It's one of the most exciting regular season schedules that the Bills have had in decades. Their 10-win season in 2019, combined with the acquisition of top wideout Stefon Diggs has vaulted Buffalo into the must-see category. Below we lay out the 10 things you need to know about the Bills 2020 schedule, which is presented by Aloft Hotel at 500 Pearl.

1. Prime time vs. defending conference champions

It was already known that the Bills would be playing against both the defending NFC champion 49ers and the defending AFC and Super Bowl champion Chiefs in 2020 based on the league's rotational schedule. But it likely wasn't anticipated that Buffalo would be facing both clubs in primetime matchups.

The Bills play host to Kansas City in Week 6 in a Thursday Night Football matchup at New Era Field and they travel to San Francisco in Week 13 for a Monday Night Football tilt with the 49ers.

Their matchup with Kansas City on Oct. 15th marks the first time the Chiefs and Bills have met in primetime since 2003. The two teams squared off at Arrowhead Stadium for a Sunday night matchup won by the Chiefs.

It will be the first time Buffalo's top five defense faces Chiefs Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. The last time the Bills played the Chiefs was in 2017 when Alex Smith was their starting quarterback. Buffalo won that game 16-10.

The matchup with the 49ers will be the first time ever that the two teams have met on the Monday Night Football stage.

2. Four prime time games

In addition to their Thursday night and Monday night prime time games against last year's two Super Bowl participants, Buffalo has two additional prime time games against Pittsburgh in Week 14 and New England in Week 16.

The Bills will host the Steelers for a Sunday night matchup on Dec. 13th in a reprise of last year's Sunday Night Football game between the two clubs in Pittsburgh, won by Buffalo (17-10).

Two weeks later Buffalo will play the Patriots in Foxborough on Monday Night Football on Dec. 28th. The last time the Bills played the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Monday night was in the 2015 season in a game won by New England (20-13).

Buffalo's four prime time games is the most they had in a single season since 1996, when they also had four.

3. Division games paired up

Buffalo's six division games have been evenly spread through their 2020 schedule at the beginning, middle and the end, but they've curiously been paired up in three sets of back-to-back AFC East matchups.  

In Week 1, Buffalo hosts the Jets for the opener and then in Week 2 could be one of the first teams to face Tua Tagovailoa in Miami.

Then in Weeks 7 and 8 the Bills have back-to-back division games at New York to play the Jets followed by a home game against New England.

They close out their regular season in Weeks 16 and 17 with the aforementioned Monday night game at New England before finishing up at home with the Dolphins.

4. Viva Las Vegas!

Perhaps the most anticipated road date for Bills fans is their matchup with the newly relocated Las Vegas Raiders. Buffalo takes on the Silver and Black in Week 4 on Oct. 4th for a 4:25 pm ET kickoff at their new Allegiant Stadium.

Buffalo last played the Raiders in Oakland in 2016.

5. West coast trips spread evenly

The schedule makers did an admirable job in spreading out Buffalo's demanding travel schedule knowing the team is facing both the AFC West and NFC West this season.

The Bills' longest trips are to Arizona, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Those games are slated for Week 4 (Las Vegas), Week 10 (Arizona) and Week 13 (San Francisco).

Their fourth-longest trip to Denver is in Week 15.

6. Handful of first-year starting QBs

Buffalo's top-five defense could have up to six games against first-year starting quarterbacks in 2020. Their first such matchup could come as early as Week 2 if the Dolphins elect to name top draft choice Tua Tagovailoa their starting QB at the outset of the season. Even if they don't, Buffalo could see Tagovailoa in the season finale in Week 17.

The Bills defense will also see New England's Jarrett Stidham at least once along with Chargers' top pick, Justin Herbert and Denver QB Drew Lock.

7. Challenging stretch run

Right when the Bills may be jockeying for playoff position is when their schedule gets particularly daunting both in terms of travel and quality of opponent. In Week 13 they face the defending NFC champs on the road on Monday night in San Francisco.

They come off long travel on a short week and then face Pittsburgh at home in Week 14 on Sunday night.

That's followed by another long road trip out to Denver to play the much-improved Broncos on either Saturday Dec. 19th or Sunday Dec. 20th.

And then back on the road again to New England for their Monday night tilt with the rival Patriots in Week 16.

That's four games in 21 days with 8,102 air miles of travel.

8. Music City takeover Part II?

Last season in Week 5, Bills fans took over Nissan Stadium, and downtown Nashville for that matter, and were instrumental in helping Buffalo score a 14-7 upset of the Tennessee Titans in their building. 

The Bills are scheduled for a return engagement the exact same week (Week 5) when the Titans host Buffalo on Oct. 11th for a 1 pm kickoff.

The game figures to be just as tight against a Titans team that reached the AFC title game last year. Will Bills Mafia be able to stage a repeat presence in enemy territory?

9. Week 15 a TBD game

The Bills know they're facing the Denver Broncos on the road in Week 15, they just don't know if the game is on Saturday Dec. 19 or Sunday Dec. 20th and they don't know what time kickoff will be.

They faced the same situation last season when Buffalo's Week 16 game against the Patriots in New England was going to be on Saturday Dec. 21st or Sunday Dec. 22nd. The game was ultimately played on Saturday with a 4:30 pm kickoff.

That date wasn't finalized however, until mid-November last year, as the league tried to accommodate their television partners and provide the strongest matchups for the games that were being broadcast to the majority of the country.

It's anticipated this season's game in Denver will also have a later start time once the day is determined.

10. Frequent flyer miles

Last season the Bills had the third-fewest air miles traveled in the league with just over 8,700 for the season (8,710). That won't be the case in 2020.

Buffalo is slated to cover a total of approximately 20,250 air miles due mainly to a schedule that includes the AFC West and NFC West.

Last year, Buffalo's 2020 total of 20,250 air miles would've ranked 12th-highest in the NFL.

Bills season tickets for the 2020 season remain on sale. For more information or to purchase, click here.

Please note that every effort is being made to accommodate our current season ticket members who are navigating through this difficult pandemic. We have and will continue to encourage them to reach out to their account representative with any questions or concerns.

A limited number of single-game tickets for Bills home games will be available on Ticketmaster.com. The dates for the Season Ticket Member presale, the group ticket on-sale and the full single game on-sale will be announced at a later date.

For more information about the NFL's league-wide policy on ticket refunds click here.