2025 Bills game-by-game predictions: Is a perfect season in play?

Fox Sports

2 days ago

The Buffalo Bills are favored in all 17 of their regular-season games for 2025. This comes after Josh Allen won the MVP in 2024 and the Bills made it to the AFC Championship Game — where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
But for now, we're talking regular season, which is when the Bills own the Chiefs and when Allen owns Patrick Mahomes. And so it's easy to see Buffalo finishing at the top — and certainly near the top — of the AFC standings.
Let's work our way through every game of Buffalo's 2025 season to predict and analyze what's on the horizon for Sean McDermott, Allen and the Bills. Week 1: vs. Ravens, Sunday, Sept. 7
Well, the dream of an undefeated season didn't last long. This year is sure to be a great one for the Bills — I picked them to win the Super Bowl — but they're going to get punched in the mouth to start the season. Buffalo beat the Ravens in the divisional round of last season's playoffs and this will be Baltimore's revenge. We won't see any sort of mistake like Mark Andrews' late-game drop on a two-point conversion. To the contrary, we'll see a devastatingly sharp and brutal performance from the Ravens.
Result: Loss, 0-1 record Week 2: at Jets, Sunday, Sept. 14
QB Justin Fields is new. Coach Aaron Glenn is new. GM Darren Mougey is new. It's going to take some time for the Jets to pull things together, and they're not going to surprise everyone in 2025. Allen is going to come out firing to ensure that the Bills don't drop into an 0-2 hole.
Result: Win, 1-1 Week 3: vs. Dolphins, Thursday, Sept. 18
The Dolphins might be the NFL's biggest disappointment this year. Their secondary is likely to be one of the worst in the NFL. Their offensive system seems to be flagging. Their quarterback can't stay healthy. Their star receiver doesn't seem to want to be there. So, yeah, I see the Bills winning comfortably here.
Result: Win, 2-1 Week 4: vs. Saints, Sunday, Sept. 28
The Saints don't have a quarterback. They drafted Tyler Shough, who is supposedly pro-ready at age 25. But if he is so ready for the NFL, why did he go in the second round? McDermott is going to be ready for Shough and coach Kellen Moore's Saints. This is another easy win for the Bills.
Result: Win, 3-1
RELATED: Can Saints rookie QB Tyler Shough fill void left by Derek Carr's retirement? Week 5: vs. Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 5
Like the Jets and Saints, the Patriots have a new head coach. Mike Vrabel is beloved around the league, but he inherited an untalented roster. One offseason — even one with frivolous spending and high draft picks — isn't going to convert New England into the type of team that can handle the Bills right away. This one goes to Buffalo.
Result: Win, 4-1 Week 6: at Falcons, Monday, Oct. 13
The Falcons sharpened their teeth at the end of the 2024 season and nearly found their way into the postseason. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. got his feet wet and looked … like a rookie. And while I expect Atlanta to have a good season, I also expect the Bills to handle the NFL's middle class. And that's where the Falcons stand: in the (upper) middle class.
Result: Win, 5-1 Week 7: Bye Week 8: at Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 26
The Panthers are one of the teams I'm expecting to have a surprisingly good season — even making their way to the playoffs. Few will believe what they're capable of until they see the Panthers log a big win or two. Well, here's one of them. Carolina will have to work hard on defense to bottle up the Bills, but the Panthers will show their leaps-and-bounds improvement from last season. The Bills will be stunned.
Result: Loss, 5-2
McKenna: 2025 NFL playoff predictions, from wild-card round to the Super Bowl Week 9: vs. Chiefs, Sunday, Nov. 2
This game is always a classic. And it's almost always a Bills win — when we're talking about the regular season. So I'm not overthinking this one. It'll be a tight contest, but the Bills are going to be the better team in 2025. I'll take Buffalo at Highmark Stadium.
Result: Win, 6-2 Week 10: at Dolphins, Sunday, Nov. 9
By this point, Miami's season will likely have gone from bad to worse. The Bills will capitalize, throwing the ball all over the place and putting up a lopsided score.
Result: Win, 7-2 Week 11: vs. Buccaneers, Sunday, Nov. 16
The Bucs have a real shot at taking down Buffalo, but if the Bills drop a loss to a team like the Panthers, then they won't overlook anyone for the rest of the season. So here's a quality win for the Bills against an unfamiliar NFC opponent. It might end up being a shootout, given how good these two offenses could be. But this will be another incredible year for Allen, who will outduel Baker Mayfield.
Result: Win, 8-2 Week 12: at Texans, Thursday, Nov. 20
After a fairly calamitous 2024 season, the Texans fired OC Bobby Slowik, who as recently as 2023 was considered a hot head coaching candidate. That paints a picture of how high and low Houston's offense has been over the past two years. The Texans have been too inconsistent to see them upsetting the Bills in this game. I'm taking Buffalo and offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who will probably be a head coach in 2026.
Result: Win, 9-2 Week 13: at Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 30
The Steelers might have Aaron Rodgers. They might have Kirk Cousins. They might not have either. I'm not sure if it matters all that much. Pittsburgh, long one of the league's calmest and coolest organizations, has shown signs of desperation this offseason. And it's an ugly look for the Steelers. They're in for a topsy-turvy season. The Bills will win this one.
Result: Win, 10-2 Week 14: vs. Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 7
If this were the beginning of the season, you could make a case that maybe Cincinnati would start slow, like it always seems to. But in this case, the Bengals are sure to be fully operational. This will be a shootout, with Cincy's defense unlikely to be impressive. But I think the Bengals can score enough points here to upset the Bills.
Result: Loss, 10-3 Week 15: at Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 14
There's always one divisional game that sneaks up. The Bills will have already beaten the Patriots at this point. It'll be an away game for Buffalo. It'll be five weeks since the Bills' bye. This matchup will be a real chance for the Patriots to rally behind Vrabel and Drake Maye to get a quality win. It would be an upset, one that both teams will think about during the 2026 offseason. Might the Patriots again turn into real challengers in the division?
Result: Loss, 10-4 Week 16: at Browns, Sunday, Dec. 21
It's impossible to say which quarterback will start this game for Cleveland. Deshaun Watson is trying to make a comeback. Joe Flacco might be the best QB in the room. Shedeur Sanders is … Shedeur Sanders. None of that really matters. The Bills will absolutely flatten the Browns.
Result: Win, 11-4 Week 17: vs. Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 28
The Eagles are going to have a tough time getting wins in their division. The Commanders are set to have a big year, and I'm higher than most on the Cowboys, who have a real shot at the playoffs. So when the Eagles play outside their division, they'll come with desperation. And we're talking about the Super Bowl winners here. So yes, a desperate and talented Eagles team will beat the Bills in Buffalo.
Result: Loss, 11-5 Week 18: vs. Jets, Flex Game
The Bills will probably be jockeying for playoff seeding at this point — and because they lost to the Ravens, who will be a contender for the AFC's No. 1 seed, they'll need every win they can get. So Buffalo can steamroll the Jets to finish the season and make their way into the postseason on a high note.
Result: Win
Final Record: 12-5
Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna .
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