Double reverseWe all know that the Bills face the Jets twice every season, just like they do with Miami and New England. But the 2016 schedule matched up Buffalo and New York in mirror image fashion to that of 2015. Much like last season the Bills and Jets will meet first on a Thursday night. The only difference is the game will take place in Buffalo instead of New Jersey.
The Bills and Jets also clash for the second year in a row in Week 17 for their rematch in 2016. Again the only difference is the venue with the two clubs closing out the regular season at MetLife Stadium instead of the Ralph.
Jets and Patriots dominate prime timeBoth New York and New England have a total of five prime time games on their 2016 schedules. The Jets have three prime time games in a four-week stretch, but all of them are at home. New England's are more spread out over their schedule with two in the first month of their season followed by three more in a five week stretch from mid-November to mid-December.
Other teams with five prime time games this season are Dallas, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, the Giants and Seattle.
All AFC down the stretchThe Bills face the NFC West for their inter-conference matchups this season, but they play all four of those NFC opponents in the first half of the season. It leaves Buffalo with nothing but AFC opponents over their last seven games. It could prove critical in a tight playoff race knowing conference record is an early tiebreaker.
True roadiesThe Jets won't see much of their home digs at MetLife Stadium until the back half of their schedule. Six of New York's first nine games are on the road. Add in the fact three of their first four road games are against playoff teams from 2015 (KC, Pitt., Ariz.) and the Jets could be aching to get back to their home turf.
Starting uphillIt won't be a picnic out of the gate for the Dolphins and their schedule. In September, Miami will not only face three playoff teams, they'll face all of them on the road. Week 1 at Seattle, Week 2 at New England and Week 4 at Cincinnati. Welcome to the world of head coaching Adam Gase.
Spreading out the jet lagBuffalo has three west coast trips to make this season. They travel to Los Angeles, Seattle and Oakland, but the schedule makers did the Bills a big favor. Each of their west coast trips are a month apart on their calendar (Week 5, Week 9, Week 13) giving them ample time to recover from travel and time zone changes. In fact their road game at Seattle is followed by their bye week.* *
