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Fire breaks out at Bills' new Highmark Stadium construction site

While the Buffalo Bills were rallying to beat the New England Patriots on Sunday, a small fire was extinguished at the construction site of new Highmark Stadium.
Richie Whitt|
Dawson Knox
Dawson Knox | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

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The Buffalo Bills' AFC East chances almost went up in smoke Sunday. Same for their new stadium.

While the Bills were falling in a daunting 21-0 deficit to the rival New England Patriots in their divisional showdown in Foxboro, a fire broke out at the team's new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Smoke could be seen billowing out of the new stadium in photos posted to various social media accounts.

MORE: Bills' epic comeback ends Patriots' 120-game streak and keeps AFC East hopes alive

A spokesperson for the construction company - Gilbane Building and Turner Construction - told Buffalo TV station WIVB that the fire was quickly extinguished. The fire caused no injuries or significant damage, and it isn't expected to cause any delay in the project.

The spokesperson said sparks from welding ignited the small blaze, which was quickly extinguished.

New Highmark Stadium
New Highmark Stadium | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the field, the Bills' "fire" was bigger and considerably more threatening, as they trailed 21-0 midway through the second quarter. But, as he's done countless times before, reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen rallied the Bills in the second half for a signature 35-31 victory.

The Bills' comeback improved them to 10-4 and in a strong position for an AFC Wild Card berth into the playoffs. But with the Patriots at 11-3 and owning a key tiebreaker (best division record), the Bills need New England to lose one its remaining games against AFC East foes Miami or the Jets to have a chance at winning their sixth consecutive division title.

MORE: Buffalo legend Thurman Thomas, Carhartt honor men and women of Bills' new stadium

The Bills travel to Cleveland to play the lowly Browns on Sunday before closing out old Highmark with two home games in Weeks 17-18.

The new $2.1 billion Highmark is scheduled to open in summer of 2026.

Josh Allen
Josh Allen | David Butler II-Imagn Images

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

Richie Whitt has been a sports media fixture in Dallas-Fort Worth since graduating from UT-Arlington in 1986. His career is highlighted by successful stints in print (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), TV (NBC5) and radio (105.3 The Fan). During his almost 40-year tenure, he's blabbed and blogged on events ranging from Super Bowls to NBA Finals to World Series to Stanley Cups to Olympics to Wimbledons to World Cups. Whitt has been covering the NFL since 1989, and in 1993 authored The 'Boys Are Back, a book chronicling the Dallas Cowboys' run to Super Bowl XXVII.

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