The Detroit Lions finished Week 1 by letting Saints quarterback Tyler Shough carve through their defense.
On Thursday night against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, they picked up right where they left off. For the entire night, they had no answers to the Bills’ high-octane offense. They couldn’t stop the run. They couldn’t stop the pass. Buffalo essentially did whatever they wanted all night in the opener of Highmark Stadium.
Meanwhile, the offense had its moments. But much like Week 1, there were too many self-imposed mistakes, along with poorer play on Detroit’s patchwork offensive line.
The final score was a tough-to-swallow 41-31 loss to the Bills. There will be serious questions about whether this defense can turn things around after two very discouraging performances to open the year.
Here’s how Thursday night played out.
First quarter
The Bills won the toss and elected to receive, giving Josh Allen the opportunity to strike first. After a penalty on the kickoff, the Bills were forced to start at the 15-yard line. But the Bills were able to quickly get into Lions territory. Despite an early Aidan Hutchinson sack, Allen found some success scrambling. He picked up 13 yards on one play, then 12 more when Detroit lost contain. A 13-yard pass to Khalil Shakir and 10-yard run put Buffalo near the red zone. Another Allen scramble put the Bills on the goal line, then he plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. 7-0 Bills.
Jared Goff and the Lions offense needed to retaliate in order to not fall behind too much too quickly. Instead, they went three-and-out. After two unsuccessful plays, Jared Goff took a coverage sack.
The Lions defense had a chance to get off the field quickly, forcing the Bills into a third-and-6 on their first series of downs. But Allen found Keon Coleman for an easy 7-yard pickup. Then Allen split the Lions’ zone to find Dalton Kincaid for a big 25-yard gain. Detroit was then able to get into a third-and-11 to finally get off the field… except the Lions had a coverage bust, and Allen found Joshua Palmer for an easy 43-yard touchdown. 14-0 Bills.
Detroit tried to pull out of this nightmarish start with the help of Jahmyr Gibbs, who kicked off the ensuing drive with a 16-yard run followed by a 9-yard run. But Goff was sacked on second-and-1 by Greg Rousseau.
Then Juice Scruggs sent the third-down snap too high, and Goff had to fall on it to end their drive.
To add insult to injury, former Lions wideout Greg Dortch returned the ensuing punt 25 yards all the way to the Bills’ 43-yard line. The rout was officially on, as the first quarter came to a merciful end.
Second quarter
Allen went right back to work with completions to Kincaid and Keon Coleman for 12 and 22 yards to open the second quarter.
Again, the Lions had an opportunity to get off the field on a third-and-6, and while it initially looked like rookie defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard had caught an interception off a deflection, Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin was called for holding on the play, negating the turnover and setting up a first-and-goal for the Bills. On the next play, Lions safety Avonte Maddox suffered an injury and was carted to the locker room. He was listed as questionable to return with a foot injury. A few plays later, Allen hit Dawson Knox for a 1-yard touchdown. 21-0 Bills.
The Lions countered with their best drive. Highlighted by a third-and-7 conversion via a run, Detroit was able to get into Bills’ territory. Then Goff extended the drive with a tight throw to Gibbs for 8 yards on a third-and-4. An 11-yard catch from Amon-Ra St. Brown—his first target and catch of the game—set Detroit up for their first red-zone trip of the night. Then Goff found Gibbs for an 11-yard touchdown catch to stop the bleeding. 21-7 Bills.
Detroit’s defense got a rest, but they didn’t come out looking any different. James Cook ripped off a 20-yard run to start the next drive, then followed it up with a 35-yarder.
Bills receiver DJ Moore suffered an injury on Buffalo’s red zone trip, but Allen went right back to Kincaid for a 16-yard touchdown, a 27-7 Bills lead, and a fourth first-ahlf touchdown for Allen (missed extra point).
Detroit desperately needed points to end the half, but a critical error on Juice Scruggs stalled the drive. The Lions were facing a third-and-inches, and Scruggs false started. Then, on third-and-6, Goff was sacked after trying to escape interior pressure.
That gave the Bills yet another opportunity to add to their 20-point lead before halftime. But three straight incompletions from Allen led to the Bills’ first punt of the game.
That left one more opportunity for Detroit to cut into the lead before halftime. Goff found LaPorta for 12, St. Brown for 22, and Jameson Williams for 16 to get into field goal range. Tack on a tripping penalty on the Bills, and Jake Bates had an easy chip-shot field goal to make it 27-10 Bills as time expired.
Third quarter
Detroit got a big play to start the second half, with Goff connecting with St. Brown for a 22-yard gain on third-and-3.
But after an incomplete pass and 0-yard run from Gibbs, Detroit faced a third-and-10. St. Brown caught a 5-yard pass, setting up a fourth-and-5. Detroit had little choice but to go for it from the Bills’ 40-yard line, and Goff found LaPorta for a big 18-yard gain.
A few plays later, Goff hit St. Brown on a 2-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-17 Bills.
The Bills offense wouldn’t be denied, though. Though the Lions made them work harder for it, Buffalo converted a third-and-1, third-and-2, and another two third-and-1s to move into field goal range. Then they finally hit on a big play, finding Kincaid in a soft spot of the zone for 23 yards—setting up a first-and-goal. A few plays later, Allen ran it in on a 1-yard, play-action touchdown. 34-17 Bills.
Detroit attempted to answer, and hit on a big play of their own—a 34-yard post route to St. Brown. That would be the final play of the third quarter.
Fourth quarter
Detroit continued to feed St. Brown, with the All-Pro receiver converting a third-and-8, pushing Detroit back into the red zone. Detroit nearly stalled from there, but a defensive holding penalty on a fourth-and-8 gave them new life. Then the Bills were called for pass interference in the end zone. On first-and-goal from the 1, Goff found a wide-open LaPorta for a touchdown to make it a 34-24 Bills’ game with over 10 minutes left.
Detroit would actually get the stop they needed. While a designed run from Allen picked up an early third-and-3, the Lions got off the field when Shakir dropped a potential conversion on third-and-8.
Down 10 with 8:25 to go, the Lions had no choice but to get points on this drive and make it a one-score game. Instead, Detroit went three-and-out after both of Goff’s passes were batted at the line.
Stop me if you heard this before, but the Lions defense had an opportunity to get off the field on defense, but couldn’t. Allen connected with Coleman on a third-and-7 for a 9-yard gain. From there, Detroit had no answer. Allen and Cook moved down the field methodically, burning 4:38 off the clock and finishing it with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. 41-24 Bills.
The Lions would go into two-minute mode, and after a clutch conversion by Isaac TeSlaa on fourth-and-18, Detroit would move quickly downfield. They capped off the drive with an impressive throw from Goff for a 27-yard touchdown to St. Brown. 41-31 Bills.
But Detroit’s efforts came to a close when the Bills recovered the onside kick. A facemask penalty on the Lions gave the Bills the one first down they needed to run the clock out.
