Tag: buffalo bills schedule

16 storylines for Bills in 2020 schedule

Storylines for each Buffalo Bills 2020 regular season scheduled game.

With the Buffalo Bills 2020 regular season schedule having been delivered to us last week, there’s plenty of intriguing matchups.

In fact, you can find some type of storyline for each and every one of them. Some are obvious, like the QB king of the AFC East skipping town. Others are underlying ones.

With that, here are 16 storylines for Bills fans each week of the team’s upcoming schedule:

Bills wide receiver John Brown. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

WEEK 1- SUNDAY, SEPT. 13, 1:00 P.M.: JETS AT BILLS

For the fifth-straight season, the Jets or Ravens start their year against the Bills. It’s Gang Green this time around. Once again, we’re going to see the same ol’ storyline, but in a bit bigger manner. In the third season of any NFL player, you’re supposed to get the full package. This is Josh Allen vs. Sam Darnold, magnified by it being the start of each of their third pro years. Who looks better?

WEEK 2- SUNDAY, SEPT. 20, 1:00 P.M.: BILLS AT DOLPHINS

After starting in the AFC East, the Bills stick with the division and head to Miami for the Dolphins. It’s expected that this will be quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s first-ever home game in South Beach. Could actually be a big crowd in Miami for once for this one. His first game is in New England against the Patriots. How does Tagovailoa handle the Bills for the first time?

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Ranking the Bills’ 2020 games from easiest to toughest

Ranking games on the Buffalo Bills’ 2020 NFL schedule.

We’ve known who the Buffalo Bills would play in 2020 for months now. But exactly when plays a part in it, too.

There’s primetime to consider, order of games, and where the bye week falls. All of these things could give the Bills an advantage or disadvantage. On Thursday, the NFL released all that information and we now know Buffalo’s upcoming schedule for next season.

Just based on opponents alone, the Bills enter the year with the fifth-hardest schedule in the NFL.

But now that the dust has settled on the Bills’ schedule, let’s rank all 16 games based on difficulty, from easiest to toughest:

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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Week 1- Sunday, Sept. 13, 1 p.m.: Jets at Bills

For the past five-straight seasons, the Bills have started their season against either the Jets or Ravens, three of them being the Jets. Anyway, the Bills really have to handle their business in the division next season. Why this meeting ranks as the easiest on Buffalo’s schedule? The Jets have a lot of new pieces on offense, namely their offensive line, and they wont get any time to mesh before meeting the Bills on opening day.

Week 2- Sunday, Sept. 20, 1 p.m.: Bills at Dolphins

Tua Tagovailoa will make his home debut in Miami in front of Dolphins fans, against the Bills. His first game is going to be against the Patriots on the road. With New England in mind, Bill Belichick always crushes rookie quarterbacks. He’s going to put on tape, right away, how to top Tua, and Sean McDermott’s crew will do the same.

WEEK 8- SUNDAY, NOV. 1, 1 P.M.: PATRIOTS AT BILLS

Speaking of the Patriots, who even knows what will happen by Week 8 here, which is why they’re not listed easier meetings than the other AFC East foe. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham is certainly not as highly-touted as Sam Darnold or Tagovailoa, but maybe by Week 8 he’s gotten into a rhyme a bit? Or maybe he’s benched? Also putting this one in the No. 3 hole is Belichick, who still has a good defense and will play at home in this one.

Week 17- Sunday, Jan. 3, 1 p.m.: Dolphins at Bills

By Week 17, Tagovailoa will no longer be a rookie and could be slinging it pretty well. On top of that, the Dolphins also have a revamped defense and plenty of other younger prospects that will no longer be rookies by the season finale as well. The Bills will be a totally different team by then.

Bills defensive end Trent Murphy. Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Week 7- Sunday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m.: Bills at Jets

Take that last line and apply it here. By Week 7, the Jets should be a better team that has meshed a bit more by the time these two meet again. But by no means should the Bills struggle in this one. Again, if the Bills want to take the AFC East in 2020, they have to take the bull by the horns and wipe out the division.

Week 12- Sunday, Nov. 29, 1 p.m.: Chargers at Bills

With a strong defense, the Bills should have a good game against Justin Herbert. Perhaps Tyrod Taylor will be starting for the Bolts early in the season, but by Week 12, it seems likely that the rookie will take over. But while the Chargers might have an inexperienced guy running the show on offense, their defense is still pretty damn good, the No. 6 overall unit in the NFL last year.

Week 16- Monday, Dec. 28, 8:15 p.m.: Bills at Patriots

So the Bills will probably have an easier slate against the Patriots next season, but it’s really hard to imagine their defense taking a step back. Added into that: This particular meeting will be at Gillette Stadium, and under the light of Monday Night Football. Buffalo should have a look at a win, but it won’t be easy.

Week 3- Sunday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m.: Rams at Bills

The Rams are a bit of a coin flip heading into the 2020 season, so it’s hard to rank them. We’re not far off from seeing them in the Super Bowl, but then last season, they took a decent step back in what is a good division in the NFC West. Having said that, the Bills’ secondary should be up to the test against quarterback Jared Goff, especially at home.

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9 takeaways from the Bills’ 2020 schedule release

Takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 2020 schedule release.

The full Buffalo Bills 2020 NFL schedule is now live. The Bills have some tough, intriguing matchups en route, assuming the season goes on as planned.

Better get used to taking some mid-day naps to stay up a bit later, too.

With that, here are nine takeaways from the Bills’ 2020 schedule:

Welcome to primetime

The Bills finally got their respect from the big networks. Buffalo will be playing four times on primetime this upcoming season. The first comes in Week 6 in a tough one: A short week on Thursday with the Chiefs coming to town.

Then three of Buffalo’s final five games are on primetime. After the champs, the NFC champion 49ers will host the Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 13. Week 14 then is another repeat primetime game from last season, as the Steelers visit the Bills on Sunday Night Football. In Week 16, it’ll be one more as the Patriots invite the Bills to town, once again on Monday Night Football.

Having four marks the first time since 1996 the Bills have had that many, which is a single-season high for the team. In Week 15, the Bills play a “TBD” game against the Broncos as well. Perhaps another primetime-type game awaits then?

 

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Schedule release: Bills 2020 slate among NFL’s toughest

The Buffalo Bills’ 2020 strength of schedule.

On Thursday we’ll get the final, critical, pieces of information on the Buffalo Bills’ 2020 schedule: When and where they’re playing.

The NFL will start releasing schedules at 8 p.m. that evening.

But we know a few things already, namely who the Bills play exactly. Now we just need the order, which again, is of massive importance.

In 2019, the Bills finished with a 10-6 record, good for second place in the AFC East.

he lone playoff team Buffalo defeated was the Tennessee Titans, but with a massive asterisk.

The Titans turned things around thanks to quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who replaced Marcus Mariota. When the Bills faced the Titans, they hadn’t yet made the switch to Tannehill. To some NFL observers, the Bills never defeated a team with much merit. Although others would agree there are the Cowboys and Steelers to consider.

Looking ahead, basing things on strength of schedule from teams’ records the previous year, the Bills will certainly have a chance to prove themselves in 2020.

Heading into the 2020 offseason, the Bills will have the fifth-hardest schedule next season. Buffalo is in a three-way tie for fifth, along with the Lions and Falcons. Looking back on the season that was, Buffalo’s opponents gave them the NFL’s 26th-hardest schedule to navigate.

Again, the Bills can only play the hand they’re dealt. So in 2019, 26th doesn’t mean much. Buffalo handled its business and got into the postseason. But the upcoming slate of games in 2020, as of now, appears much more difficult.

Here’s the full breakdown of the NFL’s strength of schedule:

1. New England Patriots: 137-118-1 (.537)

2. New York Jets: 136-119-1 (.533)

3. Miami Dolphins: 135-120-1 (.529)

4. San Francisco 49ers: 134-120-2 (.528)

T5. Buffalo Bills: 134-121-1 (.525)

T5. Detroit Lions: 134-121-1 (.525)

T5. Atlanta Falcons: 134-121-1 (.525)

T8. Arizona Cardinals: 132-123-1 (.518)

T8. Houston Texans: 132-123-1 (.518)

T10. Los Angeles Rams: 131-123-2 (.516)

T10. Minnesota Vikings: 131-123-2 (.516)

12. Denver Broncos: 131-125 (.512)

T13. Seattle Seahawks: 129-125-2 (.508)

T13. Chicago Bears: 129-125-2 (.508)

15. Green Bay Packers: 128-126-2 (.504)

T16. Indianapolis Colts: 128-127-1 (.502)

T16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 128-127-1 (.502)

T18. Carolina Panthers: 127-127-2 (.500)

T18. Kansas City Chiefs: 128-128 (.500)

20. Tennessee Titans: 127-128-1 (.498)

21. Las Vegas Raiders: 127-129 (.496)

22. Jacksonville Jaguars: 126-129-1 (.494)

23. Los Angeles Chargers: 126-130 (.492)

24. New Orleans Saints: 125-130-1 (.490)

25. Philadelphia Eagles: 124-131-1 (.486)

26. New York Giants: 123-132-1 (.482)

27. Cincinnati Bengals: 122-134 (.477)

28. Washington Redskins: 118-136-2 (.465)

29. Cleveland Browns: 118-138 (.461)

30. Dallas Cowboys: 117-138-1 (.459)

31. Pittsburgh Steelers: 117-139 (.457)

32. Baltimore Ravens: 112-144 (.438)

 

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Early look at Bills’ home & away opponents ahead of 2020 NFL schedule release

Reminder of Buffalo Bills home and away opponents ahead of 2020 NFL schedule release.

The NFL will release the official schedule for the 2020 regular season on Thursday at 8 p.m., but we already know exactly who the Buffalo Bills will be facing, both at home and on the road. The order of those games is what we’ll be finding out later this week.

Next season Buffalo will play their usual suspects in the AFC East. Then the Bills will faceoff against one other AFC division and another from the NFC. In 2020, that’ll be the AFC West and NFC West.

Finally, filling things out will be the Bills playing one team from the other AFC divisions who finish in the same position in their standings last year. The Bills finished second place in the AFC East, so from the AFC South and AFC North, they’ll play their second-place finishers from those respective groups as well.

So with all that, here’s how things will shakeout in some shape or form for the Bills:

Home

  • Patriots
  • Jets
  • Dolphins
  • Chiefs
  • Steelers
  • Seahawks
  • Rams
  • Chargers

Away

  • Patriots
  • Dolphins
  • Jets
  • Cardinals
  • 49ers
  • Raiders
  • Titans
  • Broncos

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Bills-Steelers Week 15 meeting flexed to Sunday Night Football

The Buffalo Bills’ Week 15 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers has been flexed into Sunday Night Football.

The NFL has added another national television appearance to the Buffalo Bills’ remaining schedule.

The league announced Sunday night that Buffalo’s Week 15 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers has been flexed to Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is now scheduled for 8:20 EST on NBC.

The flexed game could have serious postseason implications. At 9-3 and 7-5, respectively, the Bills and Steelers currently occupy the AFC’s two wild-card playoff spots.

The NFL’s decision comes just days after Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen put on a show in a Thanksgiving Day shellacking of the Dallas Cowboys. The game averaged 32.5 million viewers, per CBS, making it the most-watched regular-season contest in three years.

This is the second Buffalo game to be flexed this season. The team’s Week 16 matchup with the New England Patriots was recently flexed to Saturday, December 21, and moved to the 4:30 EST kickoff.

When the Bills’ 2019 schedule was released in April, fans quickly noted that it contained zero primetime games. Given the team’s consistent success and strong performance in its sole nationally televised game, the fact that a late-season game has been flexed into primetime is not all that surprising.

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Bills have NFL’s hardest remaining schedule entering Week 13

Buffalo Bills remaining NFL schedule heading into Week 13.

With the Dallas Cowboys on the horizon, the Bills will have a look at beating a team with a winning record this week. At 8-3, Buffalo hasn’t had to do that much, but the 6-5 Cowboys give them that opportunity.

But the fun doesn’t stop there. With five games left in the season, ESPN ranks the Bills’ schedule as the toughest-remaining schedule in the NFL.

After the Cowboys the Bills play vs. the Ravens (9-2), at the Steelers (6-5), at the Patriots (10-1) and vs. the Jets (4-7). Combined, those teams have a 35-20 record.

Here’s the full breakdown from Mike Clay on the NFL’s strength of schedule, league wide:

But wait, there’s more.

The Jets have the only losing record left on Buffalo’s remaining slate. They’re still amongst the hottest teams in the entire NFL.

The Jets are on a three-game winning steak and have mustered up 34 points in all three of those wins.

Currently the only team the Bills have beat with a winning record is the 6-5 Titans. However, when those two met, the Titans were 2-2 heading into the game.

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