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AFC East Roundup: A primetime affair

The Buffalo Bills and the rest of the AFC East will play under the lights in front of a national audience often during the 2023 NFL season

Tennessee Titans v Green Bay Packers Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Earlier this month, the NFL released their regular-season schedule for the 2023 NFL season. There are usually two things that fans look for when their schedule comes out. The first thing is of course the dates of division games, since those are usually some of the best games on the schedule. The other thing fans are excited to discover is how many games their team will have in primetime, in front of a national audience. This week, let’s take a look at this season’s primetime affairs for each of the teams in the AFC East.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are tied for the league lead with six primetime games this season. ESPN and Monday Night Football prioritized the Bills taking on Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in Week 1. Buffalo’s other primetime matchups are as follows:

Keep in mind that the Bills will play in one of the featured games in London this season as well as having the featured game of the week that takes place in the 4:25 ET window.

New York Jets

Including their Week 1 matchup with Buffalo, the Jets have five primetime games this season. That’s expected with everyone wanting to see how far Aaron Rodgers can take this franchise in his first year in the Meadowlands. The Jets have some other interesting primetime matchups on their schedule:

Miami Dolphins

There big expectations on the Dolphins’ dorsal fins coming into the season after falling off last year due to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s serious battle with multiple head injuries. They actually have the least amount of primetime games in the AFC East, with only three scheduled games in front of a national audience. However, Miami has a huge matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs this season that will take place in Germany.

New England Patriots

Somehow, the Patriots ended up with four primetime games this season — with three consecutive matchups in front of a national audience very late in the season. New England suffered through a disappointing 2022 season with an offense and pair of coordinators that many questioned. Fans are hoping that Mac Jones is in fact their guy. If not, they’re likely just seeking to avoid quarterback limbo after watching the other AFC East teams suffer the same fate while they had Tom Brady under center. The Patriots’ 2023 slate of primetime games is as follows:

  • vs. Miami Dolphins — September 17 (Week 2)
  • @ Pittsburgh Steelers — December 7 (Week 14)
  • vs Kansas City Chiefs — December 15 (Week 15)
  • @ Denver Broncos — December 24 (Week 16)