The preseason is officially behind us and the Buffalo Bills will now focus on figuring out who will be on the final 53-man roster in Week 1. Once they have that all settled, all of the attention gets turned towards the Houston Texans, who the Bills will be playing in their season opener.
With all of the Bills’ changes that they made this offseason in the coaching staff and the roster, the last thing that fans want to see is them going backwards from where they were. Since the 2020 season, the Bills have made it to atleast the Divisional Round so there is no room for anything less. However, we all know that the Bills should be striving for a Super Bowl.
Sean McDermott was a great head coach, but he never made the Super Bowl which played a huge role in Buffalo going through the changes that they did. With everything now getting settled and Week 1 kickoff vastly approaching, we have put together a final record prediction for the Bills for the 2026 season.
Predicting Bills' 2026 record ahead of Week 1
Week 1: @ Houston Texans (1PM)
The NFL did the Bills no favors by sending them down to Houston to take on the Texans in Week 1. Anyone that watched these two teams play each other last season knows just how much Houston’s defense roughed up Buffalo’s offense and hit Josh Allen 12 times (sacking him 8 times).
Houston's defense is elite and their offense improved their rushing attack with the acquisition of David Montgomery. Oh, and they also recently traded for Kayshon Boutte from the New England Patriots to solidify their receiving core. The Bills have always struggled in Houston and that streak unfortunately continues.
Prediction: Bills lose (0-1)
Week 2: Detroit Lions (Thursday Night Football - 8:15PM)
The last time Buffalo and Detroit saw each other was in 2024 where there were 90 total points scored and the Bills won in a thriller, beating the Lions 48-42. With this being the official regular season debut of the new Highmark Stadium in primetime, this game is setup to be a thriller once again between two of the top teams in the league.
Jahmyr Gibbs will definitely get his production, but Jim Leonhard has a ton of promise as defensive coordinator to limit the production as the game goes on. Don't be surprised when Buffalo wins in dramatic fashion against the Lions.
Prediction: Bills win (1-1)
Week 3: Los Angeles Chargers (1PM)
The Chargers are an interesting team because they have so much talent, but they seem to always get hit with some sort of bad luck, specifically with injuries. It does help that Buffalo has the home field advantage, but a Jim Harbaugh-led team is never one to be taken lightly. However, I am confident that the Bills win this game even if it is a back-and-forth matchup.
Prediction: Bills win (2-1)
Week 4: New England Patriots (1PM)
The Patriots took the AFC East away from the Bills last season, and also beat them in Orchard Park in Drake Maye’s first primetime appearance. It was a gut punch for sure, but now the expectations are high for New England and they didn’t do a ton to improve the overall roster.
Sure, they added A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs to the receiving core, but they still have plenty of concerns across the roster. This won’t be an easy game for Buffalo, and it could come down to whoever has the ball last, but the Bills take this game.
Prediction: Bills win (3-1)
Week 5: @ Los Angeles Rams (Monday Night Football - 8:15PM)
This should very well be Buffalo’s toughest game of the season. The Rams were already the best overall team in the league, and then they acquired edge rusher Myles Garrett. The last time these two teams met was back in 2024 where despite Josh Allen scoring 6 total touchdowns himself, the Bills still lost 44-42.
The Bills may have to play near perfect football if they want to win this game, but this is a game that fans shouldn't be surprised to see Buffalo lose. After winning three consecutive games, the Bills go back to the loss column.
Prediction: Bills lost (3-2)
Week 6: @ Las Vegas Raiders (4:25PM)
The Bills have back-to-back west coast matchups, and they will be going to Las Vegas to take on a new-look Raiders team. At this point, it could be either Kirk Cousins or rookie Fernando Mendoza starting at quarterback.
Las Vegas had a solid offseason and could make a little bit of noise this year, but the Bills are the overall better team and have a way better quarterback situation. The Bills bounce back from their loss against the Rams with a win over the Raiders.
Prediction: Bills win (4-2)
Week 7: Bye Week
Week 8: Baltimore Ravens (1PM)
One thing that Sean McDermott did well as the Bills’ head coach was get his team prepared coming off a bye week. The Bills never lost a game after their bye week, and them getting extra time to rest and prepare for the Baltimore Ravens is a great setup.
Both of these championship contenders went through head coaching changes, but still have high expectations to be successful. While Baltimore’s defense should be much better under Jesse Minter, Allen puts the team on his back and carries the Bills to a win.
Prediction: Bills win (5-2)
Week 9: @ Minnesota Vikings (Monday Night Football - 8:15PM)
Two Monday night games in three weeks gives the Bills an advantage, but also a bit of a disadvantage. This time, they are on the road against the Minnesota Vikings and it should very well be Kyler Murray under center. Kevin O’Connell has done a fantastic job no matter who is under center, and Brian Flores is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league.
This game might be closer than fans could be, but if the Bills’ offense can avoid falling into Minnesota’s traps on defense, they will leave with the win and that’s exactly what they do here.
Prediction: Bills win (6-2)
Week 10: @ New York Jets (1PM)
Coming into these next two games at 6-2 is a fantastic setup for the Bills, and even though they are on the road against the New York Jets, the Bills simply have more talent. I’m not saying that the Jets will be the worst team in football, but they have a long way to go before they get back to being competitive.Â
Sure, they added some nice pieces through the NFL Draft, but they will have some growing pains. The Bills take this game without issue.
Prediction: Bills win (7-2)
Week 11: Miami Dolphins (1PM)
There is a chance that the Dolphins could be the worst team in the NFL, and they have always struggled against the Bills. In the Josh Allen era, the Bills have only lost three times and they haven’t lost to the Dolphins in Orchard Park since 2016.
Miami is in a full rebuild and their one star player is running back De'Von Achane. If Buffalo's defense can limit him, the Bills should be able to win this game by no less than two scores.
Prediction: Bills win (8-2)
Week 12: Kansas City Chiefs (Thanksgiving - 8:20PM)
On a short week, the Bills are back in Orchard Park for a Thanksgiving night primetime matchup against none other than Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. We know the story between these two teams. The Bills have been better in the regular season, but the Chiefs always get the last laugh in the playoffs.
Kansas City has a lot of roster issues and while this game should come down to the wire, the Bills get one more better play to get this win.
Prediction: Bills win (9-2)
Week 13: @ New England Patriots (4:25PM)
At this point, the Bills are coming into this game on a six-game winning streak and depending on what happens with New England this season, this could very well be a battle for the AFC East. I had the Bills beating the Patriots back in Week 4 in Buffalo, so you could easily say that the season series would be split.
However, I don’t think so. Last year, we saw the Patriots take a 21-0 lead and it looked like the Bills were on their way to losing that game in a blowout fashion. Then the Bills outscored the Patriots 35-10 to win 35-31 that included Josh Allen and James Cook combining for 5 touchdowns.
I'm giving the Bills the season series sweep over the Patriots.
Prediction: Bills win (10-2)
Week 14: @ Green Bay Packers (Sunday Night Football - 8:20PM)
The Bills are back in primetime (and once again on the road) where they will be up in cold Green Bay to take on the Packers. With the Bills on a seven-game winning streak, they are bound to lose at some point. Green Bay should have Micah Parsons back at this point, and Jordan Love is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the league.
Buffalo will put up a good fight, but their winning steak comes to an end here on Sunday night.
Prediction: Bills lose (10-3)
Week 15: Chicago Bears (Saturday Night Football - 8:20PM)
The Bills are back in Buffalo for a cold matchup, but their opponent in the Chicago Bears shouldn’t be affected by the cold. The Bears have instantly become one of the better teams in the NFL under head coach Ben Johnson.
Wide receiver DJ Moore was traded from the Bears to the Bills this past offseason, so look for Moore to come into this game with more motivation than ever. Even with an expected cold game, this game could easily be high-scoring and while Joe Brady has been a solid offensive playcaller, Johnson had established himself as one of the best in the league. Buffalo drops this game at home.
Prediction: Bills lost (10-4)
Week 16: @ Denver Broncos (Christmas - 4:30PM)
In a Divisional Round rematch from last year, the Bills are heading back to Denver to take on the Broncos. This wasn’t just the team that ended the Bills’ season, but they ended Sean McDermott’s tenure as the head coach of the Bills. Denver did add Jaylen Waddle in a trade with the Miami Dolphins, but they still have issues on offense.
Don’t get me wrong, Denver’s defense is one of the best and there’s no doubt that they will be chasing down Allen in the pocket. However, with everything that happened last year, don’t think that the Bills won’t take this game personally. With that, Buffalo gets their revenge against the Broncos on Christmas Day.
Prediction: Bills win (11-4)
Week 17: @ Miami Dolphins (1PM)
The Bills get out of the cold for a Week 17 game against the Dolphins, who could be in contention for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. With the weather advantage for the Bills, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t leave with a win and be in contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Prediction: Bills win (12-4)
Week 18: New York Jets (TBD)
At this point, the Bills could be resting their starters if they have their playoff seed locked up so it could be the backups playing. It would be a similar setup to last season where the Bills and Jets played in Week 18 (which was the last game in the old Highmark Stadium). Even with the backups, the Bills still managed to win in a blowout by beating the Jets 35-8.
The Bills end the regular season with a win and head into the playoffs as potentially the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Prediction: Bills win (13-4)
Final record prediction for Bills: 13-4
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