Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) - If the Buffalo Bills are going to win their fifth-straight AFC East division title, they’ll have to navigate a tough stretch at the start of the 2024 season, including three-straight road games, two of which are under the bright lights of prime-time.
The Bills will travel to and take on the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and New York Jets spanning Weeks 4 through 6.
The Ravens game will be on "Sunday Night Football" on NBC, and the Jets contest will be on "Monday Night Football" on ESPN. The Ravens made the AFC Championship Game last season, and have quarterback Lamar Jackson, who won the league's MVP last year for the second time.
The Jets are expecting to have quarterback Aaron Rodgers back from a torn Achilles he suffered Week 1 against the Bills last season.
Then there's the Texans, who made the playoffs last season and, of course, acquired wide receiver Stefon Diggs in an April trade with the Bills.
Related
Not that the first three weeks are any easier. The Bills only have two home games in the first month-and-a-half of the season, opening the year at Highmark Stadium against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals, and then facing former Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis and center Mitch Morse in another "Monday Night Football" matchup in Week 3.
Those games will sandwich a huge AFC East matchup in South Florida against the Miami Dolphins on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 2.
Related
That’s four night-time, prime-time, nationally-televised games in the first six weeks of the season against teams that went a combined 40-28 last season, two of which made the playoffs and one that went to the AFC Championship Game.
That opening stretch will probably have a lot of impact on how Buffalo's season ultimately unfolds.
The next five weeks will seem a bit more routine with every game on a Sunday afternoon, including the Tennessee Titans at home, a trip out West to face the Seattle Seahawks, and the Dolphins coming to Buffalo to wrap up their season series. Then it’s a trip to Indianapolis to face the Colts.
The next two games will be against the two teams who played in last year’s Super Bowl, starting Week 11 at home against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in a late Sunday afternoon game.
Then it’s another prime-time showdown on Sunday Night Football, Thanksgiving weekend, at home against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 1.
Related
The good news is the Bills get their bye in Week 12, not only giving them a break between those two contests, but also letting them get a little healthier before the final six-game stretch of the regular season.
The Bills have five games against NFC opponents. Two of those will be back-to-back on the road in December when they travel to face the Los Angeles Rams then Detroit Lions, two playoff teams from a year ago.
One oddity in the schedule is the Bills not facing the New England Patriots until Week 16, then twice in the final three weeks of the season. The first matchup comes in Orchard Park, then the Week 18 finale in Foxboro.
In the middle of those two games is a return matchup at home against the Jets, giving them three-straight division games to end the season.
Those three-straight division games to end the year could be a big factor in divisional and conference tie-breakers in the final standings.
Another factor may be who the quarterback of the Patriots is for those two games over the last three weeks. Will the Bills see rookie Drake Maye? Where is New England is at that point in the season? Are they a surprise playoff contender or in roster evaluation mode?
Related
The tough start. The very interesting finish. The prime-time games. Buckle up for another fun ride, Bills fans.
