If Thursday was a look into the future of Bills home games, the team is certainly satisfied with its $2 billion investment.
In their first game played at the new Highmark Stadium, the Bills put on a show on and off the field in their game against the Lions; not only did the pregame and halftime theatrics thrill fans, with notable performances throughout, but Josh Allen proceeded to do Josh Allen things in the 41-31 win.
From live bison mascots and Bills mafia breaking tables, to five total touchdowns from Allen, Thursday’s stadium-opener in Buffalo appeared to be a success.
Here’s a collection of the best Bills moments to come from Thursday’s matchup, on and off the field.
MORE: Inside the Bills’ new $2.2 billion stadium
Best moments from Bills new stadium opener
Baby bison makes appearance outside stadium
Long before kickoff, fans outside the new stadium watched as “Bruce the Baby Bison,” a live mascot for the Bills for the night, made a trip to an outdoor pen.
The Bills officially have a baby bison named Bruce pic.twitter.com/bbijaawZ6Y
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) September 17, 2026
Bills mafia breaks tables, including Ryan Fitzpatrick
Kalshi had some strategic marketing in-place on Thursday — the prediction market platform was handing out free tables for Bills fans.
Of course, as Bills mafia has earned a reputation for, many of them took advantage to break the tables.
Kalshi is handing out free tables to tailgaters before the first game at the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium.
📸 @Erinmaguire pic.twitter.com/iW66NiUvDu
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 17, 2026
Bills fans are already breaking tables. The game hasn’t even started. pic.twitter.com/Xu5XPQuovq
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) September 17, 2026
Later on, as shown on Amazon Prime’s broadcast, former quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick got in on the fun.
Ryan Fitzpatrick. A man of the people 😂 @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/yqHWWNflO3
— NFL (@NFL) September 18, 2026
‘O Canada’ performance, pregame scene
The Barenaked Ladies took the stage to sing “O Canada” on the field before kickoff, with an incredible spectacle at Highmark Stadium. It marked the first time that the Bills honored both the U.S. and Canada at the stadium.
The brand-new lights and fireworks displays blew some fans away:
Kalshi is handing out free tables to tailgaters before the first game at the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium.
📸 @Erinmaguire pic.twitter.com/iW66NiUvDu
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 17, 2026
The Bills new stadium looks unreal under the lights pic.twitter.com/py2tgn072Y
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 18, 2026
The scenes from the new Highmark Stadium in the Bills’ home opener 🤩 pic.twitter.com/DZ8YVl27ok
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 18, 2026
What a scene at Highmark Stadium. 🇺🇸
🗣️ Auliʻi Cravalho pic.twitter.com/05xaJoYpRy
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 18, 2026
First drive at new stadium ends in Josh Allen TD
It was only fitting that the first offensive drive at the new Highmark Stadium ended with Allen diving into the end zone, securing his third rushing score of the season already.
Quickly, Buffalo grabbed the lead against a struggling Detroit defense.
The Bills on their first drive at Highmark Stadium 🦬
– 10 plays
– 85 yards
– TD(via @BuffaloBills)pic.twitter.com/hlqe6hhU76
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 18, 2026
Josh Allen connects with wide-open Joshua Palmer
All it took was a defensive breakdown and a flick-of-the-wrist from Allen to put Buffalo up 14-0.
The Lions left Joshua Palmer with nothing but green grass, allowing him to easily score late in the first quarter.
JOSHUA PALMER WAS WIDE OPEN 😱
Bills go up 14-0
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/Pbqn6GuZ5H
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 18, 2026
Allen finds TEs Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid to extend Bills’ lead
Once the Bills’ offense began cooking, it couldn’t be stopped. Allen was getting whatever he wanted against the Lions, finding two tight ends for scores before the first half ended.
He hit Dawson Knox first to make it a 21-0 run to open the game:
The Bills are up 21-0 on the Lions 😳
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/zMLAPBjsZZ
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 18, 2026
Allen’s fourth total touchdown of the first half went to Dalton Kincaid:
FOUR touchdowns for Josh Allen before the half 🔥
DETvsBUF – on Prime Video
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/lI4OWKUnvL— NFL (@NFL) September 18, 2026
Allen makes it 5 touchdowns
To solidify it as one of the best performances of his career, Allen once again snuck into the end zone to push the Bills to 34 points, his second rushing score of the night and his fifth in total.
FIVE TOUCHDOWNS FOR JOSH ALLEN TONIGHT 🤯
(via @BuffaloBills)pic.twitter.com/DZBsPxSQkl
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 18, 2026
“This is a great spot,” Allen said about the new stadium after his debut win. “We’re hopefully going to be here for a long time. Hope the fans really enjoyed it. We got to find a way to get another one next week.”