Five Games to Circle in 2025
The NFL schedule was released two weeks ago, yes I am late on publishing this one, and the Buffalo Bills will start the season on Sunday Night Football in a rematch of their playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens. Buffalo continued their primetime appearance demand from the networks with five in total, four of which will occur in the first six weeks before their early bye, along with another four games in the 4:25 spot. The Bills’ final regular season game at home vs the New York Jets is currently “TBD,” so they could potentially add to another stand alone primetime affair before the season ends.
Aside from the early bye week, this is one of the more favorable schedules the Bills have had in recent memory. They will travel 10,546 miles this season, ranking 31st in the NFL with only the Cincinnati Bengals traveling less. Four of their first six games are at home. They will face three teams with a head coach entering their first season with the team, and three of those four matchups occur before week six. They will face five teams entering the season with a new opening day starter than who was under center last season. After opening the season vs the Baltimore Ravens, they will not play a 2024 playoff team again until Week 9 vs the Kansas City Chiefs, six playoff teams in total. Buffalo’s strength of schedule ranks 5th easiest in 2025, based on total win percentage, and is the only team in the NFL that is currently the favorite in all 17 games. Below, I will dive into the five games I circled heading into the season.
2025 Buffalo Bills Regular Season Schedule
Week 1: Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo
Lamar Jackson vs Josh Allen to kick off the season on Sunday Night Football? Sign me up. This is the fourth time in NFL history that the reigning MVP and the previous year’s MVP will face off to open the season. I expect a game similar to their divisional round matchup in the playoffs, more so than the regular season blowout in Baltimore. Allen is 3-3 against Jackson in head-to-head matchups in his career, with a 1-3 record in the regular season. This will be a good measuring stick game to start the 2025 season.
Week 9: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo
Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen meet up for a rematch of the AFC Championship game. This will be the sixth regular-season matchup between the two quarterbacks, with Allen going 4-1, having won the last four. This should be another must-see game in the 4:25 time slot that has become a staple of the meetings.
Week 15: Buffalo at New England Patriots
I believe the Patriots will be the Bills’ biggest competition for the division moving forward, with the development of Drake Maye paired with the hire of Mike Vrabel at Head Coach. New England overhauled their roster in free agency and the draft and should have better chemistry in the second matchup between the AFC East rivals. I also want to see Stefon Diggs in the Patriots’ offense vs the Bills’ secondary. Josh Allen is 7-6 vs New England in his career, his worst against any divisional opponent, and 3-4 at Gillette Stadium (he gets the loss last year since he started the game).
Week 17: Philadelphia Eagles at Buffalo
Josh Allen is 0-2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, making them the only NFL team that he has never defeated (aside from the Bills) since he became a starter in the NFL. Jalen Hurts and the reigning Super Bowl Champions come to Buffalo for a Week 17 4:25 matchup that could be very important for both teams’ goal of securing their conference’s top seed. Their last meeting took a 59-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime, where the Bills eventually lost 37-34 in Week 12 of the 2023 season. I expect another great game between the two squads in this matchup as well.
Week 18: New York Jets at Buffalo
The final regular season home game at the Ralph. I am excited for the new stadium but its bittersweet to think about all of the games I attended at Ralph Wilson Stadium/New Era Field/Highmark Stadium. Hopefully this is a meaningless game on the field because Buffalo has locked up the division and 1 seed in the AFC. It will be interesting to see how the NFL schedules it as its currently “TBD.”
