Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR) - It may have been playing in a brand new stadium for the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, but some things never change.
The Bills beat the Detroit Lions, 41-31, as quarterback Josh Allen went 20-of-31 for 248 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing 14 times for 69 yards and two more scores.
Allen wasn't sentimental at all when the old stadium got torn down during the summer, but on Thursday, he did let himself think about opening the new building.
"At the National Anthem, I caught myself taking it all in, understanding how cool what I get to do," Allen said following the win. "My job is the coolest thing in the world. It's everything I ever wanted to be, the quarterback of a NFL franchise. And I'm just very fortunate I ended up here in Buffalo, and I got to be the first quarterback to open this stadium, which is a special spot."
Allen led the Bills to four touchdowns on the first four drives, giving the Bills a 27-7 lead. He says things were obviously clicking well, but he and head coach Joe Brady were mad about how things didn't work near the end of the first half.
"It was really bad how the last couple of plays before the two-minute ended up," Allen acknowledged. "I really felt like we could've helped ourselves out, like a 1st-and-5 and we don't get a first down. That's bad football on my part. I've got to find a way to keep moving the chains there, at least give us an opportunity to kick and find three before the end of the half."
"I didn't like how we finished the first half on offense," Brady added after the win. "I was pissed off, and we gave them an opportunity to get points. We can't allow that to linger into us. I was proud of the way the offense responded and matched a score with a score."
Dalton Kincaid had eight catches for 95 yards and a touchdown on Thursday. The tight end was able to build off a strong outing against the Houston Texans, where he grabbed five balls for 130 yards.
Allen feels there are things Kincaid does on the field that others don't.
"He's unbelievable," he said. "The play that sticks out, to me, the most is driving down in the red zone and he goes out into the boundary and just throttles down. He's not supposed to do that. He's just a savvy football player, and we were on the same page there. But he's just got a savviness to him that a lot of guys don't have."
We saw something totally different at the opening kickoff on Thursday.
When Sean McDermott was head coach in Buffalo, he would always defer to the second half if he won the toss. However, Brady decided to receive the opening kickoff, and get Allen on the field right away.
"I've said all along, it was important for us, and I wanted to take the ball in this environment and set the tone," Brady acknowledged. "I thought we had some good third downs, we finished in the end zone, and that stadium was electric. That was the start that we needed."=
The Bills are now off until a week from Sunday when the host the Los Angeles Chargers at Highmark Stadium.
