Lionel Messi made local headlines with his decision to travel and play in Inter Miami’s midweek match against the San Jose Earthquakes — his first appearance in the Bay Area since 2009. Odds are, the Argentine legend might have preferred to stay back East, as the Herons were forced to settle for a wild 3-3 draw with the hosts.

Miami avoided defeat, but the club has now gone winless in five of its last six matches and was arguably fortunate to escape with a point. San Jose dominated stretches of the game, particularly in midfield. Javier Mascherano’s side got off to a dream start, with Maxi Falcon scoring just 30 seconds into the match. It looked like an early statement of intent, but Miami’s defensive frailties were exposed almost immediately. Cristian Arango pounced on a quick counterattack, taking advantage of some passive defending to level the score.

From there, it was a track meet – thrilling for neutral fans, but nerve-wracking for both coaches. Neither side could instill much on defense, resulting in a wide-open match. Tadeo Allende delivered a stunning brace for Miami, while Beau Leroux and Ian Harkes rounded out the scoring for the Earthquakes.

If there was a visual indicator of Inter Miami’s current frustration, it came in the dying moments of stoppage time — from Messi himself. After finishing off a brilliant move, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner appeared to be fouled in what many consider his sweet spot for free kicks. As he got up expecting a whistle, the play was instead called back for offside. Messi, clearly furious, stormed toward the officiating crew, shouting his protest as players and staff from both teams — including San Jose coach Bruce Arena — tried to restrain him. At one point, a referee could be heard asking, “Do you want to be sent off?”

Things need to change – and quickly – or it could get worse for Mascherano and Inter Miami.

GOAL rates Inter Miami’s players from PayPal Park…

According to a report by the typically highly accurate X account @NerdingonNFL, the Buffalo Bills will be hosting the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 18 to start Week 3 of the NFL schedule on Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football.

The Bills are expected to get a high number of prime time games and they could very well be awarded the maximum six. Playing the AFC East rivals at night makes perfect sense as it has long been one of the NFL’s intriguing rivalries.

Of course, it’s also a rivalry that has been dominated by the Bills since Josh Allen came to the team in 2018. Buffalo has won 13 of the 15 games including a AFC wild-card victory in January 2023, and Allen has played incredibly in almost every matchup.

In the 14 regular-season games, he has completed 316 of 477 passes for 3,737 yards with 37 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and he has added 647 yards rushing and five touchdowns. And in the lone playoff game, he threw for 352 yards and three TDs and rushed for 20 yards in that 34-31 victory.

The full 2025 Buffalo Bills regular season schedule will be unveiled at 8 p.m.

Buffalo Bills 2025 opponents

The Bills will host nine regular season games and one preseason game, with eight road regular season games and two away preseason games.

Home opponents: Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles

Away opponents: Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans

Will the Bills play an international game?

No. Those games have been released and the Bills are not part of the International Series.

The Bills’ last international game was a 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 8, 2023 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The international games reveal will be broadcast on the NFL Network and Good Morning Football.

How to watch the Bills schedule release

The NFL schedule release show will air on NFL Network and NFL+ at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14. ESPN2 will carry an NFL schedule special from 8-10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14.

When do 2025 Bills tickets go on sale?

Tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster as soon as the schedule is released and can be purchased on the Bills Ticketmaster page or through the Bills website.

Buy Buffalo Bills tickets for 2025

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.