The N.F.L. released the schedules for the upcoming season tonight, so, let's take a look at some key observations and game this year for the Buffalo Bills.
Key Games
- On the road against Chicago 9-7.- There is nothing like opening day during the N.F.L. season, and with the Bills feeling the optimism, expect them to want to get off on the right foot against the Bears. It'll be refreshing to see the Bills open up the season against a team that's not named the Patriots. Expect a good matchup and a close game, and a game that the Bills should win. The Bills have one of the easier schedules in the league, so if they win their first game against Chicago, it could mean good things for the team the rest of the way.
- At Home versus New England 10-12.- If the Bills want to dig themselves out of the A.F.C. East cellar, it all starts with beating the Pats. Remember when they did two years ago, and it was great? Yea, I do too, and if the Bills want to prove themselves as true contenders for the playoffs this year, they're going to have to go through New England. Aside from Chicago, this will be one of the first tests the Bills will have to face, so it'll be interesting to see how they rise to the challenge, that New England will bring to the Ralph.
Brady and the Pats will play the Bills twice this upcoming season, no surprise there.
- On the road against Denver 12-7.- Once again, it looks like the road to the SuperBowl in the A.F.C. will either be going through Denver or New England. It will figure to be a tough environment in Denver, but expect the Bills to give Denver a good game thanks to their hard hitting, physical defense. It'd be a nice surprise to see if the Bills can walk away with a win in the Mile High city, but with such a young team, it'd be nice to see them give Denver a good fight.
Quick Hits
- A report surfaced about two weeks ago, that the Bills would be playing on Thanksgiving for the first time since 1994 against Detroit, unfortunately for Bills fans, that obviously wasn't the case. The Bills will be playing the Lions this year instead on October 5th, and not on Turkey Day as it was originally reported.
- Carrying on from the Thanksgiving game, the Bills will once again go through another year of not having a Monday Night game. The Bills haven't been on Monday Night since 2009, when they lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Patriots. It's kind of surprising for the league not to give the Bills a home Monday Night game, since the fanbase would be more then supportive, and has shown that they can give you a good game when the lights are on.
- The Bills may not have gotten a Monday Night game, but will be playing the Dolphins on Thursday Night for the second straight year! The Bills will be hoping to repeat last years success, by "squishing the fish" once again on national t.v.
The Bills will enter this year with their heads high, and feeling like this is truly their year. The schedule does not pose many obstacles, and for once, the Bills look to be in a good seat to lock up a wildcard birth for the first time since 1999. As usual, all Bills fans feel this way in the off-season, so let's talk come December, ok?
For now, the Bills are undefeated, just like everyone else.