ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- It's an exciting time to be in Buffalo. The Bills have started the season 1-0 with a 31-10 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, and Caesars Sportsbook has the team listed as the Super Bowl favorite at +500. When Monday Night Football comes to town this week, Bills Mafia is expected to be out in full force.
Consequently, students in the Orchard Park and Frontier Central school districts, both located near Highmark Stadium, will have a half day of school prior to the Bills hosting the Tennessee Titans at 7:15 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN2) on Monday.
The decision was made because of expected heavy traffic around the stadium with parking lots expected to open around 4 p.m. ET. Dismissing school early will help ensure students get home safely and assist police officers with traffic. Bills fans often arrive at unofficial parking lots hours prior to kickoff to tailgate. The game is part of ESPN's doubleheader that also includes the Minnesota Vikings facing the Philadelphia Eagles at 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN+).
Frontier Central School District notified families on Monday, while Orchard Park, as confirmed to WGRZ in Buffalo, moved a half day scheduled for Friday, Sept. 23 to Monday. The change was approved in June after the NFL schedule was released. No impact was made to the students' academic time.
Previous accommodations and changes have been made to accommodate for other stadium events in the past, including on Oct. 29, 2018 for a different Bills' home Monday Night Football game.
The Bills will be taking part in their second straight prime-time game, but the team has not won a Monday Night Football game at home since 1994. Including last year's loss to the New England Patriots, the team has lost the past four MNF contests it has hosted. The Bills are 2-9 (.182) on Monday Night Football since 2000, the worst record in the NFL.
But with a victory, quarterback Josh Allen can match the longest win streak of his career -- six straight, which he last accomplished in Weeks 12-17 of the 2020 season.
"It's gonna be crazy. I mean, half day at school," Allen said. "That's how you create some Bills fans right there, you get outta school. I mean, man, I hope they love the Bills. So, we'll need everybody here and screaming as loud as they can and trying to help us out on third down when our defense is on the field."