Jaguars, and Ravens, and Texans, and Jets — oh my
Every first-place schedule looks like a tough slate on paper. That’s why it’s a first place schedule.
But as fans begin to dissect the 2024 Buffalo Bills schedule fresh off the team’s fourth-straight AFC East divisional title, one particular stretch stands out as a fulcrum for the season: a cadence of games that you come out of feeling a particular way about both the progress of your favorite team thus far and a potential omen of things to come for the remainder of the year.
For the Bills, that stretch very well may be Weeks 3 through 6, where the Bills face projected AFC playoff contenders four weeks in a row with multiple primetime games, short weeks., and three road games in a row.
Buffalo will face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football in Week 3on September 23 and then have a short week to travel to Maryland to tackle the Baltimore Ravens, who are pushing for the next step of their own after making it to the AFC Championship game last season.
The exit out of Baltimore will bring with it “Stefon Diggs week” as the Bills head to Texas to battle the suddenly-dangerous Houston Texans, complete with their budding young star quarterback C.J. Stroud and a certain former Buffalo Bills receiver. After the circus that the Houston game will likely become in terms of narrative, it’s back to the East Coast again for the New York Jets — which fields a defense that has historically given quarterback Josh Allen the most trouble out of all his AFC East rivals. Adding a few degrees of difficulty will be the bonus of facing off against a quarterback who can only be assumed will be better than Zach Wilson.
Playing these four teams in a row is just par for the course for divisional champions. When you combine that with the fact that the AFC has been the better of the two NFL conferences recently, it adds a little more meaning to each game, as a team is less likely to be able to sneak into the playoffs with a lesser record. The added cherry on top, however, is the factors: primetime, on the road, Stefon Diggs game. It’s going to be a wild month...
...and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Football draws ever nearer.
To make a slight modification to a beloved catchphrase, where else would you rather they be than right there, right then?
...and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive.