Bills set to open new stadium hosting the Lions in a primetime matchup

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The new car smell of the Buffalo Bills’ Highmark Stadium has already worn off on Josh Allen a little more than a month since the gleaming $2.1 billion facility opened.

So excuse the quarterback for being part of a small minority in declining to buy into the heightened anticipation felt around town of the Bills hosting the Detroit Lions in the first regular-season game at their new home on Thursday night.

“We’ve already been in there a couple of times,” Allen said, referring to Buffalo’s two preseason outings, plus three practice sessions. “I get the same feeling (of excitement) regardless of what stadium we’re playing in. So the goal’s the goal, and that’s to go 1-0 (this week).”

However much Allen wants to downplay the moment, the game has a primetime stage and features numerous musical acts, including OneRepublic’s halftime performance, and two of the NFL’s most potent offenses.

The Bills even rolled out a new carpet by resodding the entire grass field after it showed signs of wear and tear last month.

“It’s a lot more firm,” right tackle Spencer Brown said.

Buffalo is coming off a season-opening 36-31 win at Houston, in which Allen accounted for all four touchdowns, and sealed the victory with his 26th career game-winning drive.

Detroit, meantime, opened with a 31-30 overtime win against New Orleans, in which Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown each scored twice, and the outcome was decided on the Saints’ failed 2-point attempt.

Both teams are facing a short turnaround, but the Lions in particular know they’ll have to contend with a raucous environment.

If Bills games were loud at their old home which now lies in rubble across the street, the new facility has a vertical seating arrangement and a canopy designed to project the clamor to near-deafening levels on the field.

“I’m going to tell the guys, especially young players, just drink it in,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.

“It’s a new environment, and this is the first one in that place, the christening,” he added. “That’s stuff you never forget. You’re telling your grandkids one day, so enjoy this.”

Bills first-year head coach Joe Brady advised his players to enjoy the moment while not getting too caught up in the atmosphere.

“It's an opportunity for us to show our conviction of what we believe in and not feel like we have to put on a show," Brady said. "I'm more concerned with trying to put on a clinic.”

Detroit (1-0) at Buffalo (1-0)

When/where to watch: Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon Prime

Latest odds: Bills by 4 1/2

Against the spread: Lions 0-1; Bills 1-0.

Last week: Lions beat the Saints 31-30 OT; Bills beat the Texans 36-31.

Last meeting: Bills beat the Lions 48-42 on Dec. 15, 2024, in Detroit.

Series record: Bills lead 8-4-1.

The Bills run defense versus Gibbs. Buffalo allowed 124 yards rushing to the Texans, with Gibbs’ former backfield mate, David Montgomery, finishing with 60 yards and three scores, including one receiving. Gibbs had 156 yards rushing, plus five catches for 30 yards. Though the Bills have changed coordinators with Jim Leonhard taking over, their run-stopping issues have yet to be corrected from last season, when Buffalo allowed 150 or more yards rushing seven times.

— Brady spent 2017-18 serving as an offensive assistant under Campbell with the New Orleans Saints. Campbell held the dual role of associate head coach while overseeing the tight end group in New Orleans.

— Allen improved his career record to 41-7 when not committing a turnover.

— Allen’s 81 TDs rushing lead all quarterbacks and place him in a tie for 20th on the NFL career list with Otis Anderson and Frank Gore.

— The teams’ previous meeting turned into a track meet in which they combined for 1,080 yards and 90 points.

— The Lions are 14-4 in primetime under Campbell, including 4-0 on Thursday nights, and 5-4 on the road.

— Gibbs and St. Brown have scored in the same game 21 times, trailing just three running back-receiver duos in NFL history: Dallas’ Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin (32), Indianapolis Colts’ Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison (25) along with Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed (23).

— Gibbs' 41 TDs rushing are one shy of matching Billy Sims, who ranks second on the team list. Barry Sanders leads with 99.

— Aidan Hutchinson is coming off his 10th multi-sack game of his 57-game career with the Lions.

AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this report.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) caries against New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker (7) in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) looks to throw during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

FILE - Highmark Stadium is seen before an NFL exhibition football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, NY, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the U.N. health agency is hailing “encouraging signs” in the fight against an Ebola outbreak in one part of eastern Congo, while warning that case counts are rising fast in another as officials race to tamp down the virus.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that signs of gaining ground against the Bundibugyo virus, the rare species behind the outbreak, have emerged in Ituri province. But he said that the situation is one of “many outbreaks in many places.”

“We are now starting to see encouraging signs that we are gaining ground. In the most affected parts of Ituri province, transmission is going down,” Tedros told reporters at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.

South Kivu, he said, has reported no new cases since May.

“But make no mistake, the epidemic continues to grow and continues to kill,” Tedros said. He said more than 7,200 cases and more than 3,500 deaths have been reported across seven provinces.

In North Kivu, “cases are rising fast,” Tedros said. The number of weekly cases has nearly doubled over the past two weeks, from about 100 to more than 200. “The area is so vast that it’s hard to speak of a single epidemic. It’s many outbreaks in many places.”

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s director for epidemic and pandemic management, said that “we can be cautiously optimistic about what is happening, but I think we need to be realistic about the road that’s ahead of us. Looking at trends takes time.”

Last week, officials in Congo said that the world’s fastest-growing outbreak of the disease on record had now spread to seven provinces in the African country, and was showing no signs of slowing down.

Health workers who are members of the safe and dignified burial team prepare to bury Abineno Justine, a 38 year old woman who died of the Ebola virus, in Bunia, Congo, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)