NFL Preview | September 17, 2026
Week 2's Thursday game carries some real history with it: the Bills open the new Highmark Stadium on national television, and the Lions arrive as the answer to a trivia question they'd probably rather not be part of — down three starting offensive linemen against a defense that's going to be loud even before the snap. Kickoff is 8:15 PM ET on Prime Video.
A $2.1 Billion Stage, and a Patchwork Line to Protect It
Detroit Lions @ Buffalo Bills | 8:15 PM ET | Prime Video
KEY STAT
$2.1B
Cost of the new Highmark Stadium, hosting its first-ever regular-season game Thursday night. OneRepublic plays the building's first halftime show, and Bruce Smith is its first "Legend of the Game."
Buffalo spent the offseason tearing down the old Highmark Stadium across the street and finishing this one, and the Bills specifically requested the Lions as the opponent for the debut. They got a prime-time showcase: 54,000 personal seat licenses sold out, a natural-grass field replacing turf, and a building the team says will be louder and closer to the action than the one it replaced. New head coach Joe Brady and Josh Allen are 1-0 after a 36-31 shootout win over Houston in which DJ Moore looked every bit himself in his Bills debut (5 catches, 100 yards) before briefly leaving with a leg issue that isn't expected to be a Thursday concern.
Detroit's problem is structural, and it's a real one. Right tackle Blake Miller and left guard Christian Mahogany are both officially out, and that's on top of starting center Cade Mays, who's already on injured reserve — meaning the Lions could be down three of their five projected starters up front, with backup center Juice Scruggs himself limited in practice this week. That's an ugly problem to have on the road, in a brand-new building, against a defense that gets after the passer. Jahmyr Gibbs was the best player on the field in Week 1 (29 carries, 156 yards, 2 touchdowns) in Detroit's wild 31-30 overtime escape against New Orleans, but he needs somewhere to run it, and Jared Goff needs time petitioning for anything to say about it.
Detroit wins if the patchwork line somehow holds up long enough for Goff to work through his first read, and Gibbs turns a bad matchup into good yardage anyway.
Buffalo wins if the pass rush treats an already-short-handed Lions front like the opportunity it is, and Allen and Moore turn the building's first regular-season game into the party the franchise is selling it as.
PICK
BUF -4.5
O/U 54.5
Over ↑
Three missing offensive linemen against a defense with something to prove in its own building is too much to fight through on the road. Take Buffalo to cover, and take the over — these two offenses combined for 67 points last week, and neither defense looked good enough in Week 1 to make 55 feel out of reach.
What to Watch For Thursday Night.
Watch which backup steps in at right tackle and left guard for Detroit, and watch how loud that new building actually gets on its first snap. We'll have the recap Friday, plus the season-to-date record heading into a full Week 2 slate.