Now that the Buffalo Bills 2024 schedule is finalized, let's dive into the top 10 storylines to know.

1 – Cross conference opener

It's far from a common opponent to open the season, but the Bills will begin their 2024 campaign at home for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Arizona Cardinals.

QB Kyler Murray and the top receiver in the 2024 draft class, Marvin Harrison Jr. come to Orchard Park to mark the first time in team history that the Bills have opened the season at home against the Cardinals.

The Bills have won four of the five all-time meetings between the two franchises in Buffalo.

2 - Primetime string

For the second year in a row the Bills have three consecutive primetime games, and they come very early in the season from Weeks 2-4. Buffalo has its first AFC East matchup on Thursday night Sept. 12 at Miami. The Bills are 4-1 in their last five matchups against the Dolphins in Miami, including their AFC East division-clinching victory in Week 18 last season (21-14).

That's followed by a Monday night tilt with the Jacksonville Jaguars in Buffalo after an 11-day layoff, marking the first time the Bills have hosted the Jags in Orchard Park since 2018, a 24-21 win in Josh Allen's rookie season.

The string wraps up with a big Sunday night matchup on the road with the defending AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens. Buffalo has won the last two meetings between the teams, counting the 2020 Divisional Playoff along with the Week 4 win in Baltimore in 2022.

Last season, the Bills had three straight primetime games from Weeks 8 to 10 and went 1-2 in those contests.

This year, Buffalo has a total of five primetime games, one short of their record of six set last season. The Bills also had five primetime games in 2022.

3 - Monday Night MetLife redux

It had all the fanfare you could've asked for in last year's season opener. A Week 1 primetime matchup with the division rival New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Monday Night Football, with their new quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

The game fell short of expectations. New York lost their starting QB for the season on the fourth play from scrimmage when Rodgers ruptured his Achilles tendon as he was sacked. And Josh Allen threw four interceptions in what wound up being an overtime loss.

The league's schedule makers are convinced the second time around will be far more entertaining, so they scheduled it again in 2024. The only difference is the Monday night matchup will take place in Week 6 on Oct. 14.

4 - Three straight roadies

The aforementioned string of primetime games overlaps with a stretch of three consecutive road outings. From Weeks 4 through 6 the Bills have road dates at Baltimore, at Houston and at the Jets.

Last year, the Bills had three straight home games from Weeks 4 through 6, so the schedule makers flipped it for 2024. Buffalo went 4-4 on the road last season.

5 – Date with Diggs

While casual NFL fans watching the Week 5 matchup between the Bills and Texans will be focused on the quarterback matchup between Josh Allen and C.J. Stroud, Bills Mafia will be squarely focused on hoping former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs does little to nothing in a Houston Texans uniform that Sunday.

The Bills face their former teammate on the road for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Oct. 6.

As a Bill, Diggs faced his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, just once during his four-year tenure in Buffalo. It came in Week 10 of the 2022 season, and he had 12 receptions for 128 yards in a 33-30 overtime defeat.

6 – Back-to-back vs. Conference champs

Winning your division, as the Bills have done each of the last four seasons, has its advantages. Obviously, it enables you to clinch a playoff berth and guarantees you'll host at least one playoff game. It also means you play a first-place schedule the following season.

Buffalo faces seven playoff teams from last season in 2024, including back-to-back games against the defending AFC and NFC champions.

Fortunately, the Bills host both teams. Buffalo welcomes the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to Highmark Stadium in Week 11 for a 4:25 p.m. kickoff. It's the fifth straight year the Bills have faced the Chiefs in the regular season with Buffalo winning the last three matchups. Kansas City, however, won the last meeting in Orchard Park in 2020 (26-17).

After a bye week, Buffalo then hosts the defending NFC champion, San Francisco 49ers in Week 13 on Sunday Night Football for an 8:20 p.m. kickoff. Buffalo has won its last two meetings with San Francisco, with the last taking place on the road in Arizona, due to Covid-19 restrictions in California during the pandemic in 2020 (34-24).

It's the second straight season Buffalo faces the defending conference champions back-to-back with a bye in between. Last year, the Bills had a bye week separating their matchups with the Eagles and Chiefs in Weeks 12 and 14, both of which were on the road. Buffalo went 1-1 in those games last season.

7 – Bye comes late

For the second straight season Buffalo's bye comes late. The Bills get their week off in Week 12, just a week shy of their latest bye week ever, which happened last year in Week 13.

The bye is sandwiched between their two home games against the two defending conference champs mentioned above.

8 – NFC gauntlet

There is always a stretch of any team's NFL schedule that looks daunting on paper. That portion of Buffalo's schedule comes from Week 13 through 15 when they face three straight NFC playoff teams from last year, including the two teams that met in the NFC Championship game.

In Week 13 they host San Francisco on Sunday Night Football (Dec. 1). That's followed by a 4:25 pm road kickoff at Los Angeles against the Rams, a team they last faced at SoFi Stadium in the 2022 season opener and won 31-10.

The three-game gauntlet wraps in Detroit, when they play the NFC North champion Lions for another 4:25 pm kickoff in Week 15 on Dec. 15. Buffalo won its last game in Detroit on Thanksgiving day in 2022, 28-25.

9 – No holiday games

The Bills have been a popular fixture of late on holidays. Buffalo has played on Thanksgiving Day three of the last five seasons and played on Christmas Eve in 2022. With two Christmas Day games this season and the fact that perennial Thanksgiving participant, Detroit, was on Buffalo's schedule, it lent credence to the possibility of a holiday game for Buffalo.

But the Bills avoided seeing any of their games placed on a holiday this season. Their game at Detroit comes two weeks before Thanksgiving, and they play three days prior (Dec. 22 vs. New England) and four days after Christmas (Dec. 29 vs. NY Jets).

10 - Road TBD to wrap

Much like the last two seasons, Buffalo's Week 18 game has a date and time to be determined. This season they close the regular season with the Patriots in New England. The Bills also closed the 2022 season with New England, but the game was at Highmark Stadium. That game was eventually placed in the Sunday, 1 p.m. time slot two years ago.

Last year's regular season finale against the Dolphins was placed on Sunday night as the AFC East division title was on the line in that game played in Miami.