Predicting Bills’ primetime games for 2022

The 2022 season is inching closer and Bills Mafia is itching for more Bills football.

Taking a look ahead to 2022, the Bills will have a tougher list of opponents compared to last season’s schedule, especially on the road. They’ll be playing the AFC North and NFC North this season, which will bring tough battles. With the Bills being a super bowl contender and with a laundry list of contenders landing on their schedule, Buffalo should see plenty of national air time.

Last season the Bills had four nationally-televised games: Chiefs, Titans, Patriots, and Saints. With more formidable opponents, I predict more than four primetime games for the Bills this season.

Let’s take a look at a list of games on the schedule that have the firepower and intrigue to attract a national/primetime audience, ranked from most likely to least likely:

No. 1: Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs

The Bills and Chiefs have a budding rivalry that has brought many amazing plays, providing excitement, joy, sadness and many more emotions to not only Bills Mafia, but fans of the game everywhere. This is a rivalry with the two best quarterbacks in the entire league in Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. With fun, offensive firepower on both sides, this will be a Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football game.

No. 2: Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Rams

The Bills will face the defending champs in their building. You couldn’t write a better story for the season opener. Yes, the season opener is what I am predicting for this game: Bills @ Rams on Thursday Night Football for the first game of the 2022 season.

This game has a lot to take into account for. First off, you have what everyone will likely consider a preview of this year’s Super Bowl. Second, Von Miller going back to the place where he just won a Super Bowl. Third, Josh Allen: a rising superstar. I could keep going, but the reasons for this to be the season opener are countless with all the different storylines that could be made for it. Whether or not it is the season opener, I guarantee this will be a primetime game.

No. 3: Buffalo Bills vs Green Bay Packers

Josh Allen vs Aaron Rodgers… need I say more? Two of the top four QBs from the last two years facing off in Buffalo and Josh Allen going against a QB he looked up to and that many compare his arm strength to.

The Packers will be playing against a true contender, and seeing if they can hold their own without a true #1 wide receiver against a team in the Bills who chose to sign their own WR1 (Stefon Diggs) to a long-term extension. In a battle of offseason philosophies, combined with two great QBs and two solid coaches, this definitely will be a game the whole nation wants to see.

No. 4: Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots

A division rival coming into Buffalo – one that made the playoffs last year and got dismantled in Buffalo in the Wild Card Round. Even without Brady, the national networks love putting the Patriots in primetime matchups. With last season’s matchup in Buffalo being on Monday Night Football, I am predicting another Monday Night Football matchup between these two division rivals, however, this season will have a primetime matchup in New England. Can Allen play another perfect game against a Bill Belichick coached team? That’s for fans around the world to find out on the primetime stage.

No. 5: Buffalo Bills vs Miami Dolphins

In comes a team with many new parts, and a new player in Tyreek Hill who many consider to be the “Buffalo Killer.” With all the new additions that Miami has, this would be a good time for the Bills to remind them just where they belong on the totem pole of the AFC East: on their knees begging for the onslaught that Josh Allen will bring upon them to end. I am predicting this to be the Bills Thursday Night Football game if the Bills do not play the Rams in the season opener, but if they do, it will be a Sunday Night Football game.

No. 6: Buffalo Bills @ Detroit Lions (Thanksgiving game)

For some reason, the NFL gets a kick out of making everyone watch the Detroit Lions to start their day with their families on Thanksgiving. Rather than having a horrible game such as Lions vs Bears this year, the NFL has an opportunity to provide a platform for Allen to play in front of the entire nation. The Bills have played on Thanksgiving in two of the past three seasons against the Cowboys in Dallas and against the Saints in New Orleans. With keeping this trend, I have the Bills playing the opening game of Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions where Josh Allen and his fellow Buffalo Bills will have a chance to embarrass the Detroit Lions. Josh Allen, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes… one might call that a perfect combination.

In conclusion, I am predicting six total primetime games for the Buffalo Bills this season against the Chiefs, Rams, Packers, Patriots, Dolphins, and Lions. I believe with what the world saw in the Divisional Round from Josh Allen against the Chiefs and the perfect game he had against the Patriots in the Wild Card, it left fans everywhere wanting more. To fulfill that, why not give the Bills the maximum amount of primetime games including a Thanksgiving appearance.

Bills fans have a lot to look forward to this season, and although those 1:00 PM ET game times serve the Bills well, it’s also a gift to share the Bills with the rest of the nation.

After being a middle of the pack team for 17 years, they are now legit Super Bowl perennial contenders. All eyes are on the Buffalo Bills and Western New York. All that’s left to be done is wonder: how bright will their light shine in primetime?