Buffalo Bills 2021-22 Season Preview Part Two

September 8, 2021

Image Credit: © Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Thanks for coming back to read the Buffalo Bills 2021-22 season preview part two. Here’s part one, if you missed it. The Bills have an exciting season ahead. Let’s look at some of their opponents.

Bills 2021 schedule features both Super Bowl teams from 2020

The two toughest games on paper for the Buffalo Bills also happen to be against the two Super Bowl teams from the 2020 season. In Week 5, the Bills Mafia will take their rumbling herd on the road to play the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Bills will be eager to enact their revenge in a rematch of the AFC Conference Championship game. NBC will broadcast this highly anticipated matchup on its Sunday Night Football telecast.

Then, in Week 14, the Buffalo Bills travel to take on an old rival’s new crew in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady faced the Bills in 2019 when the Belichick Deflategates went 2-0 against the Bills. Now 44 years old, Brady may represent a different franchise in a new location, but he still has a Buffalo-sized target on his back.

Buffalo Bills 2021 season predictions

Even with two elite opponents to face, the 17-game Buffalo Bills 2021 schedule isn’t that scary. Playing the AFC East division opponents twice apiece, the Bills should be favorites in all six divisional matchups. Including the usual suspects on the schedule, the Bills will play seven of their 17 games against teams who reached the playoffs in 2020.

However, playoff contenders change each year. On average, three teams from each conference make the postseason after missing the playoffs the year before. Meaning, if a team had a good season last year, it doesn’t necessarily ensure they can repeat.

DraftKings betting lines have the Buffalo Bills over/under at 11 wins, tied for third-most in the NFL. Let’s look at their schedule.

Week 1 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 2 at Miami Dolphins
Week 3 vs. Washington Football Team
Week 4 vs. Houston Texans
Week 5 at Kansas City Chiefs - Sunday Night Football
Week 6 at Tennessee Titans - Monday Night Football
Week 7 Bye
Week 8 vs. Miami Dolphins
Week 9 at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 10 at New York Jets
Week 11 vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 12 at New Orleans Saints - Thursday Night Football - Thanksgiving Day
Week 13 vs. New England Patriots - Monday Night Football
Week 14 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 15 vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 16 at New England Patriots
Week 17 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 18 vs. New York Jets

As you can see, the Bills will play at least four primetime games under the lights in 2021. During the 2020 regular season, they went 3-2 in primetime games. But those two losses were played on a Monday starting at 5 PM, and believe it or not; a Tuesday night game happened in 2020. Strange times.

This season, the Bills hope to avoid extra scheduling adventures. The first two primetime games could be the most challenging battles the team faces in the regular season. Going to Arrowhead Stadium in what should be a packed house once again is no easy task. But it will be a great test ahead of Buffalo’s Week 7 bye.

What will the 2021 Buffalo Bills’ record be?

There are always a few surprise teams that over and underperform on the schedule, but sometimes it’s fun to consider predictions. At the risk of sounding like a homer, being on the conservative side, the Bills could be looking at a 13-4 season. A win or two more or less isn’t out of the realm. 14-3 seems more evident from the strength of the schedule, but we’ll leave room for a surprise game, such as the Hail Murray Cardinals loss last season.

Many Bills Fans likely look at the schedule and see the Chiefs and Bucs as the only possible losses. But in the NFL, anything can happen, the Bills obviously could beat both teams, but maybe they run into issues elsewhere. We may not see how now, but a lot can change from now till January.

The Titans look pretty good. Derrick Henry and Julio Jones could be tough to stop. Nobody knows the potential of Tua Tagovailoa behind what should be a stout Dolphins defense, and divisional games are always more challenging in that it’s a familiar foe. The Washington Football Team also has one of the top defenses in football. Can their offense bring enough to the table?

From the Bills’ perspective, they have enough talent to beat any team in the NFL, and that should have every fan excited for the potential of getting to Super Bowl LVI. Not many teams in the league can say they have the offense to score 50+ points if they have to or the defense to limit a unique scoring attack to three points, but the Bills can because they have. Is this the season Bills Fans get to run with the herd on their way to a Super Bowl victory?