Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR) - It was a night to remember in Orchard Park, as the Buffalo Bills opened the new Highmark Stadium in style with a 41-31 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday night.
As the Bills celebrated the first home win at the new stadium, members of "Bills Mafia" were just as jubilant in Buffalo improving to 2-0 and earning the opening victory at the new digs.
"Felt good to be here, felt good to see them win," said Chad from Rochester.
"Exciting, very nice. Opened it up beautifully," said Lenny from South Buffalo.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen is off to a hot start to the season, as he accounted for 317 total yards of offense and five touchdowns - three passing and two on the ground. Through the first two games this year, Allen has accumulated 674 total yards in the air and on the ground and nine total touchdowns.
Seeing the veteran quarterback looking comfortable and in MVP form this early in the season has Bills fans salivating for more.
"He's a special quarterback on a special team," said Derek from Amherst. "I think Joe Brady's doing a great job on the offensive side, giving him the game plan. I think he's doing a really good job. Josh is just a sight to see. It's just so incredible to watch."
"They're the team to beat. He's dialed in with this new offense, with the new head coach. Sky's the limit, as far as I'm concerned," added Jeff from Wheatfield.
Chris from Ottawa, Ontario also feels Allen's success has been hugely attributed to the Bills' new head coach.
"I think that's Joe Brady. He's letting him sling it," Chris said with WBEN. "It's reminding me a lot of the 13 seconds game, where Josh was able to do Josh things. Let's hope it keeps going."
Some concerning news for the Bills came in the second quarter when new wide receiver D.J. Moore was forced to leave the game due to a shoulder injury and was ruled out of the game shortly after the start of the third quarter.
While it's unknown whether or not Moore will miss any time in the near future because of his injury, fans feel confident that the other weapons at Allen's disposal can help pick up the slack around Moore on offense.
"This is a very special offense," Derek said with WBEN. "I think Dalton Kincaid, Josh Palmer, Keon Coleman - with whatever he went down with. I think he's got a good enough supporting cast that this shouldn't be too much of a detriment, even if he's out for a couple of weeks."
"The weapons were definitely there, but D.J. Moore - a big, big factor. Hopefully he gets healthy and he's back as soon as possible," Chad added.
For some Bills fans in attendance Thursday night, it was their first time in the new stadium since the doors opened a couple months back. For others, it was the first chance to check out the new facility with a packed sold out crowd cheering on the Bills. Many fans were left satisfied and eager for the next home game once the final whistle blew.
"This amazing stadium exceeded all expectations. And the fact that I got to be here with my son for the home opener, it's a magical moment. And to get the win was even better," Jeff said.
"My brother-in-law, we've had Season Tickets for about 14 years, driving up from Ottawa. We were very, very sad - I was emotional last year with the whole last year at [the old] Highmark. This was an unbelievable experience. Very emotional, a lot to take in," Chris added. "We're doing a loop around the concourse right now to just take everything in, because we didn't get a chance to before the game."
"The first couple minutes of the game, watching the whole stadium, it was electric. It was just so incredible," Derek also added. "I had my phone out watching, just recording the whole time, I couldn't put my phone down. I was trying to actually take in the moment, because it was goosebumps. The fireworks, the sights with the light wristbands and all that stuff. It was sick to watch."
