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Josh Allen quickly put his stamp on the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium, which has been dubbed “The House that Allen built.”
Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores, and the Bills beat the Detroit Lions 41-31 on Thursday night in the first regular-season game at Highmark Stadium.
It was Allen’s fourth five-TD outing, and followed a four-touchdown outing (two passing, two rushing) in Buffalo’s season-opening win at Houston.
“[We won in a] short week against a really good team who kept us fighting until the last second there,” Allen said after the game.
Allen followed the pregame fireworks celebration with more of his own by overseeing touchdown drives on each of Buffalo’s first four possessions.
He scored the first regular-season TD in the stadium on a one-yard run 5:51 into the opening quarter. He followed that with a 43-yard scoring pass to a wide-open Josh Palmer. Tight ends Dalton Kincaid, with a 16-yard catch, and Dawson Knox, with a one-yarder, also scored for Buffalo in the first half.
Allen finished the night 20 of 31 for 248 yards, and added 72 yards rushing. James Cook had 134 yards rushing and put the game away with a one-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter.
“I got a little emotional during the national anthem, feeling super blessed and lucky to do what I do. This is a great spot, we’re going to be here for a long time, hopefully the fans enjoyed it,” said Allen.
Allen’s two rushing TDs upped his career total to 83, moving him into a tie for 18th on the NFL list with Jim Taylor. He also picked up his 90th regular-season victory, becoming one of just four quarterbacks to reach that milestone through their first nine seasons.
The Lions were undone by their injury-depleted defense, and a banged-up offensive line that had difficulty opening holes for Jahmyr Gibbs and protecting Jared Goff.
After rallying from a 21-0 deficit to cut Buffalo’s lead to 34-24, the Lions offense stalled midway through the fourth quarter. Backed up at their own 10, the Lions went three-and-out and were forced to punt after Goff had two passes tipped by Deone Walker, and Gibbs was stopped for no gain.
Goff finished 26 of 38 for 327 yards and four touchdowns. Amon-Ra St Brown had nine catches for 142 yards and two scores. Gibbs also scored on an 11-yard catch but was limited to 52 yards rushing. Sam LaPorta scored on a one-yard catch.
The Lions’ defense got off to a dreadful start, allowing the Bills to score 27 points and gain 299 yards in the first half alone. The struggles carried over from a season-opening 31-30 overtime win over New Orleans, in which the Saints rallied from a 21-0 first-half deficit and lost only after their two-point conversion failed in overtime.
The Lions’ troubles began on Buffalo’s second drive when two defenders converged on DJ Moore, allowing Allen to find Palmer wide open deep for a 43-yard touchdown. On Buffalo’s next drive, a holding penalty against Rock Ya-Sin, negated Skyler Gill-Howard’s interception of a tipped pass.
The Lions’ offense had its own sputters, with Goff sacked twice and also having a snap go over his head on Detroit’s first two series.
The $2.1bn Highmark Stadium that officially opened last month was built across the street from the Bills’ former home. The new stadium has a capacity of just over 60,000, about 12,000 less than the old facility. What’s different is the layout, with the new facility’s seating structure built steeper, placing viewers more on top of the action. The new building also features a canopy, which helps project crowd noise directly on to field.
Bills fans began arriving two and three days earlier, with a private lot nearly filled with RVs by Tuesday.
