corta765

They cannot got too much later due to network deals and scheduling. It was moved to May so in years the draft has some big QB hype and players they can build off of it. Get ready for Arch Manning to be on 3x when he comes in the league in a year or two.

AFC gets 9 home games this year. Given this is the last year at highmark my thought has been they open at home if they are away week 18. Again could be wrong, but all coaches wish they could open and close at home so I gotta believe if they are roadies week 18 they are home week 1. I actually made some good money on betting Rome's fall thanks for the reminder

Only reason I do not think it will happen is the Bills are most likely closing on the road week 18 if Xmas is the regular season finale. It is not completely unheard of although rare to open on the road AND close on the road, but my guess is they are home.

Hold on we only ranked the past 25 years. This game will have to wait 24 more to join the last 50 year rankings. Sorry those are the rules I didn't make them

It was blacked out although if you had satellite back then apparently you could get the game as my dad watched it at his uncles who had satellite. And yes the correct number in attendance was 750k and the snowbowl had 300k vs IND

2004 had a level of desperation as Bledsoe was aging but there still was a shot to be something otherwise it was going to get bad. The defense looked good until the final drive and so many what if moments. Freaking Ernest Wilford

Typically at home they lose one you are not expecting. That may be my pick this year for the reasons you said, especially if that game is earlier in the year and the secondary/d-line is figuring itself out. The game in 2017 was a straight up shootout and could see that again.

That Colts Broncos game in 2022 on TNF where Al Michaels was actively ripping on the game and apologizing to the fans is the only one I've seen come close to the despair that was this sh*t show. By the way Al deserved an award for his commentary that game it was hysterical.

They were not just good that loss cost them the 1 seed and instead of hosting Seattle they went there. We all know how that unfolded

That was our second Bills party and first victory and to this day our favorite. We were so excited we ran down our street with like 20 friends and family waving flags and playing the shout song. My wife's cousin jumped on our shed (no idea how he didn't fall through) waving the Bills flag. Ended up partying until like 10 pm celebrating because why not. Morning was not as fun haha Fred's run was something else, but I always forget Kyle Williams had a really big INT also. Robert Woods also had a gem of a catch late making me even more sad we couldn't keep him.

I should have added this subnote on this game. After the coin toss for OT my dad stepped away in the kitchen to use the bathroom and figured he had time. He heard me start yelling oh no this isn't good they might score and it changed quickly from semi joking to oh crap this is happening. He came out and I was like "we blew it the Jets ran another one back" and he goes "yea I could hear in the bathroom your tone changed quickly" lol. If there is one thing during the bad years I get a smile is the amount of good memories I have with my dad and later on my wife with all of these games. Luckily he is still kicking well, but I do not take it for granted.

Gailey intentionally took a safety late because he didn’t trust the offense to convert 4th down. It was a very very dull game

This was my early days as a Bills fan since I was 13/14 so it was a bummer but my investment wasn’t the same so can’t compare. But Bledsoe coming was super big deal

Home opener 2017. We do a big Bills party every year (since 2014) with family and friends. The game was billed as the toilet bowl as expectations were so low between the Jets & Bills. Yet it was a truly beautiful fall day, the game was very exciting and fun, and it was the start of the whole change even if we did not know it.

It is not perfect by any means but it is also the best guide available for reasonable guesses on the year and who may be good

Yall are crushing my dream one day at a time over here haha

Weeks 2-18 are the responsibility of @Kirby Jackson

Believe you are correct and they took the goal posts down also. There was another in 88 or 89 where they opened in Miami and Kelly ran it in last second. My dad said my uncle was so excited he nearly threw the TV through the window.

Def would've been top ten prob top five for me as I was in college senior year and we had a house full of Bills fans going wild. The worst thing about that loss too was it just cemented they were not going anywhere with Jauron. The prior two years they had floated near .500 with some major losses in big moments. They were the definition of in the hunt, but you hoped once you were actually over the hump to be in the dance. You had hoped the coach and QB had learned enough to take the step where you at least could be a wildcard team. PLUS with the ownership situation you knew things were not stellar so you were clinging to life. Lucky for us the we had a 6-3 loss coming a few weeks later!

2021 opener in terms of pain wasn't bad for me for three reasons: 1. Just having fans back and COVID going rearview mirror was so reliving and refreshing 2. PIT was a solid team still and BUF while good was not fully established yet.. so hiccups were not a surprise and Buffalo wasn't awful as much as the offense just had some miscues. 3. The Bills had a very favorable schedule and figured it out in the first half before that weird middle happened and they still got it together to be rolling at seasons end. Also my youngest son was born 2 days before the game. We were just happy to be home with home and our family so it was just nice having football by that point haha.

Irony is Miami buffalo was week 1 a lot during the 80/90s

Absolutely a week you should not take a lot out of good or bad. Generally good teams get good and bad teams get bad. 2019 opener was seismic you could tell we had a baller and the way he closed mattered to me a lot.

25 years into the new millennium has given us a lot of week games as Bills fans. The actual home opener is probably the best game yearly to attend as a Bills fan in terms of just anticipation as a fan and guaranteed energy in the stadium, but week one home or away has a truly special feel as a fan. Looking back was pretty fun as the Bills have had plenty of decent games but some truly great ones week 1 like the Rams on TNF or the Bears game in 2014... and a few just bad games like the 2018 47-3 implosion in Baltimore. I took a few minutes to rank from best to worst the last 25 years of Bills week 1 games. When ranking losses I judged not only on pain but expectations for the season also so a game like the 2002 OT loss to NY while an awful loss still gave hope at the time as Bledsoe looked really good. Not all losses are the same nor are all wins. Some games like losing 24-6 in 2000 or winning 22-7 over Houston in 2005 are relatively blah compared to the really good or really bad. Feel free to leave your thoughts, memories, what you hated or loved, and what you would change: 1 2022 31-10 win in LA on Opening Night (TNF) Bills fever was at max as they went to open the season against the Super Bowl Champion Rams with Von Miller now on roster. Buffalo blew out the Rams in spectacular fashion in the 2nd half capped by a 53 yard TD pass by Allen to Diggs 2 2003 31-0 rout over New England With the defense infused with new talent including Takeo Spikes & Lawyer Milloy last minute the Bills boat raced the rival Pats in a memorable opener for the ages. 3 2019 17-16 comeback win in NYC over the Jets Expectations were high in Buffalo & NYC that each teams young QB would a playoff berth. The Bills had a weird first half with some odd turnovers, but Josh Allen led a 17 pt comeback after the Bills went down 16-0 capped by a 38 yard John Brown TD with 3:00 minutes left. 4 2014 23-20 OT win in Chicago A whirlwind of an offseason included Ralphs passing, Jim Kelly beating cancer, & the Bills trading up for Sammy Watkins the Bills upset the Bears in Chicago with an OT win. Fred Jackson's 38 yard run in OT to setup the winning FG was one for the ages & the defense was good 5 2000 13-10 win over Titans on MNF At the time this game had mammoth hype as the Bills wanted revenge and the ending was just as memorable as the Bills special teams almost blew it again before Al Del Greco's kick went wide preserving a Bills victory 6 2015 27-14 win over the Colts With the hype at an all time hype under Rex Ryan & first year of Pegula ownership the Bills took down the Colts who were coming off an AFC title appearance and SB hopefuls at the time. Tyrod Taylor's 51 yard TD to Percy Harvin was a highlight for the year that got the Ralph going 7 2024 34-28 win over the Cardinals With many veteran studs gone it was expected to be a retool year and expectations were a bit lower. After sporting the Cardinals a 14-0 lead the Bills roared back as Josh found his groove and the defense successfully stopped a hail mary. 8 2017 21-12 win over the Jets First game of the McD/Beane era was billed as the toilet bowl both the Bills & Jets were expected to be really bad. Instead on a beautiful fall day the Bills beat the Jets at home in a fairly exciting game with Poyer & Hyde making some big plays & McCoy going for over 110 yards rushing. 9 2011 41-7 blowout win in KC Back in the royal blue uniforms the Bills trounced the Chiefs on opening day in KC. Ryan Fitzpatrick had four TDs as the Bills blew out the Chiefs in spectacular fashion 10 2020 27-17 win over the Jets With COVID altering the world the Bills hosted the Jets week 1 with no fans and made quick work of NY as Josh Allen threw for 300 yards for the first time in his career and Stefon Diggs had 88 yards in his first game 11 2008 34-10 beatdown of Seattle On a warm rainy opening day the Bills had a complete effort beating the Seahawks into submission. Brian Moorman pulled off a brilliant fake FG TD pass to Bills DE Ryan Denney while Trent Edwards had a solid day at QB 12 2005 22-7 win over the Texans In their throwback 1960's blue unis with the standing buffalo rookie QB JP Losman had a solid game in his first start on a beautiful September day as the Bills started 1-0. The highlight play was a TD pass from Losman to TE Jason Peters 13 2021 23-16 loss against the Steelers With Super Bowl expectations at an all time high and fans fully back in full force at home the Bills laid an egg against the Steelers as the offense outgained Pittsburgh, but a blocked Bills punt gave the Steelers a needed TD late in the game and Buffalo couldn't close the gap. 14 2006 19-17 loss in New England In Dick Jauron's first game as head coach the Bills had a 17-7 lead entering the 2nd half but couldn't hold as a safety in the 4th quarter gave the Patriots a 19-17 lead which they held to the end. 15 2023 22-16 OT loss in NYC against the Jets (MNF) In Aaron Rodgers first game as the Jets new QB & on the anniversary of 9/11 the Bills lost in NYC despite Rodgers playing just 2 downs. Josh had an all time bad game single handedly bringing the Jets back before special teams allowed a punt return TD in OT to finish the choke. 16 2010 15-10 loss at to Miami Chan Gailey was coaching his first game as the Bills lost a dull boring affair vs their rivals. The one Bills highlight was a 31 yard fourth down TD to Roscoe Parrish by Trent Edwards. 17 2001 24-6 loss against the Saints Despite leading 6-0 at half the Saints routed the Bills in the second half as Greg Williams first game as head coach went sour and Rob Johnson was bad and stud LB Sam Cowart hurt his achilles causing him to miss the remainder of the season 18 2002 37-31 OT loss against the Jets The hype coming into the season was sky high with Drew Bledsoe in the hold and a free agency that saw London Fletcher come in. An incredible back and forth game including a Bledsoe comeback ended in brutal pain as the Jets returned the opening kickoff in OT for a TD 19 2012 48-28 implosion in NYC against the Jets Expectations were high entering the season that this Bills team would end drought especially with Mario Williams signed and other additions. Instead the Bills 21-0 18 minutes into the season and everything went wrong fast before the offense found some life. 20 2013 23-21 heartbreaking loss to the Patriots With new head coach Doug Marrone & rookie QB EJ Manuel at the helm the Bills put a spirited fight in against New England holding a small lead late in the game before Brady led a last minute drive to put the Pats up late. 21 2016 13-7 loss in Baltimore In game that had the excitement of grass growing, the Bills offense was a major letdown, the Ravens had a nice passing TD, and everyone turned off the TV sad and bored. Worse any thoughts maybe the ship would be righted felt evaporated and the team wouldn't figure it out. 22 2018 47-3 destruction by the Ravens in Baltimore It was going to be a rebuilding year with Josh Allen drafted and some major cap hits being absorbed, but the Bills were down 26-0 at half. Nathan Peterman … Petermaned and Josh Allen ended up leading the team in passing despite not even playing until the 4th quarter. 23 2004 13-10 loss against the Jaguars Year 3 of Bledsoe and Year 1 of Mularkey ended in gut wrenching pain as the Jags benefited on the push out of bounds rule the NFL had with a game ending TD. This loss in retrospect was even worse as it kept the Bills out of the playoffs 24 2009 25-24 choke of a loss in New England on MNF With the Bills and fellow AFL sisters celebrating 50 years of football, the Bills went to New England for primetime. A seminal moment of the drought the Bills blew a 24-10 lead highlighted by Leodis McKelvin's kickoff fumble to lose to another Brady comeback. 25 2007 15-14 loss against Denver Whatever small optimism the season entered with was silenced as Bills TE Kevin Everett was hurt on kickoff in the 2nd half nearly paralyzing him. When the game restarted the Bills got a 14-6 lead but blew it as the Broncos got a last second 42 yard FG to win as time expired.

Even though we beat BAL and lost to KC, I would honestly rather play KC then BAL at this point. Josh has never had an issue with KC's D in terms of points and I am cautiously optimistic the defense can be a strength finally. Baltimore on the other hand is as hungry and desperate as the Bills and that run combo with Henry is a nightmare. You can truly only beat BAL one way which BUF did which is to minimize Henrys impact to just solid yards and no impact plays while having the lead to force them to play catch up. KC if the Bills win we can do in a few ways. BAL I honestly think is a bludgeon fest and there is no other way (That goes for any AFC team fyi). When KC beat BAL in BAL for the AFC title it was very similar to what the Bills did. It is over now but I also think BAL/BUF would've presented a tougher matchup for PHI then KC did. Josh & Lamar's rushing ability would've kept both in the game far more than Mahomes (different style QB not a criticism). I don't think either beats PHI but it would've been close to a one score game not a blow out.

Live the dream, fight for the rebellion!