Buffalo Bills open up new stadium with victory over Detroit Lions

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/football/buffalo-bills-t2lcn4tk/detroit-lions-boZWV3E7/?mid=KETCKdk5"]In the first regular-season game[/a] at the $2.2 billion Highmark Stadium, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/allen-josh/MPG79J5g/"]Allen[/a] passed for 248 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 69 yards and two more touchdowns.[/p][p]Both teams had entered the clash 1-0 after their high-scoring offenses sealed late wins on the season's opening weekend.[/p][p]But [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/detroit-lions/boZWV3E7/"]Detroit[/a] could not live with Allen and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/buffalo-bills/t2lcn4tk/"]Bills[/a] in Thursday's first half, as Buffalo scored touchdowns on each of its first four drives, opening up a double-digit lead that it never lost.[/p][p]"[b]This is a great spot. We're hopefully going to be here for a long time,[/b]" said Allen.[/p][p]"[b]We executed in the first half... We stayed pretty constant and found a way to win.[/b]"[/p][p]In the stadium's first-ever drive, Allen had an uncharacteristic fumble recovered, before rushing on multiple plays and all the way into the endzone.[/p][p]The Bills' next touchdown was scored by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-joshua/E3OumKLN/"]Joshua Palmer[/a] - who grabbed a pass in the dying seconds last Sunday for Buffalo's win over Houston. He found himself wide open here and seized a 43-yard Allen pass.[/p][p]Early in the second quarter it was 21-0. After several fouls by an increasingly desperate Lions defense, Allen sent it to tight end [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/knox-dawson/zuXe3x65/"]Dawson Knox[/a] for another touchdown.[/p][embed guid="0dbd698e-53db-4cb5-acce-a99a63d73067" url="https://x.com/BuffaloBills/status/2100789123581616328?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Detroit grabbed one back as star running back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gibbs-jahmyr/QHh4C639/"]Jahmyr Gibbs[/a] made multiple rushes before turning receiver for a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/goff-jared/hUrJTx6m/"]Jared Goff[/a] touchdown pass.[/p][p]Buffalo's own elite back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cook-anthony/EguRGDzd/"]James Cook III[/a] came to life, driving the ball 62 yards across three consecutive rushes. Allen picked out [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kincaid-dalton/xYkfa6Nd/"]Dalton Kincaid[/a] for touchdown number four, though the drive was marred by an injury to newly acquired receiver [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moore-dj/Qgfw5jva/"]DJ Moore[/a], who did not return.[/p][p]A field goal and an Amon-Ra [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/st-brown-amon-ra/hOmC3KWn/"]St. Brown[/a] touchdown either side of halftime briefly subdued the raucous Bills Mafia.[/p][p]But Allen scrambled for a fifth touchdown to get the festivities back on track.[/p][p]Tight end [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/laporta-sam/0I1oEV5T/"]Sam LaPorta[/a] and St. Brown grabbed Detroit consolation touchdowns, either side of one for Buffalo's Cook, who had rushed for 135 yards across a productive night.[/p][p]The jubilant night at the Bills' gleaming new, open-air arena - just across the street from their old home - had begun with a rendition of "O Canada" along with the US anthem.[/p][p]The gesture, introduced in the midst of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/donaldson-cj/hdOc8Qe9/"]Donald Trump[/a]'s trade war with Canada and criticized by some Republican voices, was a nod to the Bills' giant fanbase across the nearby border.[/p][p]Buffalo sit just a two-hour drive along Lake Ontario - recently renamed Lake America by Trump amid the hostilities - from Toronto.[/p][p]But Ontario-based rock band Barenaked Ladies' a cappella rendition of Canada's anthem was warmly received in the 61,000-capacity arena.[/p][p]Bills legend [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/smith-tyreke/Y3yjcTcA/"]Bruce Smith[/a] then pumped up the crowd with the words "We're going Lion hunting," and Allen took up the call.[/p]