Will the Buffalo Bills end their 10-year playoff drought this upcoming season? It won't take long to find out.

The Bills have eight playoff teams, including three in the first four weeks, on their 2010

schedule, which was released Tuesday night.

The Bills will know where they stand in the AFC East right away. They open the season at

home against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 12, visit the New England Patriots two weeks later

followed by an Oct. 2 showdown with the New York Jets at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The Jets reached the AFC Championship Game last season, and are gearing up for a return

with several big-name trades and free agent signings this offseason.

The Patriots are defending AFC East champions and have beaten the Bills 13 consecutive

times, equaling the NFL's longest active winning streak over an opponent. The Dolphins also

fortified their roster in an effort to return to the playoffs.

Bills 2010 schedule

DateOpponentTime

Sept. 12Miami1 p.m.

Sept. 19at Green Bay1 p.m.

Sept. 26at New England1 p.m.

Oct. 3N.Y. Jets1 p.m.

Oct. 10Jacksonville1 p.m.

Oct. 17Bye

Oct. 24at Baltimore1 p.m.

Oct. 31at Kansas City1 p.m.

Nov. 7vs. Chicago*1 p.m.

Nov. 14Detroit1 p.m.

Nov. 21at Cincinnati1 p.m.

Nov. 28Pittsburgh1 p.m.

Dec. 5at Minnesota1 p.m.

Dec. 12Cleveland1 p.m.

Dec. 19at Miami1 p.m.

Dec. 26New England1 p.m.

Jan. 2at N.Y. Jets1 p.m.

*&#8212Rogers Centre, Toronto

In Week Two, the Bills travel to Green Bay to face the potent Packers, who went 11-5 last

season.

It's a daunting start for a Bills team that is changing its offensive and defensive schemes

under new coach Chan Gailey. The good news for the Bills is their early opponents —

especially the Dolphins — won't have much game film to study. The early part of the

season will also give the Bills a chance to compare their 3-4 defense with those used by their

first four opponents.

On paper, the Bills' home schedule looks favorable as only three teams had winning records

last season. The marquee non-division visitor is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who should have

beleaguered quarterback Ben Roethlisberger under center when they come to Ralph Wilson Stadium

on Nov. 28. Roethlisberger is facing a likely suspension by the NFL after being accused of

sexual assault twice in less than a year.

The Bills return to Toronto for a Nov. 7 "home" game against the Chicago Bears. This will

be the Bills' third regular-season game, and fifth overall, as part of a five-year, $78

million agreement to play eight games in Canada's largest city. The Bills have a preseason

contest against the Indianapolis Colts at Rogers Centre on Aug. 19.

The Bills do not have a prime-time game for the first time since 2006 and all 16 contests

have a 1 p.m. start. That could change under the NFL's flex scheduling from Weeks 11 through

17.

Rough road trips

Of the eight games the Bills have against playoffs teams, six of them are on the road.

Besides Green Bay and New England, the Bills visit Baltimore on Oct. 24. At least the Bills

should be well-rested as they meet the Ravens after a Week Six bye.

Other playoff teams on the docket are Cincinnati, Minnesota, New England and the Jets. The

only road game the Bills might be favored in is against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs on

Halloween.

Late-season toughies

The Bills' opponents had a combined record of 128-128 last season. That's not a true gauge

of how good they'll be the next year, but the Bills don't appear to have many easy wins. And

if you thought the first quarter of their schedule was tough, take a look at the rest of it.

Following what should be a home win over Detroit on Nov. 14, the Bills have a three-week

stretch where they play at Cincinnati, host Pittsburgh and visit Minnesota. The Bengals won

the AFC North last season, while the Vikings captured the NFC North title and were an overtime

loss away from going to the Super Bowl.

It is not yet known if the Vikings will have quarterback Brett Favre, who has been given

all the time he wants to decide whether to continue playing.

After the early season meetings, the Bills won't see their AFC East foes again until the

last three games of the season. They visit Miami on Dec. 19, host New England the day after

Christmas and meet the Jets in the Jan. 2 finale at the new Meadowlands Stadium.

The NFL moved division matchups to the end of the regular season to discourage playoff-

bound teams from tanking games by resting starters.

Not them again

Bills fans are probably tired of seeing Jacksonville on the schedule, so they'll be

disappointed that the Jaguars will play the Bills for the fifth consecutive season and the

eighth time since 2001. The only change is the Jaguars are coming to Buffalo in Week Five

after hosting the matchup the last three years.

The Cleveland Browns make a third straight trip to The Ralph on Dec. 12. The Bills visited

Cleveland in 2007.

The Bills and Chiefs are meeting in Kansas City for the third year in a row.

Canadian conflict

It wasn't a matter of if, but when a Bills game in Toronto would clash with the Canadian

Football League. Their Nov. 7 game against the Bears just happens to fall on the last day of

the CFL regular season when Toronto's Argonauts are visiting the Montreal Alouettes. According

to media reports in Toronto, reception to the Bills playing games there has been lukewarm at

best. If the Argos are competing for a playoff spot, they could steal some of the Bills'

thunder or the Bills could do likewise.