We’re one step closer to Week 1 of the regular season as the NFL just announced their regular season and preseason schedules. And the Buffalo Bills open up their season at home against the Arizona Cardinals, and you can find the rest of the Bills schedule here. As always the Bills will have a bunch of primetime games, as the league gave them five total, including three in September alone.
The Bills have their toughest part of the schedule early on in the season when they go on the road against the Baltimore Ravens Week 4 on Sunday Night Football, the Houston Texans, and the New York Jets Week 6 on Monday Night Football. As the team gets younger, these new players will face their toughest opponents early in the season, and that may be a good thing.
The new rookies will have a chance to grow and improve early on, as they’ll have to rely on their rookies more than they have in years past. Players like Keon Coleman, Cole Bishop, and DeWayne Carter may get called upon early and often, and they’ll have to be at the top of their game right away. This will be a good stretch to see how fast they grow as a unit. Head Coach Sean McDermott and his young staff will have a tall task early on in the season, and they’ll have to get a lot of their new shiny players prepared to play some very tough opponents.
Week 4 against the new-look Ravens will be an exciting game for both sides, as the Bills get a look at their run game with Derrick Henry in the mix to pair with Lamar Jackson’s legs, and Devontez Walker out wide, who many Bills fans were hoping the Bills would snag in the draft.
Week 5 will be the first time the Bills face Stefon Diggs after the trade, and he’s not the only player they have to worry about. Houston also acquired Joe Mixon this off-season along with stars like Tank Dell, Nico Collins, and Dalton Schultz who they already had on the roster. Houston has championship aspirations, and the Bills want to spoil Diggs’ reunion.
Week 6 against the brand-new Jets will be the toughest Jets team we’ve faced in quite some years, as long as they can stay healthy. They’ve done a lot of work to improve their team this off-season, including signing Mike Williams and Tyron Smith in free agency, and drafting Braelon Allen and Olu Fashanu just a few weeks ago.
All in all, this three-game stretch can turn out well for the Bills. However, they’ll have to put up a fight in each of these games just to win. If they can win even two of these games, I’ll be happy with how it played out. Because all three of these teams Buffalo faces are going all in for a championship this year, and want to knock out the Bills and Kansas City Chiefs this season. These teams have heard all the national media outlets say that the Bills will win a Super Bowl for the last three seasons now, and they are tired of hearing it. It’s the Bills' job to make sure their Super Bowl dreams remain a reality, and this three-game stretch may end up being a huge deal when we get to the postseason.