For the third time as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Sean McDermott is set to take on the team with which he spent six seasons as the defensive coordinator from 2011 to 2016, and for the first time since his first season in Buffalo, the Carolina Panthers are set to welcome him back to Bank of America Stadium.
Eight seasons after that 2017 matchup, won by Carolina, McDermott is still unbeaten as the head coach of the Bills when coming off of a bye week (8-0). Now the full 2025 schedule has been confirmed, and lo and behold, the Bills are set to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina immediately after their Week 7 bye week this time around.
The Week 8 matchup between the two teams is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 26.
The Panthers' bye week is not scheduled until Week 14. Only the New England Patriots, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers have bye weeks scheduled for that late into the season.
Panthers dealt a blow with scheduling of Bills matchup
There are a lot of high hopes for the Panthers in 2025. Former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young came into his own toward the end of the 2024 season, the NFC South is still not as strong of a division as the other three NFC divisions, and Carolina filled some sizable holes in this year's draft. They have established themselves as a legitimate dark horse contender to make some noise.
On paper, the Bills game is the toughest game on their 2025 schedule. They do not have any other games lined up against teams that made to Conference Championship weekend this past season. In fact, Week 8 marks the first time they are set to face a playoff team from 2024.
But with McDermott and the Bills set to take on the Panthers coming off of their bye week, the Panthers' toughest game just got a whole lot tougher.
As for the Bills, they already have the league's easiest schedule, based on the strength of schedule metric calculated using 2024 win-loss records. The Panthers' 5-12 mark from last year certainly contributes to that league-low percentage.
Now they have gotten a little extra boost against McDermott's former team from the NFL schedule makers.
If there is any silver lining here, it's the fact that there is (generally) a first time for everything in sports. Even Andy Reid, known for his extraordinary success (30-4) after a bye week, can indeed be beaten after a bye week.
Panthers fans can hope that this is the year they end their former defensive coordinator's own extraordinary run following a week off.