BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The farewell season for the beloved Bills stadium kicks off with a playoff rematch against the Ravens in a prime-time opener Sept. 7 on Sunday Night Football, and concludes its regular schedule of games against Buffalo’s old Rockpile rival the New York Jets on the first weekend of January.
Here are the key takeaways from Wednesday night’s schedule release for the 2025 NFL season, the last one before the Bills move to the new Highmark Stadium being built across the street from the landmark still making memories in its 53rd year in Orchard Park.
Prime chances early
Five Bills games are in prime time — and more could be flexed into standalone showcase time slots later in the season.
Along with the opener, the Sunday Night Football spotlight returns in Week 5 when the Bills host the New England Patriots with new coach Mike Vrabel, rehabilitating receiver Stefon Diggs, and shoeless Mack Hollins.
The Thursday Night Football crew comes to Buffalo for a Week 3 visit from the Dolphins, and the Bills will have another short week when making their longest trip of the year to Houston in Week 12 for another TNF game.
The Bills won’t play on any major holidays in 2025, but will travel to Atlanta on the long weekend in October for a Monday Night Football game in Week 12. And the Week 10 game in Miami is two days before Veterans Day, which could factor into Bills’ fans travel plans.
Favorable start
The Bills play four of their nine home games within the first five weeks of the season. That sets up for a strong opening, but puts the Bills on the road six times in nine weeks after the bye. They finish with two home games in the wintry weeks before the playoffs.
After opening against another Super Bowl contender with an MVP quarterback, Buffalo’s schedule softens with six consecutive games against teams that weren’t in the playoffs last year. It’s reasonable to believe the Bills could be 6-1 or even 7-0 going into the midseason matchup with the Chiefs in Week 9.
Buffalo’s defense will be challenged in that game and in later showdowns with the Bengals (Week 14) and Super Bowl champion Eagles (Week 17). But besides the Ravens and perhaps the Dolphins, they won’t formidable opposition while defensive line reinforcements Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi serve six-week suspensions for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancement drug policies.
The bye week comes a bit earlier than coach Sean McDermott would like, but just when Hoecht and Ogunjobi return to the roster. They can practice two weeks before that.
The early prime-time games in Orchard Park will be pleasant for fans. But the tradeoff comes after Thanksgiving when the Bills alternate December home games with Northeast trips to Pittsburgh (Week 13), New England (15), and Cleveland (Week 16).
Games on 4
At least nine regular season games and the entire preseason will air in Western New York on WIVB-TV, the Bills’ official broadcast station partner.
Additionally, the Thursday night games streaming on Amazon Prime will be shown on a local station to be announced later.
Home games against NFC opponents the Saints (Week 4), Buccaneers (Week 11) and Eagles (Week 17) will be shown on FOX, while Sunday night games are on NBC, and Monday night games on ABC/ESPN.
Light travel
The Bills play all but one game in the Eastern Time Zone, with only the Sunday night trip to Houston in the Central. Their total travel mileage (10,546) is nearly 8,000 miles below the NFL median, and second-fewest in the league.
For Bills fans traveling on the road, at least four games are in cities within a day’s drive: New York (Week 2), Pittsburgh (Week 13), New England (Week 15), and Cleveland (Week 16).
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.