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NFL hampers Bills' top seed quest with doubly undesirable primetime assignments

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Ralph Ventre | Last updated May 17, 2025 11:29 AM ET

One short week to prepare for a Thursday night game is bad enough, so, to say the least, facing two short weeks is less than ideal.

The Buffalo Bills are being forced to complete a rare challenge in 2025, having to play twice on Prime's Thursday Night Football. The Bills will host the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 (Sep. 18) before returning to Thursday Night Football in Week 12 (Nov. 20) with a visit to the Houston Texans.

It's important to consider that not all Thursday games are equal, and the Bills drew two of the tougher scenarios.

Making matters more challenging for reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen and his Bills, both TNF contests are against AFC opponents. With Buffalo expected to vie for the No. 1 seed, conference record plays an important part in the tie-breaking process and could be the determining factor on whether a team must go on the road in the playoffs.

Since AFC games are weighted slightly heavier, it would be nice for both teams to have a full week to prepare for the matchup. More time would also likely result in a better product, but the NFL doesn't seem to value that as much as it does blank checks from its broadcast partners.

Let's look at the Week 3 matchup as an example of the NFL unnecessarily inconveniencing the Bills' opponent. Instead of sending the Dolphins on a 2,400-mile round trip for a Thursday game, the league could have chosen a regional rival like the Cleveland Browns to make the short trip to Buffalo on a short week.

The Bills' second TNF matchup is even more maddening. While Buffalo's schedule requires minimal travel in 2025, there is one trip that entails a 1,300-mile flight. Of course, that's the game that the NFL picked for Thursday night.

Making its farthest road trip of the season, the Bills will visit the Texans on short rest during an important stretch that features five consecutive conference contests.

It's clear that revenue drives these scheduling decisions, and not even the NFL hides from that. A loud faction of players have spoken out against Thursday Night Football since its inceptions, and, for the fans who regularly attend games, it's a major inconvenience. Instead of a nice Sunday tailgate, one can plan on being stuck in traffic at midnight on a weekday.

The reality is, however, that Thursday Night Football is here to stay. The least the NFL can do for its teams and fans is to not subject them to more than one of these undesirable primetime games per season.