Buffalo Bills will face familiar QBs in new places to begin 2023 NFL schedule

From a guy with almost two decades starting in the NFL to one who’s made just a single start as a pro — the Bills will provide early tests for three new-look offenses.

With the Buffalo Bills’ schedule officially out, the fun begins in looking at matchups to spot interesting trends. One of the more interesting trends we noticed is that, for the first three weeks of the season, the Bills will play a team with a starting quarterback who’s different from the previous year. This is notable with head coach Sean McDermott now calling the defense. It’s unlikely McDermott will play those teams the same way that Leslie Frazier did last season or in seasons prior.

Starting things off in Week 1, Buffalo travels to New Jersey to take on Gang Green’s new quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. This will be a huge first test for Rodgers in MetLife Stadium. The Bills’ defense gave him trouble for the majority of their home tilt against the Green Bay Packers last season. Rodgers has been heralded as the missing piece for the New York Jets so this will be a huge test right out of the gates.

The following week Buffalo hosts the Las Vegas Raiders, which will have quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo directing the offense. Garoppolo is coming off a broken foot suffered while with the San Francisco 49ers last season — after replacing Trey Lance who suffered a broken ankle. Garoppolo has always been more of a game manager and now rejoins Josh McDaniels who was his offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots when Garoppolo was drafted.

In Week 3, The Bills will face quarterback Sam Howell with the Washington Commanders. Howell is entering his second season with the team but only received one start last season as a “let’s see what we have” type of opportunity. It will be interesting to see how new offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy implements his offense from the Kansas City Chiefs with Washington’s personnel.