The full 2021 National Football League schedule will be released Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET. Teams will be releasing their own schedules at 7:45 p.m. ET, and several marquee dates will be revealed throughout the day.
Here’s some of what we already know, and what you might expect for the Buffalo Bills:
Opponents
While we don’t know the exact dates yet, we’ve known 13 of the Bills' opponents and the location of those games for several years, thanks to the NFL’s predetermined rotation and formula. The other three games we’ve known for several months after seeing where each team finished in the standings.
The Bills will play:
HOME: Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Football Team
AWAY: Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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17th game:
As you see above, there are nine home games listed, but eight away games. That’s because the NFL has officially moved to a 17-game regular season starting this year.
The extra game will always come from the NFC, pitting the Bills against a team which finished in the same spot in the standings as them in their own division. That division will be determined on a rotational basis. This season, it’s the NFC East and the Washington Football Team. This does not mean the game will be played at the end of the season. It can be slotted anywhere within the schedule just like any other opponent.
With 17 regular season games comes a three-game preseason. If three games are played this year, the Bills will have two on the road and one at home to give them 10 home games and 10 road games. The preseason opponents have yet to be determined.
There’s no word yet on if they will be announced Wednesday night along with the regular season schedule.
There is still one bye week this year for each team, even with the 17th game added. The season will still start the week after Labor Day, but extend one extra week into February, with Super Bowl LVI scheduled for Feb. 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, California.
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London calling?
It was reported on Tuesday that the NFL is still planning on having two games played in London in 2021. One will be hosted by the Atlanta Falcons, and the other will be hosted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have a yearly agreement to play in the UK.
The Bills do play the Falcons, but host them at Highmark Stadium, so they won’t be playing them in London. However, one of their road games is against the Jaguars, which means there is a chance the Bills could be their opponent at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Bills last played an international game in 2015, also against the Jaguars in London. Since then, 23 other NFL teams have played an international contest.
The league was also planning on having a game in Mexico City once again this season, but has reportedly now decided against that.
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Bills after dark
The name “Buffalo Bills” showed up quite a bit in prime-time slots when the schedule was released last season, originally slated for four of them. Expect more of the same, and possibly even more this time around.
According to NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning Mike North, who joined me on the SalSports... and Stuff podcast last month, the Bills are, once again, a hot commodity for networks and should be featured in those nationally televised night games quite often again.
The maximum number of prime-time games a team can be scheduled for has been five. However, in the new television deal, that number has been raised to seven. It’s unclear whether or not the NFL will move to that formula this year or wait until 2023, when the new TV deal actually kicks in.
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National TV
Beyond prime-time, the Bills will also most likely be featured in the national television window several times, which means 4:05 p.m. ET or 4:25 p.m. ET kickoffs, even in eastern time zone cities, including home games. Other than their former Bills in Toronto Series, the last time the Bills played a true home game on a Sunday in the 4 p.m. ET window was Sept. 27, 2009, against the New Orleans Saints.
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