Bills Bully Injury-Battered Lions in 48-42 Victory

Takeaways from the Lions' 48-42 loss to Bills.

Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis (22) runs the ball against the Detroit Lions in the second quarter at Ford Field / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

After 11 consecutive victories, the Detroit Lions still found themselves in a position of needing to prove themselves.

Against the Buffalo Bills, an AFC powerhouse, Dan Campbell's squad returned to the field healthier and eager to play cleaner football.

“I think we’ve got to get a little bit better all the way around. There’s things that we, even as good as we played, that we can still do so much better offensively," Campbell said on FOX 2 Detroit. "But defensively, too, even these new guys that we asked to come in and help, they really did, but they’re here again for another week and we need them to play better. The guys that we count on, the Kerby’s, the Branch's, the Jack Campbell’s, I could go down the list, Alim McNeill. We need your absolute best every week, as we ask of everybody.” 

Detroit is battling for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. A home victory would see the goal of home-field advantage throughout the postseason that much closer to attain.

Buffalo was seeking to take advantage of a Lions defense that has been revamped due to injuries, especially at the linebacker position.

After 60 minutes of action, Detroit was dealt a rude awakening. Buffalo executed at a high level offensively, and found its way into the end zone repeatedly.

Here are several takeaways from the Lions' 48-42 loss to the Bills.

Lions' offense starts slow, Bills start fast

After the Bills won the opening coin toss and deferred, Detroit took the field with the No. 1 ranked scoring offense.

Unfortunately, Detroit's offense went three-and-out and did not gain a single yard on its opening possession. Goff had two incompletions, and running back David Montgomery found little real estate on his first rushing attempt against the Bills' defensive line.

Josh Allen was able to march his team right down the field on their opening possession.

Running back Ty Johnson, who began his career in Detroit, sparked the offense with two explosive passing plays. The talented running back was on the receiving end of a 33-yard pass with linebacker Kwon Alexander in coverage.

Johnson also secured a 24-yard reception that set up the Bills in the red zone.

Allen opened the scoring, and capped off a seven-play, 73-yard drive with a 1-yard scamper that gave the Bills an early 7-0 lead.

On Detroit's second offensive drive, Goff was sacked twice, limiting Detroit's ability to move the football and stalling its drive.

LIVE BLOG: Follow Lions' Week 15 Matchup With Bills

Josh Allen looked like league MVP early

The talented signal-caller looked as advertised early in the Week 15 contest.

The build-up this week partly involved the comparison between the two starting quarterbacks. Both Allen and Goff have been in the conversation as being the league's Most Valuable Player.

Allen was able to elude defenders and find his open targets, even when Detroit's defense was in pursuit.

Detroit's defensive line, which returned DJ Reader and Levi Onwuzurike, was unable to pressure Allen enough to disrupt his timing.

Allen and running back James Cook again took advantage of Detroit's defensive line on the Bills' second offensive drive.

Buffalo again marched down the field on its second possession. Allen found the end zone again, and capped off a nine-play, 78-yard drive with a 4-yard scamper, where he found the end zone untouched by Detroit's defense.

Jahmyr Gibbs sparks Lions' offense

On Detroit's third offensive possession, Jahmyr Gibbs helped Detroit get into rhythm with quick bursts through the offensive line.

Gibbs recorded four carries for 21 yards and one reception for 13 yards on Detroit's first touchdown drive.

Wideout Tim Patrick, who has developed increased chemistry with Goff, found the end zone for the third time in two games. It trimmed Buffalo's lead to 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Patrick! Gets Lions in game
14-7 Bills lead pic.twitter.com/lwopuLfhjy

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) December 15, 2024

Lions using all of playbook against Bills' defense

In the first half, Ben Johnson dialed up a couple of trick plays to spark the Lions' offense.

The first such play came at the end of the first quarter. On second-and-1 with 0:22 to play in the quarter, Goff, who was lined up center, took the snap and tossed it to David Montgomery, who then threw it across the field back to Goff. Upon receiving the football back, Goff proceeded to launch it downfield to a wide-open Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 24-yard gain.

Then, in the second quarter, Johnson dialed up a pass play for fan favorite Dan Skipper. Detroit drove all the way down to the Buffalo 9-yard line, setting up a second-and-4 in the red zone for Johnson's unit. On the play, the reserve offensive lineman reported as eligible, and Goff ended up finding him for the 9-yard score. It cut the Bills' lead to seven, 21-14, with 3:01 to play in the half.

Lions defense gives up far too many explosive plays, has no answers for Bills offense

Detroit's defense has weathered the storm all season despite dealing with a myriad of injuries.

Unfortunately, against the second highest scoring offense in the league, Detroit's defense had little answers and gave up far too many explosive plays.

Johnson had multiple explosive plays in the passing game against his former team.

Rookie wideout Keon Coleman was on the receiving end of a 64-yard bomb late in the first half. Their drive ended with a missed field goal, but Detroit was unable to capitalize and wound up missing a field goal of its own.

Needing a stop to gain any sort of momentum at the start of the third quarter, Detroit's defense yet again gave up an explosive play.

Cook, who recorded a first half touchdown, broke free for a 41-yard touchdown that extended Buffalo's lead to 28-14.

Early in the third quarter, Buffalo had recorded six plays of over 20 yards against Aaron Glenn's defense.

6⃣6⃣ yards on the @JaredGoff16 ➡️ @amonra_stbrown touchdown connection!#BUFvsDET | 📺 CBS#ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/9YisCRf5AZ

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 15, 2024

Buffalo makes Lions pay for failed onside kick

Detroit had scored two touchdowns on back-to-back offensive possessions to trim the Bills lead to 38-28.

Amon-Ra St. Brown was on the receiving end of a 66-yard reception late in the third quarter that brought Detroit to within a 14-point deficit (35-21).

Gibbs followed up a Bills field goal drive with a touchdown scamper that trimmed the lead to 38-28 early in the fourth quarter.

Campbell then decided to try an onside kick which was recovered by the Bills and returned to the Lions five-yard line.

Buffalo extended their lead on the next play to 45-28, as Allen found running back Ray Davis on a five-yard touchdown toss.

Notes

1.) Lions defensive back Khalil Dorsey was carted off the field with a severe right lower leg injury.

2.) St. Brown became the third receiver in NFL history with 400 receptions through four seasons, joining Jarvis Landry and Michael Thomas.

3.) Carlton Davis was ruled out of the game at the start of the second half with a jaw injury.

4.) Alim McNeill was carted off the field with a knee injury in the third quarter