1999 was not only the last time the Buffalo Bills made the playoffs prior to last year. It was also the franchise’s last repeat appearance in the postseason. That means the 2018 campaign has a chance to be historic in its own right if the Bills can finish among the top six in the AFC.
Based on the 2017 records of their opponents, there appears to be an opportunity for success. Buffalo is one of 15 NFL teams whose opponents’ combined record last year was below .500. That said, the overall structure of the schedule will provide a significant challenge. To say it’s frontloaded difficulty-wise would be an understatement considering five of the Bills’ first seven games are on the road.
The Bills were respectable away from New Era Field in Sean McDermott‘s first year as head coach. They won three of eight including the season finale against the Miami Dolphins that helped end the playoff drought. But since 2010, Buffalo owns a .313 winning percentage on the road. That’s just slightly more than what their record would be if they started the 2018 season 2-5.
All of it points to the notion that in order for Buffalo to make the playoffs once again, they need to channel their inner road warrior early on. Couple that with defending home turf down the stretch, which they did well in 2017, and postseason contention is a distinct possibility. Which eight games are the biggest challenge to that end?
Buffalo Bills Toughest Games in 2018
1. Week Four: at Green Bay Packers
The Bills face the NFC North in 2018. That’s a potential pitfall in and of itself considering all four teams have relatively stable quarterback situations. Look no further than the Green Bay Packers with Aaron Rodgers clearly one of the best signal callers in pro football. Coming off a broken collarbone last season that derailed his team’s playoff hopes, Rodgers will be super motivated to return the Packers to championship relevancy.
This year’s looming clash is just the 13th all-time between two teams situated in the NFL’s two smallest media markets. The Bills are actually 8-4 in the 12 previous meetings including a 3-2 mark since 2000. But their last win at Lambeau Field came when Jim Kelly was still commanding the offense back in 1991. The confluence of this game being early in the season combined with the usual uncertainty at quarterback facing the Bills means it’s the biggest challenge of the 2018 slate.
2. Week 16: at New England Patriots
As long as Tom Brady‘s on the New England Patriots roster and still playing at a high level, Buffalo’s annual trip to Gillette Stadium is always at the top of this list. But here’s why it’s not the hardest game of 2018. The Bills’ quarterback situation should be much more stable by Week 16 compared to when they face the Packers. And based on his performance in training camp so far, Josh Allen looks ready to take the reins at some point prior to this game. Plus, there are numerous question marks surrounding Brady’s supporting cast in New England this year. Add in the rumored tension between him and Bill Belichick and the Pats’ long-running dynasty appears as close to a decline as it’s ever been.
3. Week Three: at Minnesota Vikings
The third week of the NFL season sees the Bills make a foray into U.S. Bank Stadium, site of Super Bowl LII, for the first time. It’s just their sixth road game against the Minnesota Vikings in the history of this series. Success has proven elusive, with Buffalo 1-4 all-time in Minneapolis. Their lone win was one of the craziest games in franchise history. Trailing 39-36, Mike Hollis‘ 54-yard field goal as time expired sent it into overtime. And 10 minutes into the extra stanza, Drew Bledsoe found Peerless Price on a 48-yard touchdown pass that gave Buffalo a 45-39 victory.
The Vikings came within one win of becoming the first team to ever play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Their most high profile off-season addition was Kirk Cousins who signed the first fully guaranteed contract in NFL history. He’ll be expected to pick up where Case Keenum left off with an explosive offense that includes Stefon Diggs, who recently signed a massive deal himself. Add in defensive playmakers such as shutdown corner Xavier Rhodes and it’s not hard to categorize a Bills’ win here as an upset.
4. Week Eight: vs New England Patriots
Two days before Halloween, the Bills and Patriots renew hostilities under the lights of New Era Field. It marks Monday Night Football’s return to Orchard Park for the first time since November 17, 2008, when Buffalo narrowly fell to the Cleveland Browns, 29-27. This game concludes the first half of the Bills season, one of which can only be described as a gauntlet. That much is apparent given its aforementioned road-heavy nature.
The last time these two sides met in Western New York, New England prevailed by a fairly emphatic 23-3 scoreline. But the overwhelming discussion afterward surrounded an incident late in the game where Rob Gronkowski pounded a defenseless Tre’Davious White‘s head into the ground after he intercepted a pass while covering the Pats’ tight end. It left White with a concussion and resulted in Gronkowski receiving a one-game suspension.
This time around, neutralizing Gronk will be key. He accounted for 214 receiving yards and a touchdown in last year’s two games against the Bills. But it will also involve taking advantage of red zone opportunities, something they struggled with the last time they hosted the Pats.
5. Week 12: vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Prior to their preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, the last time the Bills took the field was when the drought officially ended. While that AFC Wild Card encounter with the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t go to plan, it certainly felt refreshing to have the Bills back in the postseason. And their defensive effort in that game impressed mightily considering they gave up only 10 points. A week later, the Jags hung 45 on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Whoever starts this game, be it Allen, A.J. McCarron, or Nathan Peterman will undoubtedly have their hands full. Last year, Jacksonville’s ball-hawking secondary helped the team finish second in the NFL with 21 interceptions. And it’s fairly intact, having suffered no major losses via free agency. One could even say the unit which includes A.J. Bouye, Barry Church, Jalen Ramsey and Tashaun Gipson got even better with the addition of Ronnie Harrison via the draft. Long story short, this is a game that could get away from the Bills if the decision-making under center breaks down.
6. Week Six: at Houston Texans
This is the ninth all-time meeting between the Bills and the NFL’s most recent expansion team. Whoever wins at NRG Stadium in Week Six will take the lead in the overall series with both teams having won four up to this point. Injuries ravaged Houston’s 2017 campaign, with J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson the most prominent Texans to have their season cut short. The latter was looking like a rookie of the year candidate before tearing his ACL in practice on November 2.
Among the more pressing questions heading into this season surrounds the Bills offensive line. It’s a unit that suffered myriad off-season losses. Cordy Glenn departed via trade to the Cincinnati Bengals while Eric Wood and Richie Incognito retired. Well, not exactly in the case of Incognito. The team later released him from the reserve/retired list after he complained about having to restructure his contract. Their only free agent additions were Marshall Newhouse and Russell Bodine. And their only addition via the draft was Wyatt Teller out of Virginia Tech in the fifth round.
That doesn’t bode well against the Texans’ stacked cupboard of pass rushers. In addition to Watt, Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney are extremely formidable at shedding blockers and registering sacks. Quarterback inexperience combined with a relatively unproven offensive line will make escaping Houston with a W an arduous undertaking.
7. Week One: at Baltimore Ravens
The 59th season of Bills football gets underway with a game involving the Baltimore Ravens on the road. It marks the second time in three years these teams have opened the season against each other. They are two sides that are similar in that both believe they’ve found their quarterback of the future. Only in the Ravens’ case, Lamar Jackson looks set to sit behind former Super Bowl champion and MVP Joe Flacco for the foreseeable future. In contrast, it’s possible Josh Allen could end up the Bills’ Week One starter.
Baltimore should be a motivated group for this clash. After all, the Bills were the biggest beneficiary of their late-game collapse against the Bengals in Week 17. Andy Dalton‘s pass to Tyler Boyd on fourth and 12 with under a minute to go sent Buffalo to the postseason at Baltimore’s expense.
An interesting Ravens player to watch in this game is inside linebacker Kamalei Correa. The 2016 second-round pick hasn’t contributed much since joining the team. But he was one of the standouts in Baltimore’s 17-16 win over the Bears in the Hall of Fame Game. Correa tallied five tackles, three sacks and forced a fumble.
8. Week Two: vs Los Angeles Chargers
The Bills’ home opener in 2018 comes against a team that gave them arguably their most embarrassing moment last year. That Week 11 clash saw the Los Angeles Chargers run Buffalo out of StubHub Center by a lopsided 54-24 margin. But the scoreline wasn’t the primary talking point in the game’s aftermath. It was Nathan Peterman‘s five-interception meltdown in the first half of his maiden NFL start. It dropped the Bills to 5-5 and seemed to hint at another season bereft of playoff football. History ultimately proved otherwise.
The Chargers are one of the more intriguing teams heading into this season. Philip Rivers shows no signs of letting up at the ripe old age of 36. That’s fairly evident considering only Tom Brady finished with more passing yards during the regular season than he did. Though he won’t be able to throw to tight end Hunter Henry, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in OTAs, the Chargers still boast a bevy of offensive playmakers. And they unearthed a mother lode of talent on the defensive side of the ball via the draft. Safety Derwin James is invariably the crown jewel of that haul.
The addition of James makes this an even more mouth-watering matchup of loaded secondaries. Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, and rookie Tre’Davious White all impressed for the Bills last year. It led to Hyde making his first Pro Bowl while White earned a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie team. Though the Chargers lost Tre Boston in free agency, their secondary remains a formidable unit led by seven-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowler Casey Hayward.
Check out the eight easiest games on the 2018 Buffalo Bills schedule.
