Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffalo Bills are coming off another big year. However, there are still questions about if the Bills and Josh Allen can ever get over the hump and make the Super Bowl. This year, the Bills have an easier schedule than last season, so will Josh Allen and company be able to possibly take the number one seed?
The Buffalo Bills home and away opponents are broken down to the following:
Home
Denver Broncos
Las Vegas Raiders
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New York Jets
New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins
Away
Philadelphia Eagles
Cincinnati Bengals
Washington Commanders
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
New York Jets
New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins
One of the home games that the Buffalo Bills have will be played in London. The Bills have to face off against the AFC West and NFC East for their yearly divisional opponents. While the AFC East has been tough, I am still confident that this is the Bills division to lose. The Dolphins will be the biggest test for the Bills, and once again I think the two will split. Meanwhile, the Patriots and Jets are still not there yet, and even if the Jets acquire Aaron Rodgers, I don’t believe their roster as a whole is better than the Bills. However, last season the Jets did beat the Bills, which could possibly happen again as the Jets have done some upgrading on offense. The Patriots are still trying to figure things out under Mac Jones, and once again their roster is not on the same level with the Bills. I believe the Bills split with the Dolphins, Jets, and sweep the Patriots again.
The AFC West should be a fun division to matchup against for the Bills. The division has the reigning Super Bowl champions, and three other teams trying to make a name for themselves in this loaded conference. The biggest reason for why the Bills could sweep this entire division is, the Bills are a regular season team that can beat their opponent on offense or defense. The Bills consistently win a lot of games during the regular season, and have normally taken down the Chiefs during the regular season. The Chargers are trying to become the next threat for everybody, but with Justin Herbert having never faced off against the Bills before, it could become a very interesting primetime game. I could see the Chargers and Bills matchup being a shootout, which if it comes down to whoever has the ball last, I trust Josh Allen more than I do Justin Herbert. This is just based on how poorly Herbert’s before the half/last two minutes of a game stats are. As for the Raiders and Broncos, these are two teams the Bills should easily beat. The Bills are more well-built than both teams, the only thing the Bills have in terms of a weakness compared to both teams is a running game. I can see the Bills only losing to the Chargers or Chiefs, but taking care of the rest of the AFC West.
The NFC East is an interesting division for the Bills to have as opponents. Since the Bills are more dominant on offense through the air, I can see the Bills being challenged by the Cowboys and Eagles. Even though the Eagles lost good players on defense, the team is still loaded with young talent. I believe the Cowboys have a much better pass and run defense, as the Bills already struggle to have an elite run game, which I can see being the main reason the Bills could fall to the Cowboys. The Giants and Commanders are still extremely young, and I don’t think Sam Howell will be able to find a groove against the Bills defense. The same can be said about Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, as the Bills were fairly good in rushing yards allowed per game. I could see the Giants struggling to run the ball, leaving them to pass more, which in 2022 the Giants were 26th in offensive passing. In hindsight, the Bills at most should lose twice against the NFC East, or possibly only fall to the Cowboys.
This leaves the remaining opponents, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, and Jacksonville. If there is any indication that the Bills and Bengals matchup is must-see television, last season the game was canceled due to an unfortunate tragedy with Damar Hamlin. What was supposed to be the best game of the season turned into a nightmare for everybody. With a new season, and hopefully a better prepared NFL, this game should be electric, or it will be how it left off in a domination of the Bengals offense. When the Bills and Bengals faced off in the AFC Divisional game, there was no fight from the Bills, which the Bengals have a better offense than the Bills in general. I can see the Bills once again falling to the Bengals, but maybe this time it’ll be closer.
The Buccaneers are without Tom Brady, they have Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, I think it’s safe to say whoever their starter is, the Bills defense will dominate for this matchup. This leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team rising to the challenge of being an underrated team. Doug Pederson is a mastermind genius, and Trevor Lawrence is starting to get more and more comfortable, this could be quite the matchup. I do see the Bills taking this one, but I think it could be like the Lions vs. Bills matchup from the 2022 season, a young team rising to challenge one of the most dominant teams in the NFL but falling short.
The Buffalo Bills don’t have an overwhelming home schedule, but their away schedule could come down to affect playoff seeding if they get some of these teams in December. I definitely believe the Bills will win the AFC East again, and I see the Bills winning 13 games and only losing four. The Bills are still one of the top three threats in the AFC, and I see them being able to continue being efficient when it comes to winning for the 2023 season.
