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Alaina Getzenberg
Jan 5, 2026, 12:11 AM ET
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The music was finished and the jumbotron displayed a singular message, «Thank you Bills Mafia.»
But if you simply glanced up to the stands, there would be no sign that the Buffalo Bills‘ lopsided 35-8 win over the New York Jets in Week 18 on Sunday had been over for several minutes. Most of the rows from top to bottom remained filled with standing fans taking in their likely last moments at Highmark Stadium as their chants echoed.
Bills fan Janet Gallo, 86, who has attended every home game but three, and was already struck by the emotional day during pregame warmups, remained standing in her row. Even coach Sean McDermott took a moment to look back at the crowd during the two-minute warning.
«I felt a little guilty, at times, looking up in the stands. I’m supposed to be coaching,» McDermott said. » … After scoring and we’re getting our kickoff team ready, just taking a second or two to look up into the stands, people singing, ‘Mr. Brightside.’
«I mean come on, where else does that happen in the NFL, right? That type of togetherness, that type of fellowship, community, love of their team and of each other, and I’ll never forget it. Special moment.»
There is not yet a guarantee that this was the final game played at Highmark, an area that has had many names, but is most affectionately still called, «The Ralph.» The Bills are the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs, and still have the unlikely possibility of hosting the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Chargers down the road.
But for all intents and purposes, it was just that. A goodbye to the stadium that opened in 1973 and has hosted countless memorable moments and people before the team moves across the street to the new Highmark Stadium for the 2026 season.
The history was honored in everything from the red throwback helmets donned by the team and visible on signage around the stadium, to the diversity of former players brought out at halftime that included Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Andre Reed. Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, 100, recorded a message that played during the ceremony. McDermott wore a special hat with a cursive Bills logo that mimicked the one Levy was famous for wearing.
Coins were given to every fan, like they were at the first game at Highmark, to memorialize that each attendee was there, in addition to towels that resembled tickets with spots for fans to write in their seat numbers.
In a postgame video showing highlights from the stadium over the years as «Iris,» by Buffalo’s own Goo Goo Dolls, played, several current Bills players stayed on the field in uniform, including Tre’Davious White, who was visibly emotional.
«You just think about the guys that came before us,» White said. » … The guys that can’t go back and add on to their legacy, man, you got to think about them, Thurman [Thomas], Jim [Kelly], and Bruce [Smith], Andre [Reed], Darryl Talley, so many, Marshawn Lynch, Kyle Williams, Lorenzo Alexander, Jerry Hughes, just to name some… But it’s all about the people that laid the foundation for us. We’re going to be able to go next door and make memories. A lot of guys are going to be able to do that, but those guys can’t go back and add on.»
The present was, of course, a focus as well with quarterback Josh Allen fittingly the last announced out of the tunnel during pregame introductions.
«I just kind of remembered, I’m not even supposed to be here,» said Bills linebacker Joe Andreessen, who is a Western New York native and made the team in 2024 after trying out during rookie minicamp. He was a fan of the team growing up and was nervous before the game but was able to put things in perspective.
«I wasn’t supposed to make it past training camp last year. So, to be in the stadium for the last home game at Highmark, I mean, it’s just special and I was going to go out there and enjoy every moment of it. When I got on the field, kind of hit me. All the emotions, I saw the fans there.»
The fans got to watch the Bills throttle a Jets team that set multiple NFL worsts with its performance. Allen took just one snap to keep his start streak alive at 122 games. Running back James Cook III solidified the regular-season rushing title at 1,621 yards, joining O.J. Simpson as the only Bills to do so. Cook had just two carries before resting for the remainder of the game.
The day, however, before that playoff journey began will be remembered for some time.
«It’s only in Buffalo, only in Buffalo, you get that,» White said. «So, that’s why this place is so special, and that’s why a lot of people want to come here.»
The Bills will travel to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) in a wild-card round matchup.
