Alaina Getzenberg, ESPNMay 15, 2024, 08:25 PM ET
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- Alaina Getzenberg is a staff writer who covers the Buffalo Bills and the NFL. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. You can follow her via Twitter @agetzenberg.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills' 2024 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate on Wednesday.
For a Bills team that is in transition after major offseason changes, there will be no time to ease into the year with a quick and tricky start to the season that includes four prime-time games in the first six weeks, including three straight from Weeks 2-4. Buffalo will also be on the road early, with four of the first six games away.
This schedule was going to be full of big games for the Bills no matter how it was ordered, with matchups against the two conference champions at home (separated by a bye week) and the entire NFC West among the matchups.
The division came down to the final game of the regular season last year, and in 2024 the Bills will have the Buffalo weather on the team's side with some of the AFC East matchups. The season ends with three straight games against the division (two against New England) with two of those games being played in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Here's what's in store for the Bills:
Bills 2024 regular-season schedule
Week 1: Sept. 8 vs. Arizona
Week 2: Sept. 12 at Miami (TNF)
Week 3: Sept. 23 vs. Jacksonville (MNF)
Week 4: Sept. 29 at Baltimore (SNF)
Week 5: Oct. 6 at Houston
Week 6: Oct. 14 at NY Jets (MNF)
Week 7: Oct. 20 vs. Tennessee
Week 8: Oct. 27 at Seattle
Week 9: Nov. 3 vs. Miami
Week 10: Nov. 10 at Indianapolis
Week 11: Nov. 17 vs. Kansas City
Week 12: BYE
Week 13: Dec. 1 vs. San Francisco (SNF)
Week 14: Dec. 8 at LA Rams
Week 15: Dec. 15 at Detroit
Week 16: Dec. 22 vs. New England
Week 17: Dec. 29 vs. NY Jets
Week 18: Jan. 4 or 5 at New England
Strength of schedule: T6th-hardest
Over/Under: 10.5
Biggest takeaway
A challenging start to the year. A national stage early awaits a Bills team with so many changes, and thrown in the middle of the prime-time games is a matchup against former Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs down in Houston for Week 6, which is sure to be a significant game on a variety of levels.
This is a Bills team that is filled with new faces, and getting on the same page quickly will be key with this tough of a slate to get things going. Last year's team showed that getting off to a hot start isn't necessary to not only make the playoffs, but win the division. However, that team also won five games to end the year. How this version of the Bills handles the first six weeks will be telling.
Revenge game
This could go one of two ways. The game against the Houston Texans is easily circled after the Stefon Diggs trade. That will be a significant matchup for both teams -- because of Diggs and the AFC playoff picture -- but the true revenge game for Buffalo? That would be when the Kansas City Chiefs come back to Orchard Park. Games with Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen at quarterback will always be big matchups, but after losing to the Chiefs at home in the divisional round last year, the Bills are getting Kansas City in Buffalo for the first time in the regular season since 2020. The teams have played three regular-season (and two postseason) games at Arrowhead Stadium since then. The Bills won all three regular-season meetings in Kansas City, but lost the regular-season game at home in 2020. While beating the Chiefs in the postseason is the big goal, this is again set up to be a key matchup in this series.
Bold prediction
The Bills will win six of their eight home games. This is not an easy slate ahead for a Bills team in transition, but no team has had a better home winning percentage than the Bills since 2020 (79.4%). The AFC East will present significant hurdles, especially from the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, in addition to the defending conference champions on each side -- the San Francisco 49ers and Chiefs -- visiting Buffalo. Warmer weather teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals heading to Buffalo is always an advantage, and there will be opportunities for the Bills to put together another strong home record.
