American Football

Bills Host Lions in New Highmark Stadium Regular-Season Debut

By Hugo Brennan

Bills Host Lions in New Highmark Stadium Regular-Season Debut

Buffalo’s new Highmark Stadium will get its first regular-season test Thursday night when the Bills host the Detroit Lions in Orchard Park, giving Bills Mafia the chance to turn a troubled buildup into a landmark opening-night memory.

Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions: New Highmark Stadium Debut

SEO Title: Buffalo Bills Open New Highmark Stadium Against Detroit Lions

SEO Description: The Buffalo Bills begin a new era at $2.2 billion Highmark Stadium on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions, with a look back at the NFL’s most memorable stadium debuts.

The $2.2 billion venue carries the same Highmark Stadium name as Buffalo’s previous home, but nearly everything else is new. Massive bison statues greet visitors outside, upper-deck seats offer views toward the Buffalo skyline, and the club enters the building with a new, younger head coach.

The pregame conversation has not been entirely celebratory. Fans who attended the public unveiling raised concerns about blocked sightlines, while the grounds crew replaced the playing surface earlier this month after turf began coming loose during preseason action.

Still, the Bills will have something recent stadium openers lacked: a full home crowd. SoFi Stadium, shared by the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, and Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium both began NFL life in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions left their teams playing before mostly empty seats and cardboard cutouts.

Buffalo should face no such atmosphere problem Thursday. The Lions will walk into a full-throated Bills Mafia crowd eager to christen the new building with a victory.

How NFL Stadium Openers Have Played Out

Twenty-seven active NFL stadiums, excluding Buffalo’s new facility along with SoFi and Allegiant, have hosted a regular-season opener. Some began quietly, including Cleveland’s 43-0 loss to Pittsburgh in 1999 and Jacksonville’s 1995 game against Houston, when the Oilers and Jaguars combined for only 125 passing yards.

Other openings produced instant franchise history.

Notable stadium debuts outside the top five

  • Lambeau Field, then called New City Stadium: Green Bay beat Chicago 21-17 in Week 1 of 1957.
  • Northwest Stadium, then Jack Kent Cooke Stadium: Washington defeated Arizona 19-13 in overtime in Week 3 of 1997.
  • M&T Bank Stadium, then Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards: Pittsburgh spoiled Baltimore’s 1998 opener, 20-13.
  • Raymond James Stadium: Tampa Bay handled Chicago 27-15 in Week 3 of 1998.
  • Lincoln Financial Field: Philadelphia was shut out 17-0 by Tampa Bay in Week 1 of 2003.
  • Levi’s Stadium: Chicago beat San Francisco 28-20 in Week 2 of 2014.

Honorable Mention: Miami’s Strange 1987 Opening

Hard Rock Stadium opened in 1987 as Joe Robbie Stadium, but the Dolphins’ first regular-season game there was shaped by the players’ strike.

  1. Miami was initially scheduled to open the new building against the defending champion New York Giants in Week 3, but that game was canceled after the strike began.
  2. Two weeks later, replacement players took the field against Kansas City before a crowd of fewer than 26,000 in a stadium built for more than 70,000.
  3. Instead of Dan Marino, Miami started quarterback Kyle Mackey, an 11th-round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1984.
  4. Running back Ronald Scott carried 18 times and scored the only three touchdowns of his NFL career. He started the next week but never appeared in another league game.
  5. Miami’s defense broke the game open in the third quarter, when Liffort Hobley and Trell Hooper returned fumbles more than 50 yards for touchdowns within three minutes.
  6. The Dolphins routed Kansas City 42-0, while Chiefs quarterback Alex Espinoza went 9-for-14 for 69 yards in his only NFL appearance.

The lopsided result and low turnout led to partial local blackouts in both the Miami and Kansas City markets. Stadium founder Joe Robbie nevertheless called it one of South Florida sports’ great days, even as the unusual strike-era setting made it an opening few fans remembered.

Five Stadium Debuts That Set the Standard

5. Soldier Field: Bears 17, Steelers 15

Soldier Field first opened in 1924, and the Bears played there in a 10-0 win over the Chicago Cardinals during the 1926 season. But their first game after leaving Wrigley Field for Soldier Field as their full-time home came in Week 1 of 1971 against Pittsburgh.

  1. The Steelers, led by Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw, carried a 15-3 advantage into the fourth quarter behind the running of John Fuqua and Warren Bankston.
  2. Bankston lost fumbles on consecutive Pittsburgh possessions.
  3. Ross Brupbacher returned the first turnover 30 yards for a Chicago touchdown.
  4. Dick Butkus forced the next fumble after also intercepting Bradshaw earlier in the game.
  5. Coach Jim Dooley replaced starter Jack Concannon with Kent Nix, who ran for a first down before throwing an 8-yard touchdown to George Farmer.

Nix completed only one pass in the game, but it was enough to win it. The quarterback started four games that season and completed 37.2 percent of his passes, yet his late throw to Farmer secured a permanent place in Bears history. More than 55,000 fans watched in rainy conditions, though many departed shortly before the comeback was complete.

4. Reliant Stadium: Texans 19, Cowboys 10

Houston’s 2002 opener at Reliant Stadium marked the NFL’s return to the city after the Oilers left following the 1996 season. It also was the first game for the Texans, the league’s first true expansion club in seven years and still its most recent expansion franchise.

  1. No. 1 overall pick David Carr led Houston into a prime-time matchup against the in-state rival Cowboys.
  2. Carr hit tight end Billy Miller for a touchdown less than 75 seconds into the game, igniting the crowd in the stadium beside the Astrodome.
  3. With the game tied in the fourth quarter, Carr found Corey Bradford down the right sideline for a 65-yard touchdown, beating Darren Woodson to the ball.
  4. Houston sealed the 19-10 win by taking down Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter for a safety.

The Texans became the first expansion team to win its debut game since the Minnesota Vikings did it in 1961. Houston has since claimed eight AFC South titles over a 15-year span, but its first night in the NFL remains one of the franchise’s defining moments.

3. Ford Field: Packers 37, Lions 31

Detroit returned NFL football to downtown in 2002 after nearly 30 years at the Pontiac Silverdome. The Ford Field opener against Brett Favre and Green Bay produced a furious rivalry game, although it ended in another Lions loss.

  1. Detroit opened the scoring when Az-Zahir Hakim returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown.
  2. Green Bay answered with a 78-yard interception return by Marques Anderson, then Favre connected with Donald Driver for another score.
  3. Rookie quarterback Joey Harrington, making his first start, responded before halftime with a 39-yard touchdown throw to Lamont Warren.
  4. The Packers built a 34-17 edge in the second half, but Detroit rallied with two touchdowns, including James Stewart’s 52-yard touchdown run after the two-minute warning.
  5. Green Bay added a field goal, and Harrington got the ball back with a little more than one minute remaining.
  6. Harrington moved the Lions inside the Green Bay 35-yard line, narrowly missed Mikhael Ricks deep, then threw his fourth interception of the day to end the comeback bid.

The game had all the ingredients of an ideal debut except the final score for Detroit. The Lions had a new downtown stadium and a rookie quarterback, but Green Bay left with the 37-31 win and the first Packers victory at Ford Field.

2. Nissan Stadium: Titans 36, Bengals 35

Nissan Stadium opened in 1999 as Adelphia Coliseum and gave the renamed Titans a true Nashville home after the franchise spent 1997 in Memphis and 1998 at Vanderbilt Stadium.

  1. Tennessee surged to a 26-7 first-half lead over Cincinnati, with Steve McNair and Kevin Dyson accounting for three touchdowns.
  2. The Bengals rallied for 28 unanswered points behind quarterback Jeff Blake, who was dealing with cramps, and took a 35-26 lead late in the fourth quarter.
  3. The comeback prompted boos from newly minted Titans fans, but McNair answered by finding Eddie George for a 17-yard touchdown.
  4. After a defensive stop, McNair and George moved the ball from Cincinnati’s 49-yard line to the 15.
  5. With 12 seconds left, Al Del Greco drilled a 33-yard field goal for a 36-35 Tennessee victory.

McNair, who was approaching back surgery, said the boos only increased his determination and credited teammates for backing him through the rally. Tennessee went on to become AFC champion and lost a close Super Bowl XXXIV to the Rams. The Titans allowed 35 or more points only twice over their remaining 19 games and lost only four times. Cincinnati, meanwhile, won just one of its next 10 games.

The Titans are set to play their final regular-season game at what is now Nissan Stadium this season, with the Steelers visiting Nashville.

1. AT&T Stadium: Giants 33, Cowboys 31

Dallas opened Cowboys Stadium, now AT&T Stadium, in 2009 with an event worthy of the “Jerry World” label. Former President George W. Bush attended, and more than 105,000 spectators watched the Cowboys face the rival New York Giants on Sunday night.

  1. New York’s Bruce Johnson intercepted Tony Romo and returned it 34 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.
  2. Giants safety Kenny Phillips later picked off a pass that deflected off Jason Witten’s heel.
  3. Mario Manningham made a juggling 22-yard touchdown catch in the final minute of the first half.
  4. Dallas countered with a 56-yard run by Felix Jones in the third quarter and eventually moved ahead 31-30 with 3:40 remaining.
  5. Eli Manning then led the Giants downfield, completing four first-down passes to Kevin Boss, Steve Smith and Manningham.
  6. On a key third down, Manning converted after his throw was tipped and still reached Manningham.
  7. Wade Phillips used a timeout to try to freeze Lawrence Tynes, but Tynes hit a 37-yard field goal with four seconds left.

The Giants spoiled the Cowboys’ grand opening after eight lead changes, winning 33-31. New York linebacker Antonio Pierce later joked that the Giants appreciated having roughly 100,000 people cheering them on and enjoyed seeing themselves on the stadium’s massive video board.

Buffalo’s Chance to Create Its Own Opening-Night Moment

The Bills do not need a last-second field goal, an expansion-team upset or a wild shootout for Thursday’s debut to matter. A win over Detroit, a clean field and a packed Orchard Park crowd would be enough to start the new Highmark Stadium era on the right note.