Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The NFL Thursday night opener in Los Angeles?
Another Thanksgiving game?
What does the 2022 NFL schedule have in store for the Buffalo Bills?
The NFL's Vice President of Broadcasting Mike North joined me for our annual chat on the "SalSports... and Stuff" podcast to discuss the range of possibilities on the table for the Bills, especially now considering their status as a Super Bowl favorite and, specifically, with superstar quarterback Josh Allen.
“You have to think about our biggest windows,” North said, referencing the Bills and where they could be placed in the schedule over the 18-week regular season. “When we think about our biggest windows… the Bills have been on Thanksgiving quite a bit recently. They do play Detroit on the road, and somebody's got to go to Detroit on Thanksgiving. It could be Buffalo, it could be Miami [Dolphins], it could be a cross-flex where we take a FOX game and we make it Chicago [Bears] or Green Bay [Packers], or something like that. There are options, but Buffalo has got to be one of them.”
The Bills have played two of the past three seasons on Thanksgiving: Winning in Dallas, 26-15, against the Cowboys in the late afternoon game in 2019, and then beating the Saints in New Orleans, 31-6, in the Thanksgiving night game this past season.
Buffalo is also a viable contender to play the NFL's opening Thursday night game in Los Angeles against the Super Bowl champion Rams on Sept. 8. The addition of free agent defensive end Von Miller, who won a Super Bowl with the Rams last season, adds to the intrigue of the Bills possibly being placed in that spot.
“You know the Rams are hosting Week 1. They're playing on that Thursday night, that big 'Welcome Back to Football' game. So it's going to be one of the nine Rams opponents, and Buffalo is one of them, too,” North said. “There's a lot of these kind of 'players returning to their previous team' kind of storylines. Those are always good for the pregame shows and stuff.”
In our wide-ranging interview, North also explained how Allen’s stardom has an even greater impact on their schedule, talked about the possibilities of more late game prime-time contests in Buffalo, like last season’s wind storm on "Monday Night Football" against the New England Patriots, and a lot more about the Bills.
We also discussed how the league will handle this year's Christmas Day and New Year's Day scheduling - considering both fall on a Sunday - their new TV partners' impact on schedule making, and even stadium conflicts with so many concerts going back on tour, compared to the last couple of years.
You can listen to the entire interview below, and be sure to subscribe to the "SalSports... and Stuff" podcast, as well:
Follow me on Twitter: @SalSports