The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NFL schedule release.The Buffalo Bills’ schedule looks a lot tougher this year. The math and the mileage tell us so.Buffalo had the NFL’s sixth-easiest schedule last year given each opponent’s final record and played one game outside the Eastern time zone.This year, the Bills had the 14th-easiest schedule based on Las Vegas’ projected win totals, and the only three games they won’t have to adjust their timepieces for will be against their AFC East rivals. Eight clubs that will play in an international game won’t travel as many miles this year as the Bills’ schedule requires (unless they stay out west instead of returning home in between, but that’s another logistical issue).Buffalo also will play on Christmas and, among their six primetime games, on Thanksgiving.Rookie head coach Joe Brady should enjoy breaking in a comfy new home with the opening of the $2.1 billion Highmark Stadium, but the schedule presents compelling circumstances to navigate through this organizational reset. Wk.MatchupDateTimeNetwork1@ Texans Sunday, Sept. 13 1:00 p.m. CBS 2 Lions Thursday, Sept. 17 8:15 p.m. Prime 3 Chargers Sunday, Sept. 27 1:00 p.m. Fox 4 Patriots Sunday, Oct. 4 1:00 p.m. CBS 5@ Rams Monday, Oct. 12 8:15 p.m. ESPN 6@ Raiders Sunday, Oct. 18 4:25 p.m. CBS 7 BYE 8 Ravens Sunday, Nov. 1 1:00 p.m. CBS 9@ Vikings Monday, Nov. 9 8:15 p.m. ESPN 10@ Jets Sunday, Nov. 15 1:00 p.m. CBS 11 Dolphins Sunday, Nov. 22 1:00 p.m. Fox 12 Chiefs Thursday, Nov. 26 8:20 p.m. NBC 13@ Patriots Sunday, Dec. 6 4:25 p.m. CBS 14@ Packers Sunday, Dec. 13 8:20 p.m. NBC 15 Bears Saturday, Dec. 19 8:20 p.m. CBS 16@ Broncos Friday, Dec. 25 4:30 p.m. Netflix 17@ Dolphins Sunday, Jan. 3 1:00 p.m. CBS 18 Jets TBA Times in Eastern. Week 1 keys to victoryBrady won’t get to wade into his first season as a head coach at any level. He will face perhaps the NFL’s most fearsome defense in a building where neither he nor Josh Allen has won and then open Highmark Stadium just four nights later against the Lions.The early spread makes Buffalo a 2.5-point road favorite largely because of the quarterback matchup, but backup Davis Mills did enough to beat Buffalo six months ago in Houston. The main objective will be to keep Allen upright long enough to make a difference and fresh enough to face another rugged opponent on short rest. Detroit, featuring elite defenders Aidan Hutchinson and Jack Campbell, tied for fourth in sacks last year.Must-watch game: vs. Chiefs, Week 12Chiefs, Chiefs, always the Chiefs.Buffalo took a year off from being eliminated by Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes’ torn right ACL and LCL prevented a late-season surge that might have squeezed KC into the postseason and another fateful meeting. The Chiefs staggered throughout the campaign and looked like a husk of their usual, dominant selves.Yet they remain the Bills’ bugaboo, and Allen-Mahomes still is the NFL’s superlative quarterback duel.