Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was recently asked on the It’s Always Game Day in Buffalo podcast hosted by Sal Capaccio and Matt Bove about what he looks for first when the NFL schedule is released.
As McDermott pointed out, he already knows who the Bills are playing, but what interests him most isn’t so much the order of the games, it’s the time between each game because that’s how he sets up his practice schedule for the season, finding the spots where he’ll have to drive the team a little harder, or spots when he needs to back off.
Obviously, the Bills are confronted with another difficult schedule which is the price they are perfectly willing to pay for winning the AFC East year after year. Winning their fifth in a row in 2024 was shockingly easy as they had it wrapped up on Dec. 1. They became just the fourth team since division realignment in 2002 to win a division with five or more games remaining, and when they went on to finish five games ahead of the runner-up Miami Dolphins, that matched the Bills’ largest division-winning margin which was originally set in 1965 and then tied in 1991.
The quest for a sixth straight division title will almost certainly be more difficult in 2025 as they face renewed competition in their division with both the New England Patriots and New York Jets welcoming new head coaches and upgraded rosters, and the Miami Dolphins remaining a threat. That on top of some very difficult games, two of which include home tests against the participants in Super Bowl 59, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
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NFL schedule release date
The schedule will be announced on Wednesday, May 14. However, if the Bills are chosen to play an international game, those games are released one day earlier on May 13.
The NFL will also allow some of the networks to provide details on there games prior to the official release show:
What time is NFL schedule release?
During the first round of the NFL Draft, they announced the schedule release date of May 14. On May 8, the NFL announced that the international games will be released one day earlier. Those seven games will be revealed on May 13.
Wednesday’s schedule release will begin at 8 p.m. Tuesday’s international game release will begin at 8 a.m.
Where to watch NFL schedule release
The NFL Network is airing the schedule releases.
Who are Buffalo Bills’ 2025 opponents?
Buffalo will have nine home games and eight away games in the 17-game regular season. In odd-numbered years, the AFC teams get an extra home game. Nine of their 17 games will be against teams they played in the 2024 regular season: two each against the Jets, Dolphins and Patriots; one each against the Chiefs, Ravens and Texans.
Home games: New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles
Road games: New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who do Bills play in 2025? Buffalo’s opponents ahead of NFL schedule release
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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