Examining Options for Buffalo Bills Schedule

Question: What is your prediction for the Bills’ season-opening opponent?

Brand: There is usually one division game for each of the eight divisions on opening weekend. The Bills had one last year. So, I’m predicting a home game against the San Francisco 49ers, which would allow the Niners to have an easier coast-to-coast trip to open the season.

Ryan: I’ll be traveling with the Bills to Houston on Monday, September 9 to wrap up Week 1. The Texans are a hot team with quarterback CJ Stroud, but it’s wide receiver Stefon Diggs who will face the Bills for the first time times since he was traded to Houston. Houston in April.

Jay: Those are two juicy options, but for the sake of variety, I’ll go with a third option: Miami at home on “Monday Night Football.” The Bills have opened up on the road the last two years, so a stop at Orchard Park for Week 1 seems to be due.

Question: Which games are you most looking forward to, one at home and one on the road?

Brand: Besides Miami, the two best road trips for fans on my list are Houston and Indianapolis. Indy is a great city to visit, great downtown, easy to get around, lots of good restaurants, nice stadium, good fans. It’s a road trip, but if you’re flying, you don’t even need to rent a car. Houston is a much better city than Dallas, more down to earth, with good restaurants, good barbecue, and fun nightlife. My pick is Houston because of the obvious Stefon Diggs connection and I can’t wait to see how good the Texans are. The choice for home game is easy: the Chiefs.

Ryan: My fictional schedule has the Bills playing the Los Angeles Rams on October 20 (4:25 p.m. kickoff). It’s a long trip, but my advice would be to fly out of Buffalo on Friday afternoon, which would give you all of Saturday to explore the Los Angeles area and finish with dinner around the Santa Monica Pier .

Jay: Let’s start with the house. Whether it’s just Chiefs fatigue or PTSD, Kansas City is missing. Give me San Francisco to make the rare trip to Western New York. The road program is full of good options. There are manageable drives to good teams (Detroit, Baltimore) and warm-weather destinations (Miami, Los Angeles and Houston). But my choice is Seattle. Yes, it’s a long trip, but having only been to the Pacific Northwest once, it’s an opportunity to experience a new part of the country. The Starbucks in the press box is also a pocket.

Question: How many games in prime time?

Brand: By my calculations, there are 59 primetime games, including holiday games, which amounts to 118 primetime slots, or an average of 3.68 per team. The result is that bills are virtually guaranteed four. I’ll say five primetime games. Kansas City (and probably a few other teams) will lead with six.

Ryan: Despite the roster change, the Bills will remain a national television attraction. I have the Bills with five primetime games – Monday night at Houston, Sunday night the Players against the New York Jets, Thursday night against Jacksonville and a Saturday night against Miami, plus a home game on Christmas Day against Kansas City.

Jay: We can all agree here: I have five. Josh Allen is must-see TV, and despite being one of the smaller markets in the league, Bills fans connect with their team. Games against Kansas City, Houston, Miami, Detroit, Baltimore and San Francisco all scream primetime potential.

Question: The Bills are currently under/over 10.5 wins. New schedule, are you below or above at the moment?

Brand: I’ll give the Bills 10 wins, including a sweep of New England and splits with Miami and the Jets in the division. I think with a younger team, it would benefit the Bills if the schedule was a little easier early in the game and harder late in the game. Comparing the Bills and Jets schedules, Buffalo gets Kansas City and Detroit as crossover matchups. The Jets get Denver and Minnesota, two inferior teams. That’s a big difference.

Ryan: Let’s go with the Bills winning 11 games. The Bills play five road games against 2023 playoff teams (Houston, Miami, Baltimore, Detroit and the Los Angeles Rams). If they can go at least 3-2, they have a chance to become the second seed in the AFC.

Jay: I have the Bills going 6-2 at home. The question then becomes: can they gain more than they lose on the road? I would say yes…barely. A 5-4 record away from Highmark Stadium takes them to 11 wins. That should be enough to get the team back into the playoffs, but it might not be enough to win the AFC East for a fifth straight year.