Why does my return show it was accepted 1/22 but the transmission date is showing 1/27? Makes no sense

The IRS was not accepting any returns prior to 01/27/2020, that is why your dates are messed up. they actually did not accept your return until 01/27/2020

The IRS did not start processing tax returns until January 27, 2020 which is the day of the "transmission". Once your return is accepted the normal processing time for a refund is around 21 days.