We seem to say it every year, but the Buffalo Bills face yet another daunting schedule in 2024.
Of course, that’s what happens when you win the AFC East four years in a row; you pull a first-place schedule and this season the Bills will play seven games against 2023 playoff teams – including the Dolphins twice. And they play 11 games against teams that finished above .500.
Additionally, of the six games against sub-.500 teams, two will be against the division-rival Jets, who appear to be significantly improved, assuming Aaron Rodgers plays the entire season; two against the Patriots who will certainly improve their 4-13 record; and games against the Titans and Cardinals, two other teams that should be much better than they were last season.
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And this is a Bills team that has also said goodbye to several key veterans and will enter 2024 with a younger roster with several new additions.
The Bills are currently on a five-year double-digit winning streak, the best streak in the franchise. They’ve never won five straight AFC East titles, and that quest, along with another 10-plus win season, is going to be difficult.
Here are five thoughts on the 2024 calendar:
1. The bills have a seemingly soft launch
For most of Wednesday, it seemed like the obvious choice for the Bills’ first game would be the New England Patriots, and that certainly would have been an interesting matchup. This would have been the first game of the post-Bill Belichick era under new coach Jerod Mayo, and potentially the NFL debut of quarterback Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in the draft.
Instead, the Bills will host the Arizona Cardinals who were 4-13 last year and don’t appear to be much better than a .500 type team in 2024.
However, rather than seeing Maye’s debut — which might not even have happened because there’s a chance Jacoby Brissett starts the season No. 1 in New England — the Bills will almost certainly see the debut of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. who was selected. location below Maye.
The Cardinals have another first-round pick, edge player Darius Robinson, who was taken 27th overall. Still, this game, like the home openers, couldn’t be much better for Buffalo.
2. The Bills will dominate prime time early
After the opener, America is going to get a heavy dose of the Bills as they play four of their next five games in standalone night windows.
It starts on Thursday, September 12 when they travel to Miami for a game that should set the tone in the AFC East. The Bills owned the Dolphins under Sean McDermott, and last year they swept the series with a 48-20 laugh in Week 4 at Buffalo, then a come-from-behind 21-14 victory at Miami in the finale of the season that allowed the Bills to steal the division title after the Dolphins had held first place for most of the second half of the season.
The Bills get a little extra rest before facing Jacksonville at home in Week 3 on Monday Night Football, a rematch of last year’s disappointing loss to the Jaguars in London. They will face old friends Gabe Davis and Mitch Morse who signed with the Jaguars as free agents.
And then comes a major test, against AFC North champion Baltimore for a Sunday Night Football affair on September 29. Obviously any AFC game is key, but if everything goes as planned, the Bills and Ravens will be two of the teams. vying for the bye in the first round of the playoffs, so gaining a decisive head-to-head advantage is vital.
After a week back on the 1 p.m. regional television schedule as they travel to Houston to face Stefon Diggs and the Texans in Week 5, the Bills head to the Meadowlands to face the Jets on Monday Night Football in of week 6, October 14. This is the second year in a row that this divisional game in New York has been held on a Monday, and maybe this time Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers will survive longer than four games.
These final three games mark the Bills’ first three-game road trip since 2015, and it will be just the third for Buffalo since the NFL expanded to 32 teams and grew to eight divisions in 2002.
3. The bye week will come at the right time
Bills will drop in week 12, which happens to be Thanksgiving week. This works out well because at the start of their bye is the Week 11 showdown against nemesis Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a 4:25 home game, perhaps the most anticipated regular season game on the schedule .
When the Bills return to work, they will witness the other half of last year’s Super Bowl game when the NFC champion 49ers come to Buffalo for the Bills’ second appearance on Sunday Night Football.
Oh, coincidentally, Taylor Swift is playing a series of concerts in Toronto the weekend the Chiefs — and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce — will be in Buffalo. So one would assume that Swifties will be on high alert, as there’s a good chance she’ll make another visit to Highmark Stadium.
4. Three straight games against NFC teams for early December
In the thick of the AFC playoff race, the Bills will go out for three weeks to face NFC teams, and they will all be tough tests.
After facing the 49ers, they will hit the road to face the Rams in Los Angeles in Week 14, and in Week 15, they will travel to Detroit to face the NFC North favored Lions at Ford Field.
These two games are part of four games the Bills will play at 4 p.m. That means the Bills only have six games at 1 p.m., with the season finale in New England TBD. Last year, they only played five games early.
5. The Patriots could play a key role in the Bills’ season
If the Bills are in a tight battle for the AFC East crown and, by extension, a higher playoff seed, the Patriots will be a hurdle they will have to clear. Twice.
The Bills won’t get their first taste of New England until Week 16, when the teams play in Buffalo, and after the Bills host the Jets in Week 17, they will close out the regular season in Foxborough in week 18.
It’s probably a stretch to believe the Patriots will be in the playoff race since they appear to be last in what should be a tough AFC East, but playing spoiler for the Bills would give them some joy.
Of course, if the Patriots stink again, it could be very beneficial for the Bills to play two of their final three games against the franchise that once tormented them.
Sal Maiorana can be contacted at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. To subscribe to Sal’s newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out every other Friday during the offseason, please follow this link:https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
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