[Editor’s Note: Paul is on his annual August break from site (although he’s still writing his weekly Substack column). Deputy editor Phil Hecken is in charge from now through the end of the month.]
Good Thursday morning, Uni Watchers!
There were a couple uni unveilings yesterday you may have missed. First, the Charlotte Hornets unveiled a new “Classic Edition” uniform for the upcoming season, and a bit later the West Virginia Mountaineers first teased, and then unveiled a new “Country Roads” jersey.
Back when I was soliciting reader suggestions for stories, Christian Berumen, who is a moderator on our UW+ comment boards, wrote to me with this: “How would you feel about a story where I either do a weekly nfl best uni matchup or a story where I possibly predict team records by uniform scheduled to be worn?”
I liked the “best” uni matchup idea. After a bit of clarification (did he want to do one segment per week with his pick for “Best” matchup, or one article with one best game selected for each), we settled on the latter. Today, we’ll look at the 18 weekly uniform matchups Christian selected. Now, I don’t agree with all his choices, but I’m sure if I were to pick my best weekly uni pairings, you’d all probably disagree with a bunch of my selections as well. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they say.
So, with that, Christian went through the entire NFL schedule for the upcoming season and has selected his 18 best (one per week). You may agree or disagree — and feel free to make your own picks for what you feel might be a better matchup in any given week(s). For a few that Christian has selected, the teams in question may wear different pants than those pictured, so please take that into account.
Ready? Here we go…
by Christian Berumen
Hello everyone, I’m Christian. I’m coming to you today with a weekly NFL best uniform matchup which means both teams need to wear a great uniform. You can’t have something like Eagles Kelly green vs the Browns in their all-brown turd look [which thankfully can’t happen unless somehow the game is color vs. color — PH]. Also, I’m going to try to limit how many times I pick a matchup, so I won’t pick both games of Raiders-Chargers or likewise with any other teams, and I’m also using the Gridiron Uniform Database to see the matchups (and if the database doesn’t have the uniform matchup available, I will go with the best looking based on what I think the teams will wear). If you disagree with any of my picks, let me hear it, so let’s get started, shall we?
I’ve always been a fan of teams with red and gold in their uniforms but I also love the shade of gold that San Fran uses for the helmet, and who can say no to the timeless design of the Steelers home uniforms.
This week was a tough one to pick because it also has the Packers at the Falcons with the Falcons wearing the red throwback helmets. The Dolphins wearing the road throwbacks would make for a better aesthetic, but Miami in all white and the Patriots in the “Pat Patriot” look is top notch.
I’m hopeful that the Saints wear the black pants on the road which would make this game a beauty to see, with the Green Bay classic look at home.
As someone who is just young enough to not remember the Sack Exchange uniforms, I’m calling for the Jets to make these permanent and get rid of the three current versions. Team name aside, you can not go wrong with the classic home uniform for KC. Just please don’t go full blood clot on us.
I broke my own rule of not picking a team more than once but it was going to be broken because you have three great uniform matchups this week. You have this one, Green Bay at the Raiders and Ravens at Steelers.
THEY’RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!! The pant choice is up in the air for the Lions but you can’t go wrong with either the blue or grey/silver pants. Bucco Bruce, you have been severely missed. Hoping this goes into the rotation for years to come.
As I said in week 2, this game would look way better if the Dolphins also wear their road throwbacks. The Kelly greens are back for Philly and, as I also said with Tampa Bay, I hope they become part of the rotation for years to come.
Look at that. 3 weeks in a row that the incoming throwbacks make for the best-looking game of the week.
Too bad the Giants don’t still wear the grey pants on the road but these versus the Raiders’ home silver and black makes for a good-looking game.
Well, 10 weeks in and the rule of a team only getting one best matchup of the week is out the window.
The navy/white/navy of the Seahawks matches very well with the royal and yellow (sol) of the Rams.
Who knew that throwbacks rule? Washington will probably have the burgundy/white/burgundy, while the Cowboys will wear the white Thanksgiving throwbacks.
And the Pat Patriot throwbacks appear on the list twice, against the Chargers, who I hope wear the gold pants to add a little more color to the game.
Wow. I need to change the title of this post from best of the week to the throwbacks of the NFL, with the old school look of the road Packers and the home ’80s throwbacks of the Giants.
This one was tough because you have a few games that have potential but the Vikings in their road whites match very well with the Bengals home uniform.
Wow. Here we go again with the throwbacks. The Dolphins are wearing their home throwbacks against the Cowboys, who will probably wear their regular whites.
So, this one doesn’t have throwbacks involved, but both teams have classic feels to them with the Raiders in the silver and white and the Colts in the white/blue/white.
This one has potential with the blue/white/blue of the Seahawks and Arizona, who as of now is white/red/red. But I’m begging you, Mr. Bidwill, allow the team to mix and match because your white/red/white look has massive potential while the blood clot uniform is a big thumbs down to every pair of seeing eyes.
Christian your article has more excited than I already am for football to start!
36 teams across 18 weeks, and only 32 teams. You were bound to pick a team more than once.
Agree with a lot of choices except for the final week. That Cardinals uniform is so horrible. I see you skipped Denver and the Titans totally and that makes me happy as these uniforms are also hard to watch. But not a single Chicago Bears game in 18 weeks?
Maybe a slight oversight on my end
While it’s tough to not go with the Raiders@Chiefs game for #16, the Cards ‘homecoming’ that week resolves the ‘no Bears on the list/no way the Cardinals home uniforms should be on the list’ issue..
I like the Dolphins throwback well enough, but pairing that against the Cowboys? Nah.
Week 18: Bears vs. Packers is the obvious choice, right?
Nope, Cardinals/Seahawks! Hahahaha!
As a Bears fan, I was also surprised to not see them show up, as I believe they are one of the better-looking teams out there. You can’t go wrong with a Bears-Packers game as they always look good (except in 2016 and 2017 when they went mono-navy vs. mono-white on Thursday Night). But to be fair, Christian already had the Packers up there 3 times.
I did a quick scan, and once I saw the Packers 3x, then the Cardinals and no Chicago it lost all credibility for me.
That Week 8 Seahawks v Browns is tops for the whole season.
I agree, except the Browns in turd pants??? Have them in the orange pants and I’d agree.
Brown is a respectable color. No need to always think potty time here.
So is purple, but our fearless leader often disparages it. He also refers to the Browns’ brown similarly, but point taken.
You know what else is brown? Chocolate, wood, dirt, many people’s skin, some gravy… I agree with Jim; you don’t have to think of turds when you see brown.
Also brown: The football!
Interesting, although not surprising, that many of the selections feature throwbacks or teams with classic looks. I’d select those as well but it gets me to thinking that we’re not really looking at uniforms, per se, anymore. We’re really looking at markers of our youths/childhoods. So, actually, it doesn’t really matter what a team’s uniform looks like right now because there’s going to be a generation of fans that will consider them to be classics merely because they hark back to their childhoods. I mean, really, the 1980s Jets unis? I don’t recall a lot of love for them at the time but that no longer matters because they recall an era of fandom that was, for fans of a certain vintage, perhaps more innocent, less conflicted than today. Anyway, just my thoughts. And as I said, I’d pick most of the throwbacks as well. But I’m not sure it’s because they’re any better than the current sets out there.
Much of that may be true, but I’m an NFL fan in my mid-20s and I prefer throwbacks over the modern crap that Nike has produced most of the time. There is no nostalgia associated with seeing the uniforms, yet almost any time a throwback is released, my reaction is “damn, that’s nice!” It definitely has to do with the sleeker equipment they wear these days. When I see pictures of games from, say, the 70s with the massive shoulder pads, clunky helmets, and baggy jerseys, it’s hard for me to judge the uniform. But man, do they look good when they’re updated with today’s equipment. In my opinion, it shows that in previous eras, uniform designers were better at creating a clean, appealing uniform, while today’s designers are so caught up in trying to do something unique or incorporate stupid “storytelling” aspects.
I think there is a lot of truth in this statement. It’s along the same lines as most people’s favorite music is what they listened to when they were teenagers.
That may be the biggest driver for the “restore the name” crowd among “Washington” NFL fans. I want better than Commanders, but not like that…
Hmmmm, no Colts black helmet…?
I actually really like the Colts’ black helmet, and I’m seen a lot of positive feedback for it in other outlets. But the people who “Get It” have to have their standards ;-)
Oh, for heaven’s sake…
*I’ve seen
No one is going to debate Week 1 with those two classics, but you *could* if you wanted to make a case for Bills blue-over-white vs. Jets legacy unis. Which just goes to show how imperative it is that the Jets make a full-time switch to their legacy unis (and add a green version).
Funny you say that, because when I was discussing setting this up with Christian, after his initial e-mail, I replied to him:
“Are you talking about picking a matchup for the 18 weeks of the NFL season? (In other words, you’d have say: Week I: 49ers/Steelers or say Jets/Bills — since the Jets will be in their Gang Green throwbacks — and hopefully the Bills won’t go mono-blue?) And you’d do that for every week?”
And showed him this graphic as an example: link
There are a few good matchups for Week 1. My choice would have been Jets/Bills, but it’s hard to go wrong with 49ers/Steelers.
Great minds! Hopefully, the Jets begin thinking the way we do. Based on the way the throwback Jets logo merch sells, I think they may be starting to see the light.
“No one is going to debate Week 1 with those two classics,…”
Regardless of what pants visiting Tampa Bay chooses to wear (hoping they go with pewter – that’s right, I said it!, the Vikings rule Week 1.
Modern classic meets all-time classic.
Week 15 : Texans at Oil, er…Titans.
A no-brainer!
Agreed. The Titans in their Oilers throwbacks would have to be the best of week 15.
I’m a day late on this but I totally agree. Big swing and a miss on week 15.
GTGFTS – Los Angeles Rams 27, Houston Oilers 16, 12/9/1984 at Anaheim Stadium. The 2007 for Eric refers to Eric Dickerson passing the single-season rushing record. He had 215 yards and two rushing TDs in the game, and went on to add 98 more to his total the final week at Candlestick
Well done, Rob!
2105 in ’84…still the tops.
Dickerson had a terrific look, too (not Joe Washington great, but good).
His 215 that day was his 12th game with +100 yds rushing…also a record-breaking (some may * but not I) performance.
Sending you a virtual neckroll and goggles for figuring out this one. Congrats!
This is a reminder of the sorry state of NFL uniforms today. Or maybe I’m just growing old.
The Commies unis are so terrible – thr origami W has grown on me, but I really hope they go back to the old jerseys and pants.
I couldn’t help but noticing that the Falcons’ gradients and the Rams’ “bone” jerseys didn’t appear on the list. Or, as everyone else has noted, that most of the jerseys are either throwbacks or teams that don’t have to throw back because they never changed. Nike, are you listening?
They are not. Too busy scanning the socials: pinterest, instagram, X, telegram, whatever. Anywhere their target group of trendy people with a short attention span, no memory and some money to spend who are looking for the next fad, is active. This platform is way too niche, too dedicated to the subject and not influential enough for Nike (or other lifestyle brands) to follow actively. They might stumble on it, read the comments about the bad uniforms that they are producing, shrug with a smirk and click away.
You had me until week 18. Even if the Cardinals wear white pants, the giant “Arizona” placed too low on the front of the jersey is terrible. Also, not a fan of week 3 New Orleans black pants. Granted it’s not as bad with the white jerseys, but the Saints have one of the best uniforms when their pants match their gold helmets, with either black or white jerseys.
With the exception of Miami and both New Jersey teams, you’re assuming the road teams will opt for team-color pants instead of white.
Be prepared to be disappointed. I bet more than one team goes white/white. Sure hope it isn’t the Lions or Chargers, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
GTGFTU:
Off the top of my head, that’s the 2000 NBA Finals, right?
I think the Nets were the first team to wear throwbacks in a Finals game.
“I bet more than one team goes white/white.”
Sure hope so, especially all the teams who wear white hats.
Not the Chargers.
Never looked good in white pants.
In fact, they need some gray pants.
Make that lightning bolt on the leg look as if it’s coming out of a storm cloud!
But they look great in yellow pants. Since the NFL isn’t selling replica pants to the market (yet), we can use yellow with any of their jerseys and it will look fine.
Oh, I agree they look great in yellow pants. And that’s all they ever need.
But if they want another option, I’d take gray over white.
Game 5 in the 2003 finals, June 13, 2003. Spurs won it 93-83 over the good-looking throwback Nets uniforms.
wasn’t it also either 1st or 2nd time that two former ABA Teams met in the NBA Finals?
NETS need to go back to this uniform like YESTERDAY
GTGFTU: 2003 NBA Finals Game 5 in NJ. 6/13/2003. Spurs win 93-83. Nets wore the throwbacks and Dick Bavetta (I’d recognize his cueball dome any day) reffed.
Interesting how many folks seem to love the Maryland mono-black uni. I’m admittedly anti-mono in all cases, but I don’t like the look at all. For me, it’s the lack of contrast. A different color jersey or pants would be fine with the black lids, to varying degrees, but all black is not to my liking (or all blue, all red, all green, etc.).
I’m especially anti-mono for Maryland, since they have 4 official colors, and this one de-emphasizes 3 of them
“…while the Cowboys will wear the white Thanksgiving throwbacks”
I think you mean the blue throwbacks?
I said white throwbacks because I refer to those as white helmet thanksgiving throwbacks that’s why I said it that way
Cool, now do the worst uni matchups ;)
The sadistic part of me would enjoy a worst match-ups list as well.
OK, the Braman Birds ‘need’ to be on the list, but I’d rather it be the Week 12 game versus the Bills (yes, even if they wear the blue drawers) than at Week 7.
Atlanta’s throwback are list-worthy…Pat Patriot is worth the wait – swap out them at Week 2 for Cheese Headed Packers at the Red Headed Falcons. GB is over-represented anyway, so dump that Week 14 choice for the Colts date with the Bengals (maybe they’ll go O/B/B/O – their best combo, YVVM)
YMMV…
Guessing you misspelled your color combo too, because O/W/W/O is their best look. ;)
Red-helmeted Falcons definitely belong on here somewhere!
Crap! That’s the 2nd time I’ve bingo-Ed YMMV, IIRC!
Thanks – whew, glad Phil didn’t see that.
LOL
PS-Jersey A needs more than 1 set of white pants, Who Dey? don’t.
Apologies it’s not relevant to the post, and also if it’s been mentioned in the comments recently, but I am continually logged out of UW+. Probably once every other week. Not the worst thing in the world, but then there are multiple pop ups to get to the place where I can log in (in part because I use an ad blocker). I use Chrome browser on a Chromebook.
I always click leave me logged in and am on a number of other sites with log ins that are not being logged out with this frequency so I know it’s not a cookies thing on my end.
Week 7: Teal vs. green just doesn’t work for me. The colors are right in that range where they’re close but not close enough, so it really clashes.
Week 12: I’m probably not the first person to mention this (haven’t read the comments yet), but I’m pretty confident the matchup won’t be white vs. white. Did you mean to say the Cowboys’ HELMETS would be white?
Week 1 should be Bears Packers
Okay so week 1 the 49ers color gold were mentioned, sounds about right because the color is gold.
Then in week 13 the Chargers gold? That’s yellow.
Week 11 Rams yellows? Correct.
Come on now, gold is gold and yellow is yellow.
For example: Saints, Golden Knights and 49ers are gold.
Rams, Chargers, Steelers and Bruins yellow.
What are the colors of the Pittsburgh flag?
Show me a
…team that calls its shade of yellow “yellow” and not “gold”.
The list of matchups is compelling because there are so many variables. Bucs creamsicles will look amazing but there is no look the Lions can offer that will raise that game to the top of the week. The Dolphins and Vikings will look great but only in their throwbacks. Their current primary looks are enough by themselves to eliminate their games from contention as best look of the week. And no Bears? I’m not a Bears fan but they are the best uniforms in the NFL.