because it's finally time to play me off. The inaugural presentation of The Unis is officially in the books. Until next time . . .

The Gridiron Uniform Database.

The uniform graphics you see here are courtesy of The Gridiron Uniform Database. If you’ve never paid their site a visit, stop what you’re doing right now and check it out. It is my favorite site on the Internet and an invaluable resource to uniform nerds and casual fans alike. This is especially the case during the season. I check the site multiple times a day to keep tabs on who’s wearing what.

Drop me a line.

You can always find me on Twitter at NFL Fashion Advice (@fashion_nfl) or via email at [email protected]. Come talk uniforms and all things football, and let me know what you think of the newsletter.

Coming Attractions.

Super Bowl LVII is almost upon us. If you're anything like me, you'll spend the next week watching highlights of old Super Bowls to get ready for the big game. Now you can add the Bets Dressed Super Bowl issue to your Super Bowl preparation ritual. Look for it to hit your inbox early Sunday well before Chiefs-Eagles kicks off in Glendale.

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