2 Bills games land on list of top-10 matchups in 2021
The Bills play both teams from last year’s Super Bowl in 2021, the Chiefs and Buccaneers.
At one point in time, that would’ve been considered an unlucky turn of events and a daunting tasking for the Bills.
Not anymore.
Instead, it’s game on.
NFL.com put together a list of their top-10 matchups en route during the 2021 season. Both of the Bills’ meetings with last year’s conference champs are listed:
The Bills’ matchup at the Bucs slots in at No. 7:
If the Bills are looking for a test of their true ability — one that doesn’t have “KC” on its helmet — they’ll receive one in the form of the defending champions. After losing by two touchdowns to the Chiefs in the AFC title game, Buffalo sat at home and watched the team that just defeated them get its doors blown off in the Super Bowl. The team that delivered the beatdown is on Buffalo’s schedule this season. It’s time to see how the surging Bills stack up.
Buffalo won’t be meeting a complete stranger in this game, either. Tom Brady single-handedly ruined Western New York’s hopes for two decades, save for a stray upset win with Drew Bledsoe at the controls, and it’s about time a strong Bills team attempts to avenge its many losses at the hands of the greatest of all time. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, gets a chance to further prove its supremacy by taking on the AFC’s runner-up a year after dominating its champion.
While the Bills’ visit to the Chiefs landed at No. 3:
Last season’s AFC Championship Game got off to a promising — if not stunning — start before Kansas City’s offense woke up and removed any real intrigue. It was a disappointing end to what was initially billed a high-flying conference title game between the reigning champions and perhaps the only AFC team equipped to keep pace with them.
Instead, it was largely a flop. But after an offseason in which the Bills quietly added in areas of need and the Chiefs impressively revamped their offensive line, this rematch of two top-tier squads could give us a much more entertaining showdown, set to once again take place at Arrowhead. Can Josh Allen outduel Patrick Mahomes? Will we get more defensive resistance from the Bills this time around? Might this be a key result that could sway the conference’s seeding? Check back in for the answers this fall.
Unfortunately, neither of these contests are in Buffalo. Still, the Bills might have all eyes on them in 2021 after a breakout season last year. Now what remains to be seen is where these games will fall on the schedule.
The NFL is slated to release the schedule this week. While we know opponents, we’ll get times and dates then. One of these two Bills matchups from the list might even be in contention for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football season opener. That’d be some way to start the year.
Overall on the NFL.com list, the Bucs visiting the Patriots slots in at No. 2 while the top game selected is the Packers vs. Chiefs.
