The Buffalo Bills may finally play a holiday game this year, having avoided such games in the past. They have a strong record and star player Josh Allen, making them prime candidates for a holiday matchup.
ORCHARD PARK — Will your holiday plans include the Buffalo Bills this year?
We know the Bills are going to get a slew of night games. They have been given no fewer than five primetime games — night or holiday games — over the last five seasons, with a total of 27 since 2021, not including games flexed to primetime.
And the Bills have been awarded 11 games in the 4:25 p.m. window over the last three seasons, the top indicator of NFL success because they are the highest-rated games of the weekend. We know a Week 2 Thursday night tilt with the Detroit Lions will likely serve as the opener for the new Highmark Stadium. But somehow the Bills have avoided the NFL’s holiday push.
The Bills have never played on Christmas nor hosted a Thanksgiving game, but played on Thanksgiving in three of four seasons from 2019-2022, but they have avoided the other games. And there are plenty of reasons to believe the Bills are prime candidates at some point.
Not only do the Bills have the fewest losses since 2019, but Josh Allen might be the league’s biggest star. For the second time in his career, Allen led the league in jersey sales last year as an encore to his 2024 MVP campaign.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have been scheduled on Christmas three years in a row, along with Thanksgiving last year and Black Friday in 2023. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens played on consecutive Christmases in 2023 and 2024, while hosting the Thanksgiving night game last year.
At some point Allen and the Bills are due. And we’ll know for sure when the schedule is released at 8 p.m. Thursday.
The Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams will play on Netflix’s new Thanksgiving Eve game. We also know the Bills won’t be playing internationally this year. And the Bills don’t play the Lions or Cowboys on the road, so the afternoon windows for Thanksgiving are closed.
The Buffalo Bills played on Thanksgiving in three of four seasons from 2019-2022.
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That leaves Thanksgiving night, Black Friday afternoon, Christmas Eve night or three Christmas Day windows.
The Bills played two Thursday games last year and three in 2022. If they get another one, it’s likely to be an AFC East opponent. Buffalo has played a Thursday divisional game three of the last four years and have played.
A matchup with the resurgent New England Patriots fits any of those holiday windows. Plus, the Black Friday game has gone to an intra-division matchup in all three years of its existence.
The Bills have a long list of non-divisional opponents to consider:
Home opponents
• Kansas City Chiefs: CBS has kept a stranglehold on this matchup since 2022. It’s unlikely to give up what has been the non-holiday marquee game of the year. It averaged 30.8 million viewers last year, 31.2 million in 2024 and 26 million in 2023.
• Baltimore Ravens: The Bills and Ravens had an incredible contest to open last season on Sunday Night Football. The Bills stormed back from a 15-point hole to win 41-40 at the buzzer.
• Chicago Bears: A box office quarterback meets a big market. The NFL loves finding rivalries for holiday games and the Bears are already playing the Lions on Thanksgiving. So this might be a better candidate for a regular primetime game.
• Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers have been good, but not great during Jim Harbaugh’s first two seasons. Former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was hired as offensive coordinator also. The teams played a Dec. 23 primetime game in 2023.
Away opponents
• Denver Broncos: A rematch of last year’s wild AFC divisional round. This could have a chance to be a Christmas game. The NFL didn’t have any non-division games on Thanksgiving night, Black Friday or Christmas last year. But the 2024 Christmas slate simply featured two intriguing matchups.
• Green Bay Packers/Los Angeles Rams: Two candidates for Thanksgiving night. The Packers hosted the Dolphins two years ago. And the Minnesota Vikings (NFC North) hosted the Patriots (AFC East) in 2022. The game has gone to an intra-division matchup in 10 of 19 games since it became a yearly window in 2006.
• Houston Texans: Another Christmas candidate. The Texans played the Ravens on Christmas 2024. Buffalo and Houston squared off in a Thursday night game last season.