The 4 biggest takeaways you need to know from Bills' win against Lions

The Buffalo Bills high-flying offense continues to make headlines (and history), and despite allowing 42 points the defense bounced back.

Nico Salimbene | 2 Hours Ago

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) celebrates a touchdown during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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The Buffalo Bills bounced back in a big way, following last weeks close loss against the Los Angeles Rams,
defeating the NFC powerhouse Detroit Lions on the road, 48-42. Tonight's win versus Detroit kept Buffalo in talks of earning the AFC's number one seed, with one of the league's softest remaining schedules.

The big win on the road verse a formidable Lions team concluded a a four game stretch that looked, on paper, to be one of the league's most daunting, but the five-time consecutive AFC East champions went 3-1 on the back of Josh Allen and his offense.

The Bills now have three divisional games to close out their regular season -- two against the New England Patriots and a home matchup versus the New York Jets.

Here are four takeaways from tonight's victory versus the Detroit Lions:

Josh Allen continues to run away with MVP

Dec 15, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) leaps across the goal line for his second touchdown / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

This is Josh Allen's world, and we're just living in it. The MVP favorite continues to make history every single week, with a new batch of "first player in NFL history" records to add to his resume.

Per the Buffalo Bills' PR department, after accounting for 362 passing yards, 68 rushing yards, and four total touchdowns, Josh Allen is the first player in NFL history to record multiple passing touchdowns, multiple rushing touchdowns, 350+ passing yards and 60+ rushing yards in a single game. He is also the first with at least two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns in consecutive games.

The Buffalo Bills have produced now eight straight games with at least 30 points, and it wouldn't have been anywhere possible without the otherworldly play from the Bills' field general

Buffalo's defense bounces back

Buffalo Bills safety Kareem Jackson (27) breaks a pass against Detroit Lions wide receiver Tim Patrick (17) / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If one were to just analyze the box score without watching the game, it would be understandable to assume that the Buffalo Bills' defense had another disappointing performance, but the on field performance against the Lions - the most prolific offense in football - was solid and timely.

After allowing 137 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground to the Los Angeles Rams last week, the Bills' defense was stout, allowed only 48 rushing yards and a touchdown, against arguably the best running back duo in the National Football League.

While QB Jared Goff threw for nearly 500 passing yards, the depleted Buffalo secondary held up when it mattered most and never surrendered the lead that their offense gave them. Reserve players like Kaiir Elam and Kareem Jackson were forced to take meaningful snaps, and they stepped up when their numbers were called.

Buffalo's defense will now have a chance to fine tune what they need to ahead of the playoffs, matching up against bottom-half of the league offenses in their last three games of the season.

Ty Johnson revenge game

Dec 15, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson (26) is tackled by Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) / David Reginek-Imagn Images

The leading receiver for the Bills was not Khalil Shakir, Amari Cooper, or Keon Coleman this week. Rather, it was backup running back Ty Johnson, who slashed his former team's defense with 114 yards on five catches.

The former Lions sixth-round pick continues to dazzle as a change-of-pace back, accounting for 233 total yards from scrimmage in his last four games. Johnson was seemingly unstoppable on the Bills' first drive, gashing the Lions on receptions of 33 yards and 24 yards to set up the game's first touchdown and a lead that Buffalo never gave up.

Ed Oliver makes his presence known

Dec 15, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) is sacked by Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (91) / David Reginek-Imagn Images

While Ed Oliver's season hasn't quite met expectations on the stat sheet, the Bills' top defensive tackle had a day against Detroit's offensive line. The 2019 first-round pick showed up in a big way, accounting for 4 tackles, a sack, and three hits on QB Jared Goff.

This is Oliver's second week in a row recording multiple QB hits, tallying up five in his last two games. DE Greg Rousseau had plenty of praise for his defensive running-mate:

Greg Rousseau on Ed Oliver's day (and the last several weeks) #BillsMafia @WKBW pic.twitter.com/YgpJixkqNo
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) December 16, 2024

"Ed's been doing his thing. Like, yeah, he might not have the numbers and stuff but he's been playing good football in my opinion. He did it again, he had a whole bunch of QB hits, a sack, should've had some more. So I mean, [people] get caught up so much on the numbers and stuff, and kinda, pushing dude down, but the dude [has] really been playing some good football out there. Not having the flashy numbers but still be playing good ball."
- DE Greg Rousseau