Orchard Park, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills officially opened their new stadium Thursday night. The Detroit Lions defense must not have received their invitation. How else can you explain why they didn’t show up?
Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the former and potentially future MVP, was an unstoppable force in the contest, throwing for three touchdowns and running for two more on his team’s first six possessions in a 41-31 victory over the Lions at Highmark Stadium.
Detroit (1-1) lacked a defensive answer from the jump, allowing Buffalo (2-0) to race out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter and a 17-point halftime advantage.
The Lions twice cut the Bills’ lead to 10 in the second half, but couldn’t get any closer. After a touchdown drive to open the third quarter, Allen and the Bills countered with a 15-play response, pushing the advantage back to 17.
After getting the deficit back to 10, Detroit’s defense finally mustered their second stop of the night with 8:25 remaining in the final quarter, providing the offense a chance to make it a one-score affair.
Instead, the Lions went three-and-out, with quarterback Jared Goff having two passes batted down at the line of scrimmage by 6-foot-7 defensive tackle Deone Walker.
Asking the Lions defense to get a second straight stop was a bridge too far. After Allen found receiver Keon Coleman on third-and-9 to reset the chains, Bills running back James Cook put the nail in the coffin with a 22-yard run to the 1-yard line and a short score on the next snap.
Scoring summary
First quarter
● 9:09 — With the game’s opening possession, Allen carved up Detroit’s defense, mostly with his legs. The dual threat QB ran for 40 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown on the 10-play, 80-yard drive. BILLS 7, LIONS 0
● 3:42 — Despite twice getting the Bills in third-and-long situations, the Lions defense could once again not get a stop. On third-and-11, the Lions blitzed, but Allen stood tall in the pocket and found Joshua Palmer open deep for a 43-yard touchdown pass.
Safety Avonte Maddox was put in conflict on the play, biting on a shallower crossing pattern, allowing Palmer to get free behind the secondary. BILLS 14, LIONS 0
Second quarter
● 11:53 — Taking over a little shy of midfield after a 25-yard punt return by Greg Dortch, Allen completed three consecutive passes to move the Bills inside the 10-yard line. Detroit appeared to halt the surge with a turnover, when Skyler Gill-Howard corralled a deflection, but it was overturned by a defensive holding infraction in the secondary. A second defensive holding call wiped out a sack on the ensuing snap.
Those penalties set up Buffalo first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. From there, it took two snaps to score a third touchdown, a 1-yard toss from Allen to tight end Dawson Knox. BILLS 21, LIONS 0
● 5:03 — The Lions snapped the shutout with a 12-play touchdown drive that leaned heavily on running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who handled five carries and caught three passes, including a wheel route down the right seam for an 11-yard touchdown. BILLS 21, LIONS 7
● 2:52 — Four drives, four touchdowns allowed. This one was particularly embarrassing as Cook ripped off gains of 20 and 35 yards to open the series. And despite Buffalo being flagged for holding in the red zone, Allen found tight end Dalton Kincaid on a post pattern for an easy 16-yard score. Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed the extra point. BILLS 27, LIONS 7
● 0:00 — Taking over at their own 22-yard line with 39 seconds remaining, Goff was nearly intercepted on the first snap, but the offense settled down and worked into range for a short, 31-yard Jake Bates field goal to end the half. BILLS 27, LIONS 10
Third quarter
● 9:29 — Coming out of the break, Detroit took the opening kickoff 74 yards in 11 plays to slice Buffalo’s advantage to 10 points. Sam LaPorta converted a fourth-and-5 with a 18-yard grab across the middle and Amon-Ra St. Brown hauled in four balls on the drive, including a 2-yard score to cap the series. BILLS 27, LIONS 17
● 1:07 — The defense couldn’t keep the Lions in striking distance, immediately conceding another long touchdown drive that included four third-down conversions of 1, 2, 1 and 1 yard, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run for Allen on a designed boot. BILLS 34, LIONS 17
Fourth quarter
● 10:53 — Kickstarted by a pair of St. Brown grabs totaling 45 yards, the Lions then got bailed out by a pair of penalties in the red zone, setting up a 1-yard touchdown toss to LaPorta. BILLS 34, LIONS 24
● 2:53 — The Bills got another third-and-long conversion, from Allen to Coleman, to extend the drive, with Cook putting the finishing touches on the series with a 1-yard touchdown run. BILLS 41, LIONS 24
● 1:42 — Turning to the hurry-up, the Lions raced 68 yards in seven plays, with St. Brown adding a second touchdown from 27 yards out. The team’s ensuing onside kick attempt failed. BILLS 41, LIONS 31
Turnovers
● None
Key stats
● Goff completed 26 of 38 passes for 327 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
● Gibbs paced Detroit’s backfield, but was swarmed much of the day. He finished with 52 rushing yards, but averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. The back’s bigger impact came in the passing game, where he caught six balls for 61 yards and a touchdown.
● Not drawing his first target until the second half of the second quarter, St. Brown rallied to catch nine passes for 142 yards and two scores. LaPorta chipped in six receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown.
● Safety Chuck Clark was credited with a team-high 11 tackles, while Derrick Barnes and Aidan Hutchinson managed to sack Allen.
Notable
● Goff surpassed 40,000 passing yards during the contest, requiring the sixth-fewest games in NFL history to reach the milestone.
● Hutchinson’s sack in the first quarter gave him at least one in six straight games, marking the longest streak in franchise history.
Injuries
● Safety Avonte Maddox exited early in the second quarter after colliding with teammate Chuck Clark. He was initially listed as questionable to return with a foot injury before getting ruled out after the half.
Inactives
The Lions made the following players inactive before the contest: Defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein, Cornerbacks Keith Abney II and Ennis Rakestraw, guard Christian Mahogany, offensive tackle Blake Miller, linebacker Jimmy Rolder and defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo.
Mahogany (hip) and Miller (knee) were ruled out a day earlier. Abney takes a seat with the return of Christian Izien, who missed Week 1 with a groin injury.
For the Bills, star defensive tackle Ed Oliver was a surprise inactive after suffering a hip injury during pre-game warmups.
Next game
The Lions return home to host former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m.
Hard to see a path towards actually contending for a Super Bowl. Maybe sneaking into the playoffs before being fed into the wood chipper.
Good account Justin.
It is indeed mockery to suggest that the Lions have even an adequate defense to compete at a championship level in the NFL.
The Lions showed fight in the 2nd half but they just do not have the parts beyond Hutchinson and Campbell. And that Offensive Line was abysmal in Buffalo. Borom is awful.