The Buffalo Bills are once again going to find themselves playing in front of a national audience as they have five primetime games this season. However, four of them are in the first six weeks of the season with a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Miami Dolphins in Week 2, a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 on Monday Night Football, then a road trip to Baltimore to play the Ravens on Sunday Night Football in Week 4.
After a game against the Houston Texans in Week 5, the Bills are back in prime time against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. The final primetime game currently scheduled is not until Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers.
However, the NFL began utilizing 'flex scheduling' in 2006 to try to put the best matchups in front of the biggest audience. While some spots, like Sunday Night Football, could begin flexing games as early as Week 5, the three main prime time spots (Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football) can flex any time between Week 13 and Week 17.
Buffalo Bills could have their Week 15 matchup with Detroit Lions flexed
Towards the end of the season, the Buffalo Bills are going to find themselves in games that they should win, like in Week 14 against the Rams or their two games against the Patriots in Week 16 and Week 18, however one game does stand out as the perfect candidate to be moved to prime time.
In Week 15, the Bills will be traveling to Detroit to play the Lions which has the potential to be a Super Bowl preview. Both were playoff teams this past season and entering this season with high expectations.
Inside a dome, this has the potential to be a high-scoring game between two excellent offenses with top-tier quarterbacks under center. Depending on how this season plays out, it would not be surprising to see this game moved into a primetime spot.
However, one recent wrinkle that could stop that is CBS and FOX are now able to protect one game each week from being moved to the primetime spot. This was a new rule that was added during the most recent negotiations with media partners.
The Bills vs. Lions matchup is currently set to be played on CBS at 4:25 PM and considering the other games that week, this could be the biggest game of the week.