Another opening, another shnow.
Thursday night marks a momentous day for the Buffalo Bills, as they play their first regular-season game in their new home (with the same name as their old home), Highmark Stadium.
This Highmark Stadium is a $2.2 billion behemoth, flush with massive bison statues out front, a view of the Buffalo skyline from the upper deck in Orchard Park and a new head coach (a younger model, of course).
The headlines leading into Thursday evening's housewarming with the Detroit Lions skew skeptical of the new digs. Some fans attending the stadium's public unveiling noted that their sightlines were obstructed. Earlier this month, the grounds crew had to replace the field's actual field after players noted clumps of the turf were coming up during preseason games.
But the best way to get rid of negative press is to create positive memories -- or at least memorable moments.
The most recent stadium debuts didn't get that opportunity. The Rams and Chargers opened SoFi Stadium and the Raiders debuted Allegiant Stadium back in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. Attendance was heavily restricted across the league, with essentially zero fans present in Inglewood, California, and Las Vegas, leading players to gesture toward empty seats and cutouts after scoring touchdowns and snagging interceptions.
That won't be the case in Buffalo, where Bills Mafia is sure to provide a hearty welcome to their beloved boys in blue -- and a hostile reception to the visitors.
If Bills fans are seeking inspiration for how an NFL stadium debut should go, I've got them covered.
After compiling the top stadium farewells last season for Buffalo's au revoir to the Ralph, I've ranked the most memorable first games in active NFL stadiums. Not counting Highmark, SoFi and Allegiant, there are 27 to choose from. A number of openings were absolute duds -- the Browns returning to Cleveland with a 43-0 loss to Pittsburgh in 1999; the Oilers and Jaguars combining for 125 passing yards in Duval in '95 -- but we've also experienced some rousing affairs.
So, here's the breakdown, starting with the toughest omissions and one oddity, then continuing on to the top-five countdown.
Just missed the cut:
- Lambeau Field/New City Stadium (Green Bay Packers): Packers 21, Bears 17; Week 1, 1957
- Northwest Stadium/Jack Kent Cooke Stadium (Washington Commanders): Washington 19, Arizona 13 (OT); Week 3, 1997
- M&T Bank Stadium/Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards (Baltimore Ravens): Steelers 20, Ravens 13; Week 1, 1998
- Raymond James Stadium (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): Buccaneers 27, Bears 15; Week 3, 1998
- Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles): Buccaneers 17, Eagles 0; Week 1, 2003
- Levi's Stadium (San Francisco 49ers): Bears 28, 49ers 20; Week 2, 2014
HONORABLE MENTION: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Dolphins)
Opened: 1987 (as Joe Robbie Stadium)
First game: Dolphins 42, Chiefs 0; Week 5, 1987
Memorable plays: Liffort Hobley and Trell Hooper's 50-plus-yard fumble-return touchdowns within three minutes of each other in the third quarter.
Miami had the misfortune of playing its first regular-season home game since moving from the historic Orange Bowl during the 1987 players' strike. The Dolphins were originally scheduled to open their new stadium in Miami Gardens against the reigning champion Giants, but their Week 3 matchup was cancelled due to the onset of the strike. Two weeks later, with replacement players on the roster, Miami hosted Kansas City for a bizarre home opening. In a stadium with a capacity upwards of 70,000, just under 26,000 attended. The "Dolphins," as they were, were quarterbacked not by Dan Marino, but by Kyle Mackey, an 11th-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1984 NFL Draft. Little was needed of Mackey, as Ronald Scott, a running back out of Southern, carried the day, scoring the only three touchdowns of his NFL career on 18 carries; he got the start the following week and never played another game in the league. Miami's defense helped matters with two 50-plus-yard scoops-and-scores in the third quarter, throttling a Chiefs offense led by Alex Espinoza, who completed nine of 14 attempts for 69 yards in his only career NFL outing. The game is only memorable in that it was unique. Fans of the era will barely even recall it because the contest was partially blacked out in the Miami and Kansas City areas due to low attendance figures and a non-competitive finish. Poor Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen ...
Quotable: "From behind the glass of his private box, Joe Robbie himself waved imperially down upon his flock. If he counted heads and didn't find enough to meet the mortgage, it wasn't showing Sunday. ... 'One of the most memorable days in South Florida sports history,' he proclaimed, arrogantly disregarding the truths of the day." -- South Florida Sun Sentinel
5) Soldier Field (Chicago Bears)
Opened: 1924 (1971 as Bears' full-time home)
First game: Bears 17, Steelers 15; Week 1, 1971
Memorable play: Kent Nix's game-winning TD pass to George Farmer in the fourth quarter.
The Bears' very first game at Soldier Field was so long ago that anyone in attendance would be at the very least 100 years old at time of publication. Not so memorable, I guess, was the Bears' 10-0 shutout win over the crosstown Cardinals in Week 9 of the 1926 campaign -- no offense to coach George Halas, Duke Hanny, Paddy Driscoll and Milt Romney (really).
But the first Bears game after moving south from Wrigley Field to Soldier Field, their new permanent residence, was a doozy. Well, for at least one quarter. Facing Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw's Steelers, one year pre-Immaculate Reception, the Bears went down 15-3 in the fourth, unable to stop John Fuqua and Warren Bankston on the ground. But later in the quarter, Bankston fumbled on two consecutive drives. The first fell to Ross Brupbacher, who ran the pigskin back 30 yards to the end zone. The second was forced by the great Dick Butkus, who also picked off Bradshaw on the day, and the Bears got the ball back in position to score, trailing by five points. Coach Jim Dooley then replaced starting QB Jack Concannon with Kent Nix, who picked up a first down with his legs and then tossed his lone completion of the game to George Farmer for an 8-yard TD connection. It was merely a moment in time for Nix, who ended up starting four games in '71 despite completing 37.2% of his passes on the year. But he'll always be remembered as the QB who pioneered the Bears' first victory at their forever* home ...
Quotable: "The most heartsick fans in the sports world today must be those among the record Bear home crowd of 55,049 who left yesterday's game in rainy Soldier Field five minutes early. Oh, ye of so little faith!" -- Cooper Rollow, Chicago Tribune
4) Reliant Stadium (Houston Texans)
Opened: 2002
First game: Texans 19, Cowboys 10; Week 1, 2002
Memorable play: David Carr's 65-yard TD pass to Corey Bradford in the fourth quarter.
The NFL's first true expansion team in seven years and still the most recent one, the Houston Texans enjoyed arguably the most emphatic first game in NFL history. With No. 1 overall pick David Carr under center, the Texans franchise welcomed the NFL back to Houston in a prime-time showcase against "America's Team," the in-state rival Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones was happy to share the spotlight with Texans owner Bob McNair for only a few minutes before his 'Boys fell behind. Built just next to the Astrodome, which was vacated by the Oilers-turned-Titans after the 1996 season, Reliant Stadium was rocking after Carr delivered a TD strike to Billy Miller less than 75 seconds into the game. And the party never stopped, even after Carr found Corey Bradford streaking down the right sideline in a tie ballgame in the fourth quarter, hitting him in the hands just ahead of Darren Woodson and leading Bradford into the end zone for what would be a game-winning 65-yard TD pass. Houston sealed the deal with a safety of Quincy Carter to become the first expansion team to win its debut since Minnesota achieved the feat in 1961. Since that fateful day, the Texans haven't quite taken over the Cowboys' position as the face of professional football in Texas, but they've made their mark, winning eight AFC South titles over the past 15 years. It all started with the energy brought at Reliant Stadium on that opening night.
Quotable: "For almost the entire game, it was difficult to tell who was the expansion team and who was America's Team." -- John McClain, Houston Chronicle
3) Ford Field (Detroit Lions)
Opened: 2002
First game: Packers 37, Lions 31; Week 3, 2002
Memorable play: Az-Zahir Hakim's 72-yard punt-return touchdown to open up the scoring.
The Lions brought NFL football back to downtown Detroit in 2002 after nearly three decades at the Silverdome in Pontiac, and their re-introduction was a classic. Hosting Brett Favre and the hated Packers, the Lions, led by first-round pick Joey "Heisman" Harrington in his first start, went toe-to-toe with the eventual NFC North champions. This rivalry bout was littered with big plays. It opened with an Az-Zahir Hakim 72-yard reverse punt-return TD for Detroit, followed by a Marques Anderson 78-yard pick-six for Green Bay. Favre then threw a TD pass to future Pro Bowler Donald Driver. Harrington responded with a 39-yard scoring strike to Lamont Warren before halftime. After a big start to the second half pushed the Packers to a 34-17 lead, Detroit responded with two touchdowns, including a 52-yard James Stewart scamper after the two-minute warning. Following a Green Bay field goal, Harrington got the ball back with just over a minute left. Embracing his hero's moment, Harrington drove Detroit inside Green Bay's 35-yard line. But after the No. 3 overall pick just missed Mikhael Ricks over the top, Harrington threw a game-sealing interception, his fourth of the day, in the middle of the field, cementing Detroit's first loss to the Packers at Ford Field.
Quotable: "And the honeymoon's over. ... Green Bay 37, Detroit 31. The season is still winless. The defense is still porous. And we're out of new stadiums." -- Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press
2) Nissan Stadium (Tennessee Titans)
Opened: 1999 (as Adelphia Coliseum)
First game: Titans 36, Bengals 35; Week 1, 1999
Memorable play: Al Del Greco's game-winning, 33-yard field goal.
After years in the wilderness of Tennessee, the Titans (né Oilers) found their identity in 1999 in the confines of Adelphia Coliseum, built on the east bank of the Cumberland River in Nashville. Jeff Fisher's Tennessee Oilers spent the 1997 and '98 seasons playing in Memphis and at Vanderbilt, respectively, but kicked off what would be an historic 1999 campaign in brand-new digs. The Titans' season got off to a hot 26-7 start against the overmatched visitors from Cincinnati, with Steve McNair and Kevin Dyson toying with the Bengals D for a combined three touchdowns in the first half. But the Bengals, led by a cramping Jeff Blake, stormed back to score 28 straight points, inspired newly minted Titans fans to boo, and carried a 35-26 lead deep into the fourth quarter. McNair then brought the Titans back down the field and found Eddie George for a 17-yard catch-and-run score. After a Tennessee defensive stop, McNair, days away from back surgery, and George moved the ball from the Bengals' 49 to the 15, where, with 12 seconds to go, Al Del Greco sent cheering Titans fans home victorious with a game-sealing 33-yard field goal. Tennessee surrendered 35-plus points again only twice over its remaining 19 games, losing just four times, including a heartbreakingly close defeat to the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. As for the Bengals? Bruce Coslet's boys won just one of their next 10 games. Yet for one Sunday afternoon in September, the eventual AFC champions and AFC Central afterthoughts were one point apart. (This season, the newly rebranded Titans are set to play their final regular-season game in Adelphia Coliseum, now named Nissan Stadium, against another former AFC Central rival in the Steelers. Could another streaky shootout be in the offing?)
Quotable: "[The booing] gave me even more motivation to go out and get the job done. I don't understand it ... but the team surrounded me and said, 'Don't worry.' And we came out on top. That's what counts." -- Steve McNair (via The Associated Press)
1) AT&T Stadium (Dallas Cowboys)
Opened: 2009 (as Cowboys Stadium)
First game: Giants 33, Cowboys 31; Week 1, 2009
Memorable play: Eli Manning's tipped third-down conversion to Mario Manningham, followed by Lawrence Tynes' game-winning field goal.
It doesn't get bigger than the opening of Jerry World. The debut of Cowboys Stadium in 2009 was a monumental culture event, attended by former President George W. Bush and over 105,000 spectators. The game delivered on the occasion. The Cowboys and archrival Giants, less than two years removed from their fateful Divisional Round clash at Texas Stadium, went back and forth all Sunday night, trading points and crazy plays. There was Bruce Johnson's 34-yard pick-six of Tony Romo in the first quarter; Kenny Phillips' interception off a deflection off Jason Witten's heel in the second; Mario Manningham's juggling 22-yard TD grab in the final minute of the half; Felix Jones' 56-yard run in the third; and Eli Manning's game-winning drive in the fourth. That march, which came after Dallas went up 31-30 with 3:40 to go, ate up the rest of the clock, with Manning connecting with Kevin Boss, Steve Smith and Manningham for four first downs. With four seconds left on the clock and after a Wade Phillips icing of the kicker, Lawrence Tynes booted home a 37-yard field goal to seal the win for Big Blue and spoil the Cowboys' grand opening. Jones may not have enjoyed the result but surely appreciated eight lead changes' worth of entertainment.
Quotable: "We appreciate 100,000 people cheering us on. We enjoyed watching ourselves on the TV." -- Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce (via the New York Times)
