The Bills are expected to have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL for the 2024 season

We’re (probably) just days away from learning the intricacies of the Buffalo Bills’ 2024 roster, as the NFL is set to release its 2024 regular season schedule on Thursday, May 9. will face throughout the 2024 campaign since the end of last season, but Thursday’s (expected) schedule will reveal the dates and times of each competition.

Buffalo’s slate of 2024 opponents, on paper, looks pretty tough, and Bleacher Report recently provided a metric supporting that sentiment; B/R’s Tyler Conway wrote an article listing the strength of each NFL team’s schedule in 2024, with the Bills tied for sixth-toughest in the league at .516.

That number indicates that Buffalo’s 2024 opponents, when their 2023 records are combined, won about 52% of their games a year ago. By the metric, the Cleveland Browns have the toughest 2024 schedule in the league at .547. The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints are tied for the easiest schedule in the league with a .453 average.

Conway rightly notes in his article that strength of schedule is not a perfect metric for accurately determining how difficult a team actually is, because the number does not take into account a team’s acquisitions and departures during the offseason. The incomplete metric appears to fit the eye test regarding the Bills, however, as the team’s slate of opponents for 2024 appears solid.

Related: Introduction to the Buffalo Bills 2024 NFL Schedule Release Schedule

Seven of the teams Buffalo is scheduled to play in the 2024 season qualified for last year’s playoffs. The Bills are scheduled to host the two teams that appeared in Super Bowl LVIII (the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers), with those clubs representing two of the five 2023 division winners Buffalo will see next season.

The toughest matchups on the Bills’ roster include the aforementioned matchups with the Chiefs and 49ers in addition to meetings with the Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. The Lions and Ravens made their respective conference championship games last season, while the Texans, after winning both the AFC South and a playoff game, acquired star Stefon Diggs from Buffalo during the offseason.

We also can’t ignore the Bills’ divisional matchups; Although the New England Patriots appear to be rebuilding, there is still a bit of animosity in Buffalo vs. New England contests. The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets should also be competitive this year.

Buffalo’s schedule, on paper, looks tough, but games aren’t played on paper. We’ll know better how tough the team’s schedule really is — and how the Bills stack up against it comparatively — in September.