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Detroit Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown Sets Multiple Records In Loss Against Buffalo Bills

Despite dropping their first game since mid-September, the Detroit Lions offense was imposing in a 48-42 loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Former USC Trojans and current Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown made personal, franchise, and league history with a stellar performance.

Kyron Samuels

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) takes the field for warm up before the game between Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) takes the field for warm up before the game between Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Detroit Lions and former USC Trojans wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown suffered their first defeat on a football field since Sept. 15 after a 48-42 loss to Most Valuable Player front-runner, quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Football is a game of attrition, and there’s no question the Lions are dealing with a substantial, maybe insurmountable, amount of injuries on the defense side of the ball. Already shorthanded, the Lions lost cornerback Carlton Davis and interior defensive lineman Alim McNeil to what coach Dan Campbell hinted could be season-ending.

“Maybe it's a good wakeup call for us," Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. "Nice little recalibration for us. Now we get to go on the road. We had some nice home games we just finished up, but now we get to go on the road and it's us against everyone else again. Come together and get a bit tighter and move on."

When one side of the ball suffers debilitating losses, the other side has to pick up the pieces and kick their play into overdrive. Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and quarterback Jared Goff put forth their best effort in what was an impressive showing of offensive firepower for the second consecutive week. St. Brown was not only impressive as per his typical performance, but he had a career-best day that made franchise history and league history. 

A former USC Trojan, St. Brown dazzled as he put up a career-high 14 receptions for a career-best 193 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. St. Brown averaged 13.8 yards per reception and was targeted a whopping 18 times. St. Brown also has the second most receptions in the NFL that result in a first down or touchdown. The production is well worth the target share on such a talent-rich team. 

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After that stellar performance, St. Brown now has 410 receptions since entering the NFL in 2021. That joins former Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (470) and former multi-team wide receiver Jarvis Landry (400) as the only players with 400 receptions in their first four seasons in NFL history. Amon-Ra also joined Calvin Johnson and Herman Moore as the only players in Detroit Lions franchise history to record ten or more receiving touchdowns in consecutive seasons.

On another individual note, St. Brown has now surpassed the 1000-yard mark for the third consecutive season. St. Brown was just 88 yards away from that threshold his rookie season; otherwise, he’d have four straight. With 95 receptions, 1056 receiving yards, and ten receiving touchdowns, St. Brown ranks second, fourth, and third place in the NFL in those categories, respectively.

The Detroit Lions are 12-2 and still currently hold pole position in the NFC and NFC North race, but the road to the Super Bowl has gotten infinitely harder in recent weeks. They’ll need Amon-Ra St. Brown and the offense to carry the load for the rest of the season. They won’t play a team as talented as the Bills for a while, but it looks like the offense will be up to the task. 

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Kyron Samuels
KYRON SAMUELS

Kyron Samuels is a former college and professional football player now a writer, analyst, & digital host. Kyron is a writer for USC Trojans on SI and contributes to Oregon Ducks on SI. A graduate and letterman at Jacksonville State University, Samuels was a three-year starter, two-time all-conference, and won three consecutive conference titles. After a four-year professional stint between the AFL & XFL, Samuels retired from football. In 2022, Samuels was inducted into the Fairhope Athletic Hall of Fame. Post-playing career, Samuels has become a credentialed sports media member covering the NFL, UFL, USFL, & college football. The NFL Combine, Reese’s Senior Bowl, & East-West Shrine Bowl are amongst the events Kyron has covered. As a guest and host, Samuels has been featured on ESPNRadio, FoxSportsRadio, & IHeartRadio. Outside of sports media, Samuels works as a scouting consultant and has experience coaching at the collegiate level.

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