As the entire NFL is getting ready for the end of the 2025/26 regular season, those football fans in Western New York are getting extra ready, as the final regular-season home game in Buffalo is extra special.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Buffalo Bills organization, in partnership with New York State and Erie County, New York, is in the process of building a more than $2 billion football facility that is set to be the new home of the hometown team for years to come. That new stadium, which will also be called Highmark Stadium, will be the newest stadium in the league and will replace the aging current Highmark Stadium.
The current stadium, which was initially named Rich Stadium, was built in the early 1970s and officially opened on Friday, August 17, 1973. The stadium opened with great fanfare for people all over Western New York as the Bills moved into their brand new stadium after leaving the Rockpile, which was virtually falling apart at the time.
The Buffalo Bills’ First Regular Season Opponent At Highmark Stadium Will Be Its Last
When the Bills played their first game at Rich Stadium, they faced a team with which they had developed a serious rivalry: the New York Jets. On Sunday, September 30, 1973, the Jets flew into Buffalo to play the initial game at the stadium, and Buffalo, led by O.J. Simpson, who gained more than 120 yards rushing, and the Electric Company were able to come away with a 9–7 victory over the Joe Namath-led Jets.
Given the significance of Buffalo building a new stadium and the major rivalry the team has with the Jets, it’s fitting that the very first game played at the stadium will be the very last, with the Jets coming to Buffalo on Sunday, January 4, 2026, for the last regular-season game at Highmark Stadium.
With this being the 131st meeting of these two teams, the Bills are looking to close out the stadium as they opened it 53 years earlier, with a win over the Jets.
Let’s go, Buffalo, time to beat the Jets (again)!
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