The Buffalo Bills have a surprisingly difficult schedule upcoming despite not winning the AFC East for the first time in five years last season.
But plenty of those contests en route in 2026 are some of the most anticipated in the entire NFL.
The Bills have a schedule with the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots featured on it. However, a recent NFL offseason roundup by ESPN did not point out one of those on a list.
Instead, it is the one right out of the gate.
Buffalo opens next season on the road against the Houston Texans in Week 1. ESPN named five “most watch” games in the whole league in 2026 and that’s the Bills matchup pointed out.
ESPN got to that judgment because of two reasons: Recent history between the two teams and that contest being the debut game for Joe Brady as the Bills’ new head coach.
ESPN’s full breakdown on Bills at Texans can be found below:
This matchup gave us one of the most surprising results of the 2025 season, as the Texans beat the Bills 23-19 with Davis Mills starting for the injured C.J. Stroud. Now, it kicks off the 2026 season with plenty of questions.
What does head coach Joe Brady do that offensive coordinator Joe Brady couldn’t to beat this ferocious Texans defense? Are the Texans’ investments in their running game finally going to pay off? What new life can Jim Leonhard infuse into a Bills defense that was running Sean McDermott stuff for a decade? Does Stroud look like he did in last year’s regular season … or like he did in the playoffs?
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills named on list of 5 ‘must watch’ NFL game on 2026 schedule
