Bills in prime time again as they take on Broncos on Monday Night Football: What to know
CINCINNATI - When the 2023 NFL schedule was being constructed, it was pretty clear that the network executives who have a say in such things were very excited about the entertainment value and potential ratings bonanza the Buffalo Bills would provide.
Considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender, and armed with a superstar quarterback, the Bills were given six prime-time games, another island TV window with the 9:30 a.m. London game, plus four 4:25 starts in the highly-viewed second half of Sunday doubleheaders.
It was the kind of schedule usually reserved for defending Super Bowl champions, and by comparison, the Kansas City Chiefs have only three 1 p.m. starts while the Bills have just five.
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However, as the Bills wrap up a string of three consecutive prime-time games when they host the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, America’s football fans may be rolling their eyes and saying “enough of the Bills already.”
And who could blame them? The Bills woke up on Monday sitting in third place in the AFC East and ninth place (meaning out of a playoff position) in the AFC.
They lost to the New York Jets on the first Monday night of the season, and now to the Cincinnati Bengals in the most recent Sunday Night Football showcase. In between, they barely beat the woeful Giants and mediocre Buccaneers in a pair of home night games, and put up a sleepy clunker against the Jaguars in London.
The Bills aren’t nearly as entertaining as they once were and outside of one superb performance when they blew out Miami, they have done nothing this season to make anyone want to watch them.
Speaking of eye rolls, here’s what edge rusher Von Miller - whose glass is never not full and is usually overflowing - spilled out what can only be described as a highly questionable take following the 24-18 loss to the Bengals.
“We’ve got a really good team … we’ve got a great quarterback, offense is great, defense is great,” Miller said.
At this moment in time, none of that true, but hey America, you get the Bills again come Monday night.
Here’s an early look ahead to the matchup with the Broncos:
Top players for Denver Broncos on offense, defense
▶QB Russell Wilson: His debut season with the Broncos in 2022 was the worst of his career, but he has been much better in 2023 as he’s completing 66.1% of his passes with 16 TDs and only four interceptions.
▶RB Javonte Williams: He has shared the backfield with Jaleel McLaughlin, but he leads in carries with 90 for 357 yards and also has 17 catches for 78 yards.
▶WR Courtland Sutton: Wilson is averaging only 201 yards passing per game because he’s been throwing mostly short passes and his yards per attempt is 6.9 which ranks 20th. That has affected the receivers and Sutton’s 33 catches for 380 yards and six TDs lead the team in all three categories.
▶WR Jerry Jeudy: The disappointing 2020 first-round pick, who was rumored to be on the trade block, has 27 catches for 336 yards and only one TD.
▶DE Nik Bonitto: He leads the team with 5.5 sacks and 27 QB pressures but he also has the third-most missed tackles (8).
▶DT Zach Allen: He has three sacks, 26 pressures and he leads the defensive linemen with 35 tackles and 23 stops which are defined as tackles that result in a failed play for the offense.
▶LB Alex Singleton: He leads the Broncos with 73 tackles and 27 stops, but he also leads with 15 missed tackles which is the most among all LBs in the NFL.
▶CB Patrick Surtain II: He is considered one of the top CBs in the league, but among the 62 CBs who have played have played at least 200 pass coverage snaps, his 14.0 yards allowed per reception is 10th-worst.
▶SS Justin Simmons: Denver’s pass defense ranks dead last in completion percentage allowed at 73.5% and 27th in yards per game (257.1) and part of the problem is Simmons hasn’t played as well as he has in the past. He’s allowing 14.9 yards per reception into his coverage area.
Who is favored to win Bills vs Broncos?
The Bills have opened as a 7.5-point favorite for the game. The money line is Bills minus-340 (bet $340 to win $100) and Broncos plus-280 (bet $100 to win $280). The over-under is 46.
What time does the Bills vs Broncos game start?
Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.
How to watch Buffalo Bills vs Denver Broncos game on TV, streaming
∎Network TV: ABC. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WHAM-TV (Channel 13, Rochester); WKBW (Buffalo area); WSYR (Syracuse area); WUTR (Utica area); WENY (Elmira area); WTEN (Albany area); WIVT (Binghamton area).
∎Cable TV: ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+. With your TV subscription you can also watch on your phone or tablet on ESPN.com, the ESPN mobile app, and ESPN Deportes.
∎TV streaming: You can also stream if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV, fuboTV, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV.
∎Online streaming services: You can watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet.
On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Broncos game
You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on Sirius channel 83 and XM channel 225 (Bills feed) and Sirius channel 81 and XM channel 226 (Broncos feed), and on traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. Chris Brown has the play-by-play, Eric Wood is the analyst, and Sal Capaccio is the sideline reporter. The network includes:
Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM)
Buffalo (WGR550, 550 AM)
Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5)
Binghamton (WDRE 100.5FM)
Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM)
Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM)
Newark (WACK 1420 AM)
Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM)
Elmira (WNGZ 1490 AM)
Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM)
Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM)
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out twice a week during the season, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who do Bills play next? Monday Night Football vs Broncos up next
