2025 Official Bills Schedule Prediction & Breakdown

[corta765]

The time has come for my official Bills schedule prediction and breakdown as we are two weeks out. The schedule will be coming out on May 14th in the evening, but I would expect that the NFL starts dropping some marquee matchups including the international games in the week or so leading up. Additionally the last 2-3 days prior usually provide a few leaks which the Bills have been apart of. The Bills had a very heavy non 1pm schedule last year which was a bit inflated due to facing the NFC West which saw 3 of the four games either at night or 4pm. This year I would expect the Bills to be in similar as Josh has ascended into must watch football and the Bills are a premier team in the NFL. Mike North in his schedule interview with Sal & Matt Bove indicated as much and Josh is now a major draw personally (as we saw last year with the Bills NE home game moved to 4pm). In the interview Mike did note the Bills not being in the holiday rotation the last two years and probably being due for one as fellow top dogs like KC & BAL both have had Xmas duty & thanksgiving.

 

In past years I have averaged 2-3 games correct along with nailing a lot of the night games. I have also had a lot of the opponents within a week or so of the actual schedule. I am not perfect by any stretch, but I look at prior matchups with non divisional opponents and factor that in along with other trends like did we open on the road or home last year as that can flip yearly (not always). One of the things I also consider is that a premier matchup game like Baltimore is just as valuable for ratings in the 4:25 national window as it is as a primetime game (hint hint). The other thing is the NFL likes to schedule top dogs like the Bills vs a team like Carolina who seems to be turning the corner or even New England. Speaking of the division the Bills in 2020 were on primetime a lot but had no divisional games so it is not a prerequisite that they are primetime vs division. With this all said here is my prediction:

 

*thanksgiving is a 1pm Sunday game. I listed the holidays so people knew when they were

 

So looking over the schedule the Bills would have 5 night prime time games, one Saturday flex opportunity, and one game abroad + BAL at 4:25 nationally. The NFL actually could still flex Buffalo into a primetime game here if they wanted to although I think that only happens if the division improves. Of the big four homes games (BAL-KC-PHI-CIN) I think NBC finally gets KC v BUF back after years on CBS 4:25 while CBS gets BAL BUF at 4:25 as a consolation. PHI feels like a SNF game and CIN goes on Xmas vs BUF as I see the NFL looking to max ratings for that game. Networks cannot fully protect games but they can make requests of what they would like and the NFL is pretty fair with that and rotating games within their TV partners. Speaking of Xmas their is a solid source on twitter (CJ_Cagg1023) who came out yesterday saying the Bills play Xmas day and it is the regular season finale. He has been quiet good in years prior with leaks that were legit so I would start prepping for a holiday Bills game. The road schedule is far weaker then home and only Houston or Atlanta feel like a real chance of being at night. I think at Miami is one of those December Saturday flex games so if Miami is decent we get put in there. I honestly think New England may be the team that gets a primetime division game with Buffalo, with the Bills hosting but the Pats having the finale which could be flexed. One thing Mike North noted was the Bills the last two years had stacks of primetime games all at once and the NFL may look at a more spread out approach, No promises but I admittedly built my schedule with that factoid. Finally the Bills have liked with McD having a strong home schedule late season which is why 3 of the last 5 games are home.

Edited 2 hours ago by corta765

[Gregg]

The only thing I would say about your prediction is you have to many 1:00 games. I personally would love that, but I think along with the primetime games at night the Bills will get quite a few 4:25 starts for the Sunday afternoon game shown to the entire country. Especially with that home schedule. They have a lot of top teams coming to OP this year.

[corta765]

Just now, Gregg said:

The only thing I would say about your prediction is you have to many 1:00 games. I personally would love that, but I think along with the primetime games at night the Bills will get quite a few 4:25 starts for the Sunday afternoon game shown to the entire country. Especially with that home schedule. They have a lot of top teams coming to OP this year.

Bills were originally scheduled for 8 games last year before NE got flexed to 4:25. Every one of the big 4 games at home (KC/BAL/PHI/CIN) is primetime and NE is MNF. Could be wrong but 9 games not a 1:00pm is still really sizable and with KC being the only "Western" team you don't have the need for 4pm West Coast games. 1:00 pm home game fans won't be super thrilled with 5 games at night or 4:00pm lol

[eball]

Rumor going around of Bills home game on Christmas evening…last regular season game at Rich/Ralph/Highmark.

 

[Gregg]

1 minute ago, corta765 said:

Bills were originally scheduled for 8 games last year before NE got flexed to 4:25. Every one of the big 4 games at home (KC/BAL/PHI/CIN) is primetime and NE is MNF. Could be wrong but 9 games not a 1:00pm is still really sizable and with KC being the only "Western" team you don't have the need for 4pm West Coast games. 1:00 pm home game fans won't be super thrilled with 5 games at night or 4:00pm lol

 

I would have to look it up, but I don't remember to many 1:00 games last year for the Bills. They had a couple of 4:25 starts along with the primetime games.

[corta765]

14 minutes ago, eball said:

Rumor going around of Bills home game on Christmas evening…last regular season game at Rich/Ralph/Highmark.

 

 

Yep. I adjusted my prediction last minute because originally I had Buffalo week 18 hosting NE at home, but with the finale seemingly week 17 Xmas I put them on the road instead.

[Logic]

[bigK14094]

Your prediction is ok, lots of plausible arguments to make it reasonable.   I note no consideration for the in stadium fans however, and that is also real.  My view is that the NFL is a TV studio sport now where the studios are also called stadiums.  The fans don't matter as the COVID year proved.  Hence, night games in the winter in Buffalo.  I gave up my seasons as I couldn't hack the cold and late nights anymore.  I am still a fan, but, there are other TV choices I consider as well.  We just need to recognize that the NFL is about maximizing revenue, and actual physical fans in the seats are really optional.

[corta765]

4 minutes ago, Logic said:

lol I was hoping someone picked up on that

Just now, bigK14094 said:

Your prediction is ok, lots of plausible arguments to make it reasonable.   I note no consideration for the in stadium fans however, and that is also real.  My view is that the NFL is a TV studio sport now where the studios are also called stadiums.  The fans don't matter as the COVID year proved.  Hence, night games in the winter in Buffalo.  I gave up my seasons as I couldn't hack the cold and late nights anymore.  I am still a fan, but, there are other TV choices I consider as well.  We just need to recognize that the NFL is about maximizing revenue, and actual physical fans in the seats are really optional.

The NFL doesn't care about in stadium fans which I will not consider either even though as a fan I agree with you. The Bills had 2 night games last year (JAX/SF) and two 4:25 games (KC/NE) out of 8 games. This year in my prediction is three primetime night games plus Xmas which could be from 1pm start to 8pm. That still gives 4 games at 1:00 pm like last year with one at 4:25. The home schedule has four major opponents that will be desired in non 1pm windows and one of the divisional games will not be at 1:00 pm. I am sure I will miss a bunch, but there is a high likelihood that half of the home games OR more will be 4:25 or later.

[BuffaloBillyG]

Here's my prediction:

 

- Buffalo will be scheduled for 17 games over an 18 week span 

-They will play more games in Orchard Park than any other city. This is good for us.

-Buffalo may have a game overseas. Unless they don't.  IF they do, they will be the visitor. Unless they aren't. 

- Buffalo will play several games (6 total is my guess) against their AFCE rivals.

- The Bills will play the majority of their games on SUNDAYS. Some games on a Monday Thursday or Saturday are possible as well. Plan accordingly.

[Goin Breakdown]

18 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Here's my prediction:

 

- Buffalo will be scheduled for 17 games over an 18 week span 

-They will play more games in Orchard Park than any other city. This is good for us.

-Buffalo may have a game overseas. Unless they don't.  IF they do, they will be the visitor. Unless they aren't. 

- Buffalo will play several games (6 total is my guess) against their AFCE rivals.

- The Bills will play the majority of their games on SUNDAYS. Some games on a Monday Thursday or Saturday are possible as well. Plan accordingly.

Good news is I hear all these games could be televised either on cable or on streaming services. Also those in the market can use rabbit ears to gain game access over the air. It's insane really. I hope it's true. 

[chongli]

1 hour ago, corta765 said:

The time has come for my official Bills schedule prediction and breakdown as we are two weeks out. The schedule will be coming out on May 14th in the evening, but I would expect that the NFL starts dropping some marquee matchups including the international games in the week or so leading up. Additionally the last 2-3 days prior usually provide a few leaks which the Bills have been apart of. The Bills had a very heavy non 1pm schedule last year which was a bit inflated due to facing the NFC West which saw 3 of the four games either at night or 4pm. This year I would expect the Bills to be in similar as Josh has ascended into must watch football and the Bills are a premier team in the NFL. Mike North in his schedule interview with Sal & Matt Bove indicated as much and Josh is now a major draw personally (as we saw last year with the Bills NE home game moved to 4pm). In the interview Mike did note the Bills not being in the holiday rotation the last two years and probably being due for one as fellow top dogs like KC & BAL both have had Xmas duty & thanksgiving.

 

In past years I have averaged 2-3 games correct along with nailing a lot of the night games. I have also had a lot of the opponents within a week or so of the actual schedule. I am not perfect by any stretch, but I look at prior matchups with non divisional opponents and factor that in along with other trends like did we open on the road or home last year as that can flip yearly (not always). One of the things I also consider is that a premier matchup game like Baltimore is just as valuable for ratings in the 4:25 national window as it is as a primetime game (hint hint). The other thing is the NFL likes to schedule top dogs like the Bills vs a team like Carolina who seems to be turning the corner or even New England. Speaking of the division the Bills in 2020 were on primetime a lot but had no divisional games so it is not a prerequisite that they are primetime vs division. With this all said here is my prediction:

 

 

So looking over the schedule the Bills would have 5 night prime time games, one Saturday flex opportunity, and one game abroad + BAL at 4:25 nationally. The NFL actually could still flex Buffalo into a primetime game here if they wanted to although I think that only happens if the division improves. Of the big four homes games (BAL-KC-PHI-CIN) I think NBC finally gets KC v BUF back after years on CBS 4:25 while CBS gets BAL BUF at 4:25 as a consolation. PHI feels like a SNF game and CIN goes on Xmas vs BUF as I see the NFL looking to max ratings for that game. Networks cannot fully protect games but they can make requests of what they would like and the NFL is pretty fair with that and rotating games within their TV partners. Speaking of Xmas their is a solid source on twitter (CJ_Cagg1023) who came out yesterday saying the Bills play Xmas day and it is the regular season finale. He has been quiet good in years prior with leaks that were legit so I would start prepping for a holiday Bills game. The road schedule is far weaker then home and only Houston or Atlanta feel like a real chance of being at night. I think at Miami is one of those December Saturday flex games so if Miami is decent we get put in there. I honestly think New England may be the team that gets a primetime division game with Buffalo, with the Bills hosting but the Pats having the finale which could be flexed. One thing Mike North noted was the Bills the last two years had stacks of primetime games all at once and the NFL may look at a more spread out approach, No promises but I admittedly built my schedule with that factoid. Finally the Bills have liked with McD having a strong home schedule late season which is why 3 of the last 5 games are home.

 

Are the Saturday flex games Week 15 this year? Usually they're Week 16.

[corta765]

8 minutes ago, chongli said:

 

Are the Saturday flex games Week 15 this year? Usually they're Week 16.

They move them around. Basically once college football is past the regular season they float. Also this year we end at New Years weekend so it is a week earlier across the board.

Edited 4 hours ago by corta765

[SoonerBillsFan]

29 minutes ago, Goin Breakdown said:

Good news is I hear all these games could be televised either on cable or on streaming services. Also those in the market can use rabbit ears to gain game access over the air. It's insane really. I hope it's true. 

I honestly don't know if I'll renew Sunday ticket this year. 

[Fleezoid]

One thing that jumps out at me; the early Thanksgiving game is always reserved for Detroit. Don't see the New York thing happening. Or am I missing something?

[transplantbillsfan]

How could the Bills play NY at 1 pm on Thanksgiving? That slot is etched in stone for the Lions.

[Gregg]

9 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

How could the Bills play NY at 1 pm on Thanksgiving? That slot is etched in stone for the Lions.

 

They won't. Detroit always gets the early game and Dallas the middle game and 3rd game is at night. So, if the Bills do get Thanksgiving it will be the night game. If the rumors are true about the Bills playing on Christmas, then I doubt they will play on Thanksgiving. But who knows. We will find out on May 14th.

Edited 3 hours ago by Gregg

[SoCal Deek]

I guess it’s a novelty but does the rest of the country really care about the last game at Rich Stadium? It’s not Fenway Park for heaven’s sake. 

[corta765]

1 hour ago, Fleezoid said:

One thing that jumps out at me; the early Thanksgiving game is always reserved for Detroit. Don't see the New York thing happening. Or am I missing something?

I just listed the holiday, that is a 1pm Sunday game.

49 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I guess it’s a novelty but does the rest of the country really care about the last game at Rich Stadium? It’s not Fenway Park for heaven’s sake. 

I have felt the same. If anything the finale on Xmas is more about Josh and the Bills being good vs most likely another strong opponent CIN/BAL/KC/PHI

[boyst]

18 minutes ago, corta765 said:

I just listed the holiday, that is a 1pm Sunday game.

I have felt the same. If anything the finale on Xmas is more about Josh and the Bills being good vs most likely another strong opponent CIN/BAL/KC/PHI

The bills last game at home against the Dolphins is just what history demands.