NEW YORK — The Buffalo Bills ‘ first regular-season game in their new stadium will be against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 17 and will kick off Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” schedule.
The matchup was one of three announced by the NFL on Monday as NBC, Fox and Prime Video made their upfront presentations to advertisers.
The Dallas Cowboys were part of the other two unveilings. The Cowboys will visit the New York Giants in the first NBC “Sunday Night Football” game of the season Sept. 13 and will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26.
The full schedule will be released Thursday with other matchups revealed in the coming days.
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The Bills are one of 10 teams with new coaches this season, with Joe Brady taking over after Sean McDermott was fired after nine seasons. The game will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the league in the Bills’ Josh Allen and the Lions’ Jared Goff. Detroit is looking to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season.
The NFL traditionally has used Week 2 to showcase new stadiums in a prime-time game.
This is the eighth time in the last 15 years the Cowboys and Giants are opening the season against each other. It also marks the 15th time the NFC East rivals are meeting on NBC’s Sunday night package, the second-most-played matchup since the network started the package in 2016.
The Cowboys always are a national television draw as “America’s Team,” and the Giants could get more prime-time exposure with Super Bowl winner John Harbaugh in his first year coaching them and Jaxson Dart established as the franchise quarterback coming off his eventful rookie year.
This also could be the NFL debut for a pair of former Ohio State teammates: Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, taken with the fifth pick, and Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, drafted not long after at No. 11.
This will be only the third time, and first since 2014, that the Eagles will be the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving opponent. Dallas has won its last four Thanksgiving games, including a 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
The late afternoon Thanksgiving game is traditionally the most viewed of the regular season. Last year’s game averaged 57.23 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched regular-season game in league history.
This will be the second straight season the Eagles will have the spotlight on Thanksgiving week. Jalen Hurts and Co. hosted last year’s Black Friday game and lost to the Chicago Bears 24-15.
Monday’s announcements mean the Cowboys know the dates for three of their 17 games. It was announced a couple of weeks ago their game in Rio de Janeiro against the Baltimore Ravens will take place in Week 3 on Sept. 27 and air on CBS.
Cowboys at Giants in Week 1 also means neither of those teams will be the visitor on Wednesday night, Sept. 9, when the defending champion Seattle Seahawks unveil their Super Bowl banner and kick off the season.
The Bears, Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers or a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots are the remaining possibilities.
