First Look: Buffalo Bills 2023 Season Schedule

Yes, we finally get to see the beginnings of the season story unfold. Let’s not wait any longer. Here is your Buffalo Bills 2023 season schedule.

Week 1: September 11th @ New York Jets (Monday Night Football)

The NFL always starts the season off with a bang, and Week 1 of the 2023 season is not different. The schedule puts the Buffalo Bills in New Jersey to take on the Jets in Aaron Rodgers’ debut.

There’s a lot on the line in Week 1. With the Bills stranglehold on the AFC East questioned, and the Jets massive upgrade at quarterback, are things more evenly matched than they seemed?

Week 2: September 17th vs. Las Vegas Raiders (1:00PM)

The Bills’ home opener just might be a great game. The Las Vegas Raiders have experienced some turnover this offseason, swapping out Derek Carr for Jimmy Garoppolo, but they’re no less scary on offense. Buffalo might have their work cut out for them, as the AFC’s arms race takes over the NFL.

Week 3: September 24th @ Washington Commanders (1:00PM)

The first ‘expected win’ on the Bills’ schedule, Washington doesn’t have much to offer. There are no free wins in the NFL, but Buffalo are true contenders and they should handle this one.

Week 4: October 1st vs. Miami Dolphins (1:00PM)

Thankfully for Buffalo, there’s no early-season trip to suffer in the Hard Rock heat. Last season they melted under the magnifying glass, but this time reasonable conditions prevail.

Credit where it’s due, however; This is a very tough Miami team that gave Buffalo a tough fight three times last season. Their secondary is better than ever, and the Bills will need to bring their A-game.

Week 5: October 8th vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (London Game)

We’ve known for a long time that the Bills would be hosting a game in London this season. We didn’t know when or who against, but those questions have been answered. As we play internationally against a threatening Jacksonville Jaguars team, watch out for jet-lag. Jacksonville themselves will have already been in London for a week, with two games on the trot in the heart of England.

Week 6: October 15th vs. New York Giants (Sunday Night Football)

Buffalo may not be the national media darlings any more, but they’re indisputably one of the league’s best shows on turf. As a result, they can’t escape the limelight, and that gives them a minimum of six prime time games. We get to see the beginnings of the Sean McDermott coaching tree in action as former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll comes home to Buffalo. The New York Giants shocked the league last season with their success, and this looks to be a great Sunday Night Football matchup.

Week 7: October 22nd @ New England Patriots (1:00PM)

Only seven weeks into the season, Buffalo will have half of their division matchups taken care of. A hot start could put them in the driver’s seat in the AFC East; That feat is getting harder and harder to accomplish with each passing season.

New England re-tooled somewhat, and though they may be arguably the worst team in the AFC East, that doesn’t make them a pushover. This season will be an uphill battle for Buffalo. This game will be no exception.

Week 8: October 26th vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Thursday Night Football)

When these two teams last met, it was the last and greatest battle between Josh Allen and Tom Brady. Buffalo came up short during an incredible comeback, but this time they’re primed to make things right. Tampa Bay aren’t the mammoth they were a year or two ago, but – with Baker Mayfield as the expected starter – they may still have life.

Week 9: November 5th @ Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday Night Football)

If the NFL didn’t put the Buffalo Bills against the Cincinnati Bengals in prime time, there would have been riots. These two teams went from friendly neighbors to tragic and bitter rivals in the span of a few weeks last season.

Now, they’ll be in a dead heat once again. It would be valid criticism to ask why this isn’t a crucial late-season matchup or a heart-wrenching season opener. Perhaps the schedule makers knew that we fans simply couldn’t handle it. Buffalo gets their rest entering this game, having played their Thursday game the week prior. One thing is for certain: Fireworks will be flying on Sunday Night Football.

Week 10: November 13th vs. Denver Broncos (Monday Night Football)

Denver were the laughing stock of the NFL less than a year ago. Coach Nathaniel Hackett couldn’t hack it, and turned the first year of the Russell Wilson experience into a disaster. Now, they’ve had a year to look back at what went wrong, and they’ve got one of the best coaches in the league to try again with. Sean Payton can do more with this roster than most, but they’re still a few yards shy of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. This will be Buffalo’s third-consecutive prime time game.

Week 11: November 19th vs. New York Jets (4:25PM)

The Jets may find a rhythm by this point in the season, but then again the wheels may fall off too. New York is as unknowable right now as any team on the Bills schedule. Depending on how the rest of the AFC East shakes out, this games hold great weight.

Week 12: November 26th @ Philadelphia Eagles (4:25PM)

Philadelphia resolved to become one of the best teams in the NFL in 2022, and they’re set for a repeat performance. An offseason loaded with moves that can propel them even further puts them as possibly the toughest team on this schedule.

Buffalo knows how to play Lamar Jackson, and they’ll need to put that to the test with Jalen Hurts. The most affordable loss on the Bills’ schedule is this game, but iron sharpens iron and this tough stretch of games will only help Buffalo in the long run.

Week 13: Bye Week

Teams with international games are given the option to have their Bye Week following their appearance overseas. The Buffalo Bills wisely declined that offer, and scored a late-season Bye Week heading into one of the most important games of the season. Getting their break this late in the year is a massive boon for the Bills, who typically get stuck with an early Bye and are left without rest as the playoffs approach.

Week 14: December 10th @ Kansas City Chiefs (4:25PM)

For the second consecutive season, the ever-legendary matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs has been kept out of prime time. Buffalo bested Kansas City in their last matchup, and only one of these teams seems to have improved since then. (Hint: It isn’t Kansas City.)

Let’s just hope that the late-season flex scheduling system allows us the ability to watch this game as it was intended. Lights, camera, action, for one of the best games this season has to offer.

Week 15: December 17th vs. Dallas Cowboys (4:25PM)

The latter half of the season is brutal for the Bills, but they’re more than up for the challenge. They’ll be taking on the Dallas Cowboys, who are one of the few true threats in a notably top-heavy NFC. Buffalo and Dallas have had a lot in common as of late, and they’ll have more in common later. These two can expect to be in the heat of their respective playoff races, and this game will be all the more important once we get there.

Week 16: December 23rd @ Los Angeles Chargers (Saturday Night Football)

The Buffalo Bills will take a break from the bitter winter cold with a trip to sunny Los Angeles. The L.A. Chargers, of course, will bring a crushing offense that can go toe-to-toe with the best of them. Tragically, the game will be available exclusively on Peacock TV, the first game of it’s kind on NBC’s streaming service.

It should be an exciting matchup. Buffalo won their last meeting by double digits, but can they strike lightning twice?

Week 17: December 31st vs. New England Patriots (1:00PM)

New England should be at the bottom of the AFC East by this point in the season, but they’re a capable enemy who can trip up anyone who looks past them. If Buffalo can’t afford to rest their starters here, then they need to bring their best. Few coaches can will a team to victory like Bill Belichick can. Armed with spite, he can accomplish anything.

Week 18: January 7th @ Miami Dolphins (TBD)

The last time the Buffalo Bills finished the season in Miami against the Dolphins, they secured their first playoff berth in 18 years. That moment feels like a lifetime ago now. In this era of Bills football, Week 18 is for resting players or playing for a better seed. The Dolphins are no pushover, and this game may very well be a crucial one at the season’s end. The AFC is tough, and the East is one of the toughest divisions in the league this year.

With no Miami heat and no Buffalo snow featured in this season series, neither side can complain about the weather.