Tailgating was in full force at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, for the highly anticipated Thursday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans.
Quarterbacks Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo did not play — instead, rookie Jacoby Brissett started the game.
The return of star tight end Rob Gronkowski, who's been out with an injury, was another big headline.
"I'm from Arizona and I played football with Rob Gronkowski and I'm here and I'm hyped because he's back tonight," said Orlando Vargas. "He's going to score a touchdown, 'let's go."
"I know they're coming off a short week and I always had faith in this team I trust in Bill [Belichick] as our coach," said fan John LaPointe. "And I think we're going to be ready to go and have a big night tonight."
One setup in the VIP parking lot looked more like a restaurant than a tailgate party.
"A tailgate is not a tailgate unless the girls are happy," said Jim Hollis.
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Hollis says he's been doing it for 16 years. His food nothing short of fancy.
"Were smoking lamb, were smoking pork, smoking turkey and you always have to have shrimp on the barbie," he said. "If I don't have that, I get yelled at, because the girls love shrimp."
Many fans were also hoping to see wide receiver Julian Edelman get some reps in as quarterback. He played the position in college and backed up Thursday.
Massachusetts State Police say they increased security for the game following this past weekend's terror acts in New York and New Jersey.
