Bills Central

Kicking Bass: Buffalo Bills Edge Lions In Emotional Thanksgiving Win

By the time the Buffalo Bills departed Ford Field on Thanksgiving Thursday, they'd once again made themselves right at home in Detroit. But it took time. And it was emotional.

Mike Fisher

The Buffalo Bills entered their second game in five days - both of them in Detroit - serving up a deceptive platter to the Detroit Lions.

On the one hand, the short Thanksgiving week, made shorter by the blizzard that moved last Sunday's Buffalo home game to The Motor City, caused the coaching staff to smartly tighten the game plan.

As QB Josh Allen said, “Just try not to do too much on a short week and (don't) put in too many plays.''

So, "Keep It Simple, Stupid''? Kinda, except ... this 28-25 win over the Lions wasn't all that simple. It required a clutch game-winning drive featuring Josh Allen (24 of 42 for 25 yards passing, plus 78 more rushing yards, and three total TDs) and Stefon Diggs (eight catches, 77 yards and a score), it required a last-second field goal by Tyler Bass (largely only made necessary because he'd earlier missed an extra point ...

And it required absorbing the reality of the seemingly serious Von Miller knee injury ...

Last week, Buffalo crushed the Browns in a "home game'' at Detroit. This wasn't that easy, and surely thoughts of Miller came into play there ...

But the Bills offense got help from Isaiah McKenzie (a TD catch as part of his six-catch, 96-yard day) and the defense endured Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (nine catches, 122 yards and a score).

Detroit came in giving up the most yards and the most points in the NFL this season. And it can be argued that Josh Allen and company didn't take full advantage of all of that. But the move to 8-3 (over a Lions team that had won three straight) can now be tucked away, Detroit behind them ... and concerns about Von Miller up ahead.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983. He is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.

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