THE Buffalo Bills won the battle between two of the NFL’s best with a 48-42 victory over the Detroit Lions. The win gets the Bills back in the win column and ends the Lions’ 11-game winning streak.
Once again, the Bills got off to an electric start. Buffalo scored on its first three offensive drives. Josh Allen scored two rushing touchdowns. James Cook followed with a short touchdown run on their third offensive series.
The only negative aspect of the first half was Tyler Bass’ short miss at the end of the half.
Buffalo finished the half 21-14.
The Bills continued their momentum in the third quarter. James Cook ran for 41 yards to give Buffalo a two-touchdown lead again.
Buffalo’s defense would make the next big play of the game. Christian Benford forced a fumble from Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Buffalo would respond with another touchdown. This time, Khalil Shakir received a short shovel pass from Allen for a three-yard touchdown. The Bills lead 35-14 at the end of the third quarter.
Detroit has recovered. Jared Good made a perfect throw to St. Brown. The pass went from Terrel Bernard’s fingertips and into the arms of the Lions. St. Brown outran the Bills secondary and cut the lead to 35-21.
The Bills expanded their lead to 17 with a Tyler Bass field goal, atoning for his bad miss.
The Lions continued to fight, this time launching a fast two-minute drive culminating in a Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown run.
Detroit stayed true to its aggressive nature, calling for an onside kick. Mack Hollins recovered the kick and rumbled to the Lions’ five-yard line. On the next offensive play, Allen found Ray Davis for the score. Buffalo led 45-28 with just under 12 minutes to play.
Detroit responded with an 11-play drive lasting just under four minutes. Gibbs scored his second touchdown of the game, this time entering the end zone from a yard out.
The Bills ran out of time for a while, taking their time over a 10-play series. Buffalo settled for a field goal to go up 48-35.
Detroit made things interesting by scoring with 12 seconds left in the game. Goff found Jameson Williams in the back of the end zone to bring the game back to one score.
Taron Johnson recovered the final onside kick to seal the game for Buffalo.
Score Summary
First trimester
BUF 7, DET 0: Josh Allen 1-yard touchdown run. Tyler Bass PAT. (10:56)
BUF 14, DET 0: Josh Allen 4-yard touchdown run. Tyler Bass PAT. (2:01)
Second trimester
BUF 14, DET 7: Tim Patrick’s 12-yard touchdown reception from Jared Goff. Jake Bates PAT. (13:36)
BUF 21, DET 7; James Cook, 6-yard touchdown run. Tyler Bass PAT. (8:15 a.m.)
BUF 21, DET 14: Dan Skipper’s 9-yard touchdown reception from Jared Goff. Jake Bates PAT. (3:01)
Third trimester
BUF 28, DET 14: James Cook hit by a 41-yard run. Tyler Bass PAT. (13:36)
BUF 35, DET 14: Khalil Shakir 3-yard touchdown reception from Josh. Allen. Tyler Bass PAT. (3:31)
BUF 35, DET 21: Amon-Ra St. Brown 66-yard touchdown reception from Jared Goff. Jake Bates PAT. (1:41)
Fourth trimester:
BUF 38, DET 21: Tyler Bass 50-yard field goal. (14:02)
BUF 38, DET 28: 12-yard touchdown reception from Jahmyr Gibbs. Jake Bates PAT. (12:00 p.m.)
BUF 45, DET 28: 5-yard touchdown reception from Ray Davis. Tyler Bass PAT. (11:51)
BUF 45, DET 35: Jahmyr Gibbs 1-yard touchdown run. Jake Bates PAT. (8:02)
BUF 48, DET 35: Tyler Bass 41-yard field goal. (2:03)
BUF 48, DET 42: Jameson Williams 3-yard touchdown reception by Jared Goff. Jake Bates PAT (0:12)
Running backs
Buffalo’s coaching staff saw matchup strength with their running backs, as the unit was heavily involved in multiple aspects of the game.
Interestingly enough, third baseman Ty Johnson saw the most action early in the game. Johnson did his damage in the passing game, catching several long passes out of the backfield. The veteran would finish the game as Buffalo’s leading receiver, catching five passes for 114 receiving yards.
James Cook ran through the Lions defense, scoring two rushing touchdowns. He had a thrilling 41-yard touchdown run to open the third quarter scoring. Cook led the Bills with 105 rushing yards on 14 carries.
Ray Davis found the end zone on a short pass from Josh Allen. Davis ran seven times for 15 yards. He added two receptions for 14 yards and the touchdown score.
MVP Registration
Josh Allen had another outstanding afternoon. Allen accounted for 430 total yards. Allen rushed 11 times for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Through the air, Allen was dynamic and efficient, going 23 of 34 for 362 passing yards and two touchdown passes. As we have become accustomed to, Allen extended plays and allowed receivers to find space in the Detroit secondary. Allen didn’t take a sack for the second straight week.
By the numbers
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Buffalo’s third-down efficiency was 50 percent. Coming into the game, Detroit had the #1 third-down defense, allowing only 31% of third-down conversions.
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Josh Allen had 430 yards and four touchdowns.
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Allen’s 362 passing yards was a season high.
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Ty Johnson set a career high with 114 receiving yards.
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Nine different receivers caught Allen’s passes.
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James Cook rushed for over 100 yards for the third time this season.
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Buffalo’s defense allowed just 48 rushing yards to the Lions.
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The Bills defense allowed 473 net passing yards.
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Terrel Bernard, Greg Rousseau and Christian Benford recorded sacks.
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The offenses combined for a total of 1,080 yards.
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Both teams were perfect on all of their fourth down attempts.
What’s next?
Buffalo returns to the 1 p.m. kickoff time for the first time in over a month. The New England Patriots will travel to Highmark Stadium next Sunday for an AFC East clash. The Patriots (3-11) are in free fall, sitting in the basement of the AFC East.
This article was originally published on Bills Wire: Instant Analysis: Bills win heavyweight battle against Lions
