Expert panel hints Bills will become Lions' 12th straight victim

The Buffalo Bills are coming off a loss, looking to deal the Detroit Lions their first defeat since Week 2.

Ralph Ventre | 5 Hours Ago

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) is chased by Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano (58) / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Buffalo Bills are in a rare underdog role heading into their Week 15 road matchup against the Detroit Lions.

While the Bills (10-3) are coming off a two-point road loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions (12-1) are winners of 11 games in a row. Detroit's lone loss was at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2.

Buffalo, which clinched its fifth consecutive AFC East division title back on December 1, was officially listed as a 2.5-point road underdog as of early Sunday morning. The Bills have scored 30+ points in each of their last seven games.

In what will be a battle of the NFL's top-two scoring teams, Sports Illustrated's weekly prediction panel is leaning toward the home side. Four of the six expert panelists picked Detroit to defeat Buffalo in the December 15 matinee with senior writer Albert Breer and editor John Pluym being the lone two Bills' backers. As always, the MMQB predictions are straight up.

After the Rams scored 44 points on the Bills in Week 14, the matchup seems favorable for the NFL's highest-scoring offense led by quarterback Jared Goff. The Lions average 32.1 points per outing and have shown the ability to pound opponents in the run game.

Buffalo's defense could be without as many as three starters in the secondary, which could bode well for Goff, who has posted a 72.4 completion percentage and 25 TD passes.

The Bills may have to outpace the Lions in a shootout to win, but Josh Allen and Co. have proven more than capable of such a task. It'll also help to have rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman back in the lineup for the first time since Week 9.

These two teams last met on Thanksgiving Day 2022 with the Bills winning by three points at the gun. They are set to kick off at 4:25 pm ET on Sunday with CBS carrying the action live.

Dec 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Rams defense / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images