Ryan Fitzpatrick sparks Bills Mafia frenzy after jumping through table and ripping shirt to christen new $2.1bn stadium

Ryan Fitzpatrick was in top form as the Buffalo Bills opened their new home in style.

Buffalo christened their new $2.1bn Highmark Stadium on Thursday Night Football with a statement 41-31 victory against the Detroit Lions.

6

Bills quarterback Josh Allen continued to stake his claim as one of the early season MVP favorites, playing like a man possessed to finish the night with 248 yards and three TDs on 20-of-31 passing to go with a pair of TD runs and 69 yards on the ground.

Ryan Fitzpatrick jumps through table on wild TNF broadcast

However, it was a former Bills QB who headlined festivities away from the field, with Amazon Prime Video studio analyst Fitzpatrick sending Bills Mafia into a frenzy with his antics.

Fitzpatrick was in peak form early on, sharing a series of bizarre bird calls on the TNF pre-game show with Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins.

At one point between the third and fourth quarter, the former journeyman signal caller, who earned the nickname “FitzMagic” during his playing days, climbed on top of a platform in the corner of the field.

From there, Fitzpatrick launched himself onto a table blow him, delivering a brutal elbow that sent him crashing through the furniture.

He then picked up the destroyed table, waved it above his head and roared in front of a stunned crowd.

FitzMagic joined Prime Video’s studio team in 2022, a year after retiring. He has since become a chaotic staple at Bills home games, often ripping his shirt off in front of the fervent crowd.

He's gone shirtless in the freezing Buffalo conditions several times over the past few years, including last year when Allen even helped him unbutton it.

Fitzpatrick wasn't about to disappoint Bills fans this season, and at the end of the game, treated them to a glimpse of his magnificence chest as Allen cheered him on.

"Such a fun show. Literally the only pre or post game show I'd ever watch," said one fan.

6

6

6

6

In 2024, after two successful seasons, Fitzpatrick inked a three-year contract extension with Prime Video to keep him there until 2027.

More recently, he and fellow ex-played turned Prime studio analyst Andrew Whitworth launched a weekly podcast, Fitz & Whit.

Last season, Fitzpatrick made his debut in the booth, filling in on Westwood One’s Monday Night Football broadcast of the 49ers-Panthers game with play-by-play voice Ryan Radtke.

6

In a recent interview with Front Office Sports, both Fitzpatrick and Whitworth were asked if the booth is ultimately where they see their careers going.

Both rather emphatically said they're happy where they are for now.

“I’ve done some stuff with Sky Sports [in the UK] for the Super Bowl, and last year I called a game for Westwood One on the radio for a Monday night game,” Fitzpatrick told FOS.

“As of right now, it’s not something I’m really interested in, though. I’ve really enjoyed the studio stuff a lot, and I think the point I’m at in my life right now, and everything else, I’m very, very happy to be a part of the team that I’m with right now, and not really looking to take that next step into being an actual on-air guy.”

“I think I’m very similar,” Whitworth said.

“I think that’s one of the reasons we really were into this idea of having another bigger part of Thursday nights and having our podcast — it both gives us the opportunity to be around our kids, our families, in the way we want to set our schedules for the week. And I think it’s obviously something that would be a dream to do, but it’s not really something right now that fits my current life — four teenagers, I’ve got a lot going on.

"So being at home on weekends and working Thursday nights, it just all fits, and that’s what we enjoy.”

Join talkSPORT's dedicated US Sports YouTube channel every Tuesday and Thursday for our brand new NFL shows.

On Tuesdays, Will Gavin and US senior reporter Brian T Smith will debate the biggest talking points from the NFL weekend, while on Thursdays, Efe Obada joins the crew to talk with players past and present and break down what to look for across the league