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The Buffalo Bills schedule has officially been released! Start making plans now!
The highlight of the season (and only start time that’s not 1 p.m. Eastern) is the Week 8 tilt in Orchard Park when the Bills host the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football! It’s the first time in a decade Buffalo will be on the program. It’s the first time Buffalo will host a MNF game in nearly a decade, after falling to the Cleveland Browns in November of 2008. Buffalo last played on Monday night in 2016, when several controversial calls helped put the nails in the Bills playoff hopes.
Another noteworthy game is the season opener, when the Bills travel to face the Baltimore Ravens. If you remember, carefully, the Bills celebrated a New Year’s Eve loss by the Ravens in Week 17 of 2017 that catapulted Buffalo to the playoffs and Baltimore to the couch. We’re sure to see some of those reaction videos during the game, right?
Buffalo has four home games after Thanksgiving, making even die-hard fans think twice before they bundle up in the cold and head to The Cap. To counter that, there are only three home games in the first two months and five of their first seven games are on the road.
The Bills will once again finish the season with four divisional games in the final five weeks.
One major win on the schedule: Buffalo is one of two teams without a Thursday night game (joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
What else is on your mind?
Buffalo Bills 2018 Schedule
| Week | Date | Time (Eastern) | Opponent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Date | Time (Eastern) | Opponent | Notes |
| Pre-1 | Aug 9-12 | TBD | CAROLINA PANTHERS | Lots of former Panthers on Bills including Sean McDermott, free agent Star Lotulelei |
| Pre-2 | Aug 16-19 | TBD | at Cleveland Browns | Tyrod Taylor, dueling rookie quarterbacks? |
| Pre-3 | August 26 | 4 p.m. | CINCINNATI BENGALS | Bengals & Dalton helped Bills make playoffs plus Preston Brown, Cordy Glenn, Russell Bodine, AJ McCarron former teams |
| Pre-4 | August 30 | TBD | at Chicago Bears | It's the preseason finale |
| 1 | Sep 9 | 1 p.m. | at Baltimore Ravens | Buffalo beat out Baltimore on a last-second tiebreaker for the final playoff spot in 2017 |
| 2 | Sep 16 | 1 p.m. | LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | L.A. stomped the Bills in 2017, intercepting Nathan Peterman five times in one half |
| 3 | Sep 23 | 1 p.m. | at Minnesota Vikings | This will be the third Vikings stadium the Bills play in since New Era Field was constructed |
| 4 | Sep 30 | 1 p.m. | at Green Bay Packers | Buffalo is 8-4 all-time against the Packers, but 2-4 in Green Bay |
| 5 | Oct 7 | 1 p.m. | TENNESSEE TITANS | Only three home games in the first two months of the season |
| 6 | Oct 14 | 1 p.m. | at Houston Texans | Buffalo has five away games before their third home game |
| 7 | Oct 21 | 1 p.m. | at Indianapolis Colts | The Bills beat the Colts in the memorable Snowvertime game in 2017 |
| 8 | Oct 29 (M) | 8:15 p.m. | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | Buffalo hosts Monday Night Football for the first time in a decade |
| 9 | Nov 4 | 1 p.m. | CHICAGO BEARS | New Bears coach Matt Nagy was on Philly's staff with Sean McDermott from 2008-2010 |
| 10 | Nov 11 | 1 p.m. | at New York Jets | Won't it be nuts if both teams start rookie quarterbacks? |
| 11 | BYE | Latest bye week since 2013 (Week 12) | ||
| 12 | Nov 25 | 1 p.m. | JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS | Buffalo played at Jacksonville in their first playoff game in 17 years this past January |
| 13 | Dec 2 | 1 p.m. | at Miami Dolphins | Second straight year Buffalo closes with four divisional games in five weeks |
| 14 | Dec 9 | 1 p.m. | NEW YORK JETS | First time since 2014 Bills & Jets won't meet on Thursday Night Football |
| 15 | Dec 16 | 1 p.m. | DETROIT LIONS | Buffalo has three December home games again. SNOW! |
| 16 | Dec 23 | 1 p.m. | at New England Patriots | Two straight division games to end the schedule |
| 17 | Dec 30 | 1 p.m. | MIAMI | Second consecutive season closing vs. Dolphins, this time in Buffalo |
| Playoffs | TBD | TBD | TBD | We're Back! |
This is all in addition to a preseason schedule chock-full of storylines. Tyrod Taylor. Cordy Glenn, and Preston Brown face their old team, Week 17’s anti-Baltimore hero Andy Dalton comes to Buffalo, potential dueling rookie quarterbacks, and Sean McDermott’s former team all rolled into four weeks before the season gets under way.