By Colton Pouncy, Joe Buscaglia, Tim Graham and RJ Kraft
In a potential Super Bowl preview and battle of the league’s top two scoring offenses, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills beat Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions 48-42. The teams combined for 1,080 total yards.
Coming off a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo raced out to a 14-0 lead on two Allen touchdown runs and never trailed. Allen added two passing scores while throwing for a season-high 362 yards.
Buffalo’s victory combined with a loss by the Pittsburgh Steelers puts the Bills (11-3) alone in second in the AFC playoff picture. They trail the Kansas City Chiefs (13-1) by two games with three weeks to go but hold the tiebreaker with their head-to-head win in Week 11.
For the Lions, Goff became the first quarterback in league history to throw for over 400 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in a loss. The highlight of those scores went to offensive lineman Dan Skipper.
OL DAN SKIPPER RECEIVING TOUCHDOWN.
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The loss puts Detroit (12-2) and the Philadelphia Eagles tied atop the NFC standings, although the Lions hold the upper hand by virtue of their better conference record. Additionally, the NFC North remains up for grabs with the Minnesota Vikings (11-2) only a half-game back ahead of their Monday night game against the Chicago Bears. Detroit beat Minnesota in Week 7 and the teams will rematch in Week 18 at Ford Field.
In Week 16, Buffalo hosts the New England Patriots, while Detroit hits the road to take on the Bears.
Buffalo’s backfield runs wild
Years from now, folks likely won’t remember it as the Ty Johnson revenge game, but the former Lions running back had a career day in his old building for Buffalo. Johnson didn’t wait to inflict damage on Detroit, routinely getting open downfield as Allen’s most effective target on an afternoon when Buffalo gained the most yards in the Sean McDermott era and tied for fourth-most in club history.
Johnson, a Lions sixth-round draft choice in 2019, snagged passes for 33 yards and 24 yards on the opening drive, the second converting a third-and-5 situation to set up a touchdown. Johnson also made a 31-yard catch on fourth-and-2 to keep a second-quarter TD drive alive.
In his sixth NFL season, Johnson set a career-high in yards from scrimmage just 48 seconds after halftime. All five of his receptions went for first downs and gained 114 yards. He also ran twice for 9 yards.
Bills starter running back James Cook, meanwhile, took care of the groundwork. Cook notched his third triple-digit rushing game with 14 attempts for 105 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by a 41-yard TD to put Buffalo ahead 28-14 early in the third quarter. His 13 rushing touchdowns (in just 13 games) are tied for third in club history behind O.J. Simpson’s 16 in 1975 and Allen’s 15 last season. Allen has 11 rushing TDs this year.
JAMES COOK. 41-YARD TD.
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Third-string running back Ray Davis also had some fun. The rookie caught a 5-yard touchdown lob to make the score 45-28 with 11:51 to go. — Tim Graham, Bills senior writer
Lions’ ground game struggles
That was a clunker for the Lions. Allen and the Buffalo offense were a freight train that couldn’t be stopped. Allen extended plays and used his creativity and strength to get out of jams all game long. They had no answers for him as the Bills recorded 559 yards of offense and 48 points.
Offensively, the Lions were able to put up stats (521 yards and 42 points), but couldn’t get anything going on the ground. The Bills won in the trenches and held the Lions to a season-low 48 rushing yards on 15 attempts. David Montgomery had just 4 yards on five attempts, while Jahmyr Gibbs had eight rushes for 31 yards. In a perfect world, you’d use the run to sustain long drives and give Allen less chances. That didn’t happen. Just one of those days. — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer
Buffalo’s defense responds after loss
Despite the Bills allowing 42 points, many of which scored in desperation mode, the Bills defense does deserve some credit for how they responded to being utterly dominated the week before by the Rams. The Bills forced the explosive Lions offense off the field on their first two possessions, even beginning the game with a three-and-out to give the Bills offense the runway to take a double-digit lead and ride that to their eventual victory.
On top of that, they limited Detroit’s rushing game to only 35 yards between top-flight runners Gibbs and Montgomery. The Lions had to abandon the run in the second half due to the score, but most impressively, the Bills only allowed 2.7 yards per carry to that duo.
The Bills did all this while missing three members of their usual starting secondary in cornerback Rasul Douglas and safeties Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin. They also lost top backup safety Cole Bishop and starting linebacker Matt Milano during the game. The Bills wanted an answer out of their defense, and they got one, especially early. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
Detroit’s defense suffers more injuries
The Lions remain a good football team, but this was a bit of a reality check for them ahead of the playoffs. Their defense, even with some pieces back, is not what it once was. Alim McNeill suffered a knee injury and didn’t return, quickly ruled out. Carlton Davis was evaluated for a concussion and also suffered a jaw injury. He didn’t return, either. We’ll see what their status is going forward, but being without either would be tough injury blows in a season full of them. Backup corner Khalil Dorsey also suffered an ankle injury and was carted off.
If they win their remaining three games against the Bears, San Francisco 49ers and Vikings, they can still win the NFC North and clinch the No. 1 seed. But they have to regroup. And fast. — Pouncy
Required reading
- Buffalo and Detroit, forever connected, can finally dream of a Rust Belt Super Bowl
- Defense, game management questions plague Bills as playoffs approach
- ‘I can’t believe it came to this’: His Lions fandom is his identity. He almost lost it
(Photo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images )
