Instant analysis of each game on Bills' 2024 schedule

We've broken down every game on the Buffalo Bills' recently released 2024 schedule.

Dec 26, 2021; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) and head / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Football is back.

Well, it’s not technically back, but we now know the exact date and time at which it will be back, as well as the scheduling details of each subsequent game throughout the 2024 NFL season. The NFL revealed its full 2024 regular season schedule on Wednesday evening, ushering in a new wave of talking points and anticipation as fans eagerly await the proper return of football.

The Buffalo Bills’ 2024 schedule is about as favorable as a team that has won its division in four straight seasons can ask for; though it features five primetime games, the team will not play on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. Buffalo also ranks in the bottom half of the league in total anticipated mileage, the 16,710 miles it’s set to travel throughout the 2024 campaign being the 12th fewest in the league.

Now that we know the dates and times of each of Buffalo’s 2024 matchups, let’s take a closer look at each contest.

Week 1 vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Bills will kick off their 2024 campaign against the Arizona Cardinals, the only team on Buffalo’s upcoming slate that quarterback Josh Allen does not have a career win against. Arizona is in the midst of a re-tool and is coming off a challenging 4-13 campaign that wasn’t fruitless; though many once questioned his long-term feasibility as an NFL head coach, Jonathan Gannon appears to be solid, and Monti Ossenfort looks to be one of the league’s more promising young executives. Quarterback Kyler Murray is in his first full season removed from a significant leg injury, and he's now paired with fourth-overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr., a young wide receiver who appears set to take the NFL by storm. The Cardinals did some solid, if unspectacular business in the spring, signing offensive lineman Jonah Williams, defensive back Sean Murphy-Bunting, and wide receiver Zay Jones; they’ll be better, but Buffalo should take this one to open the year. 

Week 2 at Miami Dolphins, Thursday Night Football

Buffalo has an immediate short week, as it’s set to take on the Miami Dolphins in the first Thursday Night Football matchup of the year. The game will see the Bills return to the stadium where they concluded their 2023 regular season, a 21-14 win that saw the Bills clinch their fourth straight AFC East championship. Both Buffalo and Miami look significantly different from their last meeting; the Dolphins brought in a new defensive coordinator in the form of Anthony Weaver before adding defensive reinforcements in the form of linebacker Jordyn Brooks, pass rusher Shaq Barrett, and former Bills safety Jordan Poyer. The team did, however, lose premier defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who has been a thorn in Allen’s side throughout most of his career.

Jan 7, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) reacts after the / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Week 3 vs Jacksonville Jaguars, Monday Night Football

Buffalo’s three most recent meetings with the Jaguars have been anything but normal—a 2018 contest resulted in an on-field brawl, a 2021 matchup (in which Jacksonville was coached by Urban Meyer) saw the Bills forget how to play football as they lost 9-6, and last year’s game in London saw a jet-lagged Buffalo fall to the Jags 25-20. We can only hope that the Bills’ Week 3 primetime matchup with the Jaguars will be a bit more “normal;” this game serves as a homecoming, of sorts, for wide receiver Gabriel Davis, a former Bills wideout who signed with Jacksonville in the offseason.

Week 4 at Baltimore Ravens, Sunday Night Football

If you looked up the definition of “perennial contender” in the dictionary, you may be greeted by the Baltimore Ravens logo. They’ve made the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons, appearing in the AFC Championship game last year. They figure to be competitive again this season; an already potent offense helmed by defending NFL MVP Lamar Jackson should be strong yet again given the addition of running back Derrick Henry and a projected leap from sophomore receiver Zay Flowers. It’ll be a drag-out game at M&T Bank Stadium; the Bills last played there in 2022, a come-from-behind 23-20 victory that very easily could have gone either way.

Week 5 at Houston Texans

C.J. Stroud, Tank Dell, and Nico Collins are fun players who will be discussed both locally and nationally in the leadup to this game, but all eyes will be on Stefon Diggs, Buffalo’s fourth-all-time leading receiver whom it traded to Houston in the 2024 offseason. It’ll be a ‘revenge game’ for Diggs (despite the fact that there’s really nothing to get revenge for); it will be interesting to see how the Bills’ revamped secondary sans Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, and Tre’Davious White is performing at this point in the year and how it figures to contain the Dell, Collins, and Diggs trio.

Related: Bills turn 2024 opponents into LeBron James in hilarious social media posts

Week 6 at New York Jets, Monday Night Football

New York quarterback Aaron Rodgers will have his first opportunity to defeat the team he suffered his Achilles injury against last season in Week 6. The Jets’ aspirations in the 2024 season largely come down to their quarterback; if he looks like Aaron Rodgers, his elite play should complement that of the defense and allow New York to be contenders in not only the AFC East, but general AFC. If he instead looks like a 40-year-old coming off a significant leg injury, it could be another long year for Gang Green. If the former is the circumstance that arises, this game could have long-term division implications. 

Week 7 vs. Tennessee Titans

The Titans went through a bit of turnover in the offseason, showing head coach Mike Vrabel the door and replacing him with former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. Tennessee, however, does not appear to be entering a rebuild, as it signed veteran wideout Calvin Ridley to a big-money deal in the offseason. The quality of this matchup will be largely determined by how quarterback Will Levis performs in his sophomore season; regardless, the Bills should come out with a win. 

Week 8 at Seattle Seahawks

The Bills last traveled to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Seahawks in 2016; the teams that take the field in Week 8 will share little in common with those that played nearly a decade ago. Seattle, in particular, saw much turnover in the offseason, with longtime coach Pete Carroll stepping away. Former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has taken over the post and has already put his stamp on the defense, signing linebackers Jerome Baker and former Bill Tyrel Dodson in the offseason.

Week 9 vs. Miami Dolphins

Buffalo avoids the Florida sun in Week 2 by playing in primetime; it looks as though Miami will miss out on the Western New York snow with this relatively favorable draw.

Week 10 at Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a sneakily competitive team; Anthony Richardson looked dynamic in his rookie year before being shut down with a shoulder injury, and if he’s recovered well, the NFL should look out. He has a talented set of weapons in Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Jonathan Taylor, and the recently drafted Adonai Mitchell; the Colts also landed one of the draft’s better pass rushers in Laiatu Latu at No. 15 overall. The Colts are set up for long-term success, and this could sneakily be a challenging game at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Bills.

Week 11 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Though the Chiefs have Buffalo’s number in the regular season, the Bills control the regular season series, winning the last three in-season contests (though they’d admittedly rather be in Kansas City’s position). As long as Allen and Patrick Mahomes are quarterbacking their respective teams, Buffalo vs. Kansas City matchups are box office; this year’s figures to be no different, hence why it’s occurring in a national broadcast slot There is an interesting storyline to watch in this year’s contest, however—the Bills traded the 28th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, who used the selection on Texas wideout Xavier Worthy. Buffalo ultimately selected Florida State pass-catcher Keon Coleman as the centerpiece of its receiving corps after trading down again; how both of these receivers are performing at this point in the season will be an oft-discussed topic in the lead-up to the game.

Week 12

Bye week.

Dec 7, 2020; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) scrambles out of the / Michael Chow via Imagn Content Services,

Week 13 vs. San Francisco 49ers, Sunday Night Football

The Bills will host the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers in a Sunday Night Football contest in Week 13. Coached by Kyle Shanahan, all praise that can be said about San Francisco’s offense has already been said in droves. The team did lose tackle Arik Armstead on defense, but the pass rush figures to remain productive thanks to Nick Bosa and offseason additions Maliek Collins and former Bill Leonard Floyd. This is going to be a tough one for Buffalo, but Josh Allen has performed well against San Francisco in the past, completing 80 percent of his passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns against the team in a 2020 win.

Week 14 at Los Angeles Rams

Buffalo last played the Los Angeles Rams in the 2022 NFL Kickoff game, a 31-10 win. The Rams have rebounded since that disappointing contest and general season, returning to the playoffs last season after a Super Bowl hangover 2022 campaign. The team has a solid set of offensive skill players in Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and running back Kyren Williams, and one of the game’s premier passers in Matt Stafford is still getting them the football. That said, the team lost All-World defensive tackle Aaron Donald to retirement in the offseason; Los Angeles will attempt to replace his production, but they’ll never replace him. Also a fun storyline—this will be the first time Buffalo will see cornerback Tre’Davious White after it moved on from him this offseason; the veteran defensive back signed a one-year deal with the Rams in March.

Week 15 at Detroit Lions

There’s a bit of affinity between the Detroit and Buffalo faithfuls, as the fanbases respect their Great Lakes brethren. That mutual adoration may fade in Week 15 when the Lions and Bills engage in what will be a tough contest; the Lions are coming off an NFC Championship appearance, and their offense, led by Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Jameson Williams, figures to again be one of the best in the league. Buffalo emerged victorious the last time it took on the Lions in Ford Field—a nailbiting Thanksgiving Day win in 2022—but it may not be so lucky this time.

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Week 16 vs. New England Patriots

The once-hated New England Patriots aren’t as despised as they once were in Western New York due primarily to the fact that they just aren’t as good as previously were; quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick have departed throughout the last few years, with the team, now coached by former New England linebacker Jerod Mayo, now very much in a transitionary period. The team added potential pillars to its roster in the 2024 NFL Draft in the form of quarterback Drake Maye and wide receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker; that said, the Patriots don’t figure to be competitive this season, and the Bills should take both of their matchups.

Week 17 vs. New York Jets

See Week 6 for analysis.

Week 18 at New England Patriots

See Week 16 for analysis.