AFC East is second-worst NFL division says PFF

The AFC East is wide open in 2020, could the Bills bring home their first division title since 1995? A lack of talent among the rest of the AFC East certainly helps the Bills there, but it doesn’t help the overall ranking of the division in Pro Football Focus’ recent poll.

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Ranking each division in the NFL, PFF slots the AFC East as the league’s second-worst, just ahead of the NFC East. The Bills do earn some praise from the football analytics outlet, though.

Here’s PFF’s take on the Bills:

From top to bottom, the Bills have one of the best rosters in the league. There just aren’t many weak spots on their team, and their wide receiver trio of Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley gives Josh Allen plenty to work with on offense. The question is whether he can take the next step in his game and become a more accurate quarterback. It’s hard to have sustained success when your quarterback is earning PFF grades in the mid-60s, which is exactly what Allen has done in each of the past two seasons.

PFF pegs the Jets and Dolphins still behind the Bills and Patriots. But it’s hard to argue without Tom Brady that the AFC East, from top-to-bottom, is among the league’s most talented. The other three teams aside from the Bills are really… reeling. Their upcoming seasons could go either way while most peg the Bills on the upswing.

By comparison, the top divisions in the NFL via PFF’s rankings, could see their teams also go many different ways. However, it’s because there’s so much talent around them in their division… and someone has to win and someone has to lose, right? Currently the NFC West is pegged as PFF’s best division.

… and naturally the Bills face that division in 2020. Those four opponents will be the Cardinals, Seahawks, 49ers and Rams.

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Full list of players that opted-out for Bills’ 2020 opponents

Which players from Buffalo Bills’ 2020 opponents opted-out of the 2020 NFL season?

On Thursday, the much anticipated deadline in the NFL came and went. Typically we’re referencing the trade deadline, but due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we received a new one this offseason.

A new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLPA slated a 4 p.m. deadline for players in the league to opt out of playing next season due to safety concerns in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unlikely the league will have fans in seats in September, but the plan for now is to have professional football happen, with 66 less players participating.

That number is total number of players that decided not to play next season. Of those, two were from the Bills, defensive tackle Star Lotulelei and cornerback EJ Gaines. In the remaining 64, there were many players who would have suited up against the Bills, potentially, next season.

It’s well known that player opt-outs stung the Patriots pretty heavily, but there’s still 12 other teams to consider on the Bills’ 2020 schedule. Who opted out amongst all 13 opponents Buffalo will face next year? Your full list here:

Dolphins

WR Allen Hurns
WR Albert Wilson II

Jets

WR Josh Doctson
OL Leo Holoamatangi
LB CJ Mosley

Patriots

RB Brandon Bolden
OT Marcus Cannon
S Patrick Chung
LB Dont’a Hightower
TE Matt LaCosse
WR Marquise Lee
OL Najee Toran
FB Danny Vitale

Rams

OT Chandler Brewer

Raiders

LB Ukeme Eligwe
DB DJ Killings
DE Jeremiah Valoaga

Titans

OT Anthony McKinney

Chiefs

RB Damien Williams
OL Lucas Niang
OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

Seahawks

OL Chance Warmack

Cardinals

OL Marcus Gilbert

Chargers

N/A

49ers

WR Travis Benjamin
OL Shon Coleman
C Jake Brendal

Steelers

N/A

Broncos

OL Ja-Wuan James
DL Kyle Peko

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Report: NFL could play on Saturday if college football season is canceled

It’s not looking good for NCAA college football in 2020. According to various reports on Monday, college game could be done for this fall. As early as Tuesday there could be announcements involving the Pac-12 and Big Ten and their intentions to …

The differences between the NFL and college football are clear, as universities could be held liable if the worst were to happen to a student-athlete if games are held in the fall. But no college football on Saturdays would leave a huge void on weekends throughout the fall and winter. However, the NFL may have a possible solution and it’s a simple one.

Play some of their games on Saturday during the regular season. Multiple reports on Monday indicated that the NFL is watching the decision that’s pending for college football’s Power 5 Conferences which are expect to come this week.

NFL football on Saturday isn’t something that we’re completely not used to, though. Just last season, three games in Week 16 were played on a Saturday, one of which was the Bills at Patriots. But in this case, the NFL would probably look to not only do Saturday games sooner, but potentially throughout the season. ESPN’s Adam Schefter pointed out that the seasons ongoing for the NHL, NBA and MLB all would be winding down in October, so the NFL would then have a big window of opportunity with potential Saturday slates of football.

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NFL cuts 2020 preseason in half, which games do Bills lose?

NFL announces Buffalo Bills, league will trim preseason games in 2020.

The NFL has cut into the Buffalo Bills’ upcoming schedule finally. According to various reports, the NFL has cut off Weeks 1 and 4 of the upcoming 2020 preseason schedule. Prior to this, the only offseason activity the league cancelled was the 2020 Hall of Fame game.

For the Bills, that means their preseason meetings at the Ravens on Aug. 14, and their yearly-exhibition game against the Lions, which was set to be in Detroit, is also cut.

The NFL has yet to confirm the cuts yet, but one such as this was expected to come down at some point due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The first and final weeks of the preseason typically are the two games that mean the least to starting players in terms of playing time.

With the cuts, each snap will become that much more important. In addition, if the cuts truly are the first and fourth games and teams will play their regularly scheduled Weeks 2 and 3 games, that’s big for Buffalo.

Both of the games potentially cut for the Bills are on the road, meaning the other two would be at home. If that’s the case, the Bills could be among the safest teams in the entire league in terms of battling COVID-19 since they wouldn’t be doing any traveling. In this scenario, the Bills would be “quarantined” in Orchard Park from the start of training camp on July 28 until September 20 when the Bills travel to the Dolphins for a Week 2 meeting. Their regular season opener is home against the Jets.

In their other two games on Aug. 21 and 29, respectively, Buffalo is scheduled to welcome the Falcons and Colts to Orchard Park. Once the NFL does officially announce the cuts, expect some clarification on the matter of changing locations of games.

Putting the Bills on the road for at least one of the these games could be dubbed a safety precaution of sorts for other clubs, so the league might end up doing some tinkering of schedules. Some reports indicate that might be the case, but nothing official yet from the league.

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Bills announce season ticket holders can skip 2020 season

Buffalo Bills season ticket update: Fans can skip 2020 for 2021.

The Buffalo Bills announced on Tuesday that season ticket holders will have the option to skip the 2020 season without any penalty due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It’s unclear if fans, of any amount, will be allowed to attend games this fall just yet.

The release from the Bills reads, in part:

All season ticket members will be given the opportunity to opt out of their season ticket commitment for this season with an option to return for the 2021 season while maintaining their account seniority and seat location. An email with opt-out information will be sent in the coming days.

The Bills have reportedly already started drawing up seating plans at New Era Field in regard to smaller seating capacities. The NFL also announced last week that team’s will be allowed to “tarp off” lower seating levels and use those to sell advertisements, if they so choose. With this recent Bills season ticket news, that option seems likely to be flexed by the team.

Click here for the full announcement from the team.

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NFL could shorten upcoming preseason

League could shorten the 2020 NFL preseason due to coronavirus.

The NFL is still of the belief that the 2020 regular season will go on as expected, and already planned for, in September. But it appears the preseason may not.

Teams across the league have released schedules for their preseason exhibition games, but those reportedly might not go on as expected. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL and players union are talking about potentially trimming the preseason slate due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic:

Shortening the preseason would allow for a longer “ramp-up” period, regardless of whether players agree to report a week or two early, and provide extra time for medical experts to finalize game-day protocols for testing, etc. More at the top of the hour on @nflnetwork

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 10, 2020

The NFL has already had numerous changes to their current offseason due to the pandemic, but in all likelihood, many players may not mind having less exhibition games to account for. That’ll help avoid injury.

However, players might see the least amount of actual football in league history this offseason prior to games counting in the regular season. The league recently sent a memo to teams in regard to getting players back in the building for workouts. In that, it was stressed the teams should conduct social distancing and virtual meetings and practices, when possible. The NFL and NFLPA have yet to agree on a time frame for players to return to facilities, but that slate of rules isn’t exactly anything that reminds one of a physical sport.

In addition, the league and players could use this opportunity to take a look into the future as well. The latest CBA agreement calls for an addition of a 17th regular season game starting next year, along with a shortening of the preseason. Teams could be getting a head start on prepping for an offseason with a shorter preseason in the coming weeks.

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Bills to log seventh-most travel miles in NFL next season

Buffalo Bills and their travel miles in the 2020 NFL season.

A year after having some of the best travel in the NFL in 2019, the Bills will have a much different element ahead of them with their 2020 NFL schedule.

In 2019, the Bills traveled a total of 8,710 miles to complete their slate. That number more than doubles in 2020.

With their slate ahead of them, assuming is goes on as planned, the Bills will have to travel approximately 20,066 miles next season. That’s the seventh-most in the NFL, a year removed from having the third-least amount of travel in the league.

Of course this all has to do with opponents. Last season the Bills faced the NFC East and AFC North. The North actually has teams such as the Steelers and Browns who some argue should be in Buffalo’s usual division because of how close the three teams are. The East is one of the more bizarre divisions based on locations and the Bills had to travel to the Cowboys because of that. All things considered, Buffalo to Dallas was the furthest trip the Bills had to make a year ago.

Looking ahead, the Bills face both western divisions in the AFC and NFC next season. Because of this, the Bills have much larger-scale travel coming, including road games at the Raiders (AFC), Cardinals (NFC), 49ers (NFC) and Broncos (AFC).

But the Bills seem confident already in their travel style. Earlier this offseason, it was revealed that the Bills were the only AFC East team to not request back-to-back west coast games. The NFL allows teams traveling across the country to request having such games in their upcoming schedules.

The Dolphins requested to have their meeting with the 49ers and Broncos back-to-back, while the Jets have the Seahawks and Rams. The Patriots have both LA teams, the Chargers and Rams.

For the Bills, they’ll have their work on the west coast sprinkled around. In Week 3 the Bills visit the Raiders, then there’s Week 10 at the Cardinals, Week 13 at the 49ers and then a final trip to the Broncos in Week 15.

According to this list from the NFL Wire, the Bills have the second-most travel among AFC East teams in 2020 with the Dolphins at 21,183 miles. The Patriots will travel (19,266 miles while the Jets check in at 17,246 miles.

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PODCAST: Way-too-early game-by-game predictions for Bills in 2020 NFL season

Kyle Silagyi is joined by Justin DiLoro and McKenna Middlebrook to predict the Buffalo Bills’ record in the 2020 NFL season.

Though much uncertainty still surrounds the 2020 NFL season, the league provided fans with a bit of hope earlier this month, releasing the (potentially temporary) schedules for each of its 32 teams.

After an offseason of perceived roster improvement, many expect the Buffalo Bills to cement themselves as one of the league’s premier teams in the upcoming campaign. On this episode of The Kyle Silagyi Variety Hour, host Kyle Silagyi is joined by BillsWire staff writers Justin DiLoro and McKenna Middlebrook to look at the Bills’ schedule and predict the outcome of each game.

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Bills finalize 2020 preseason schedule

Buffalo Bills 2020 preseason schedule.

Last week when the NFL released their 2020 regular season slate, the preseason schedule was still in its rough draft stages.

Now the preseason schedule is completed.

Here’s the Bills’ finalized 2020 exhibition season schedule, the final time the team will play four preseason games before the league reduces the number of games from four to three in 2021. That’ll go hand in hand with the 17-game new 17-game schedule:

Week 1: Friday, Aug. 14 at Ravens (7:30 p.m.)

Week 2: Friday, Aug. 21 vs. Falcons (7:00 p.m.)

Week 3: Saturday, Aug. 29 vs. Colts (4:00 p.m.)

Week 4: Thursday, Sept. at Lions (7:00 p.m.)

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Bills only AFC East team to not request back-to-back west coast games

Buffalo Bills only AFC East team to not put in 2020 schedule requests.

When traveling NFL teams have some flexibility. Clubs can request one little curveball in their schedules.

If a team, such as the Bills, is heading a few time zones away out west, they’re allowed to request those games to be back-to-back. The 2020 season is an example of Buffalo having a chance to do that.

However, the Bills evidently did not do that.

Per Sharp Football, the NFL granted every one of these requests made by teams ahead of the 2020 season. Teams that did so were the 49ers, Rams, Raiders, Chargers, Cardinals, Patriots, Jets and Dolphins. That means the Bills were the only AFC East team to not want some of their West Coast games to be back-to-back.

It’s kind of a science that you can’t prove whether or not it works. Kind of a… to each their own. Advantage? Less travel. Disadvantage? A team does not have their home facility to work at… and they can’t go home and see their own families.