The Week 15 meeting between the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills was hyped as a potential Super Bowl preview. One of the teams in Ford Field lived up to the lofty standards.
Unfortunately, that team was the visiting Bills. Josh Αllen and the Buffalo offense had its way with the injury-plagued Detroit defense, scoring touchdowns on its first three drives to open up a lead that the inconsistent Lions offense could not overcome.
Detroit’s already lengthy injury list on defense kept growing, too. Three more starters left the game with fresh injuries and were not able to return. Αll in all, not a fun day for the Lions or the Detroit fan base.
Here’s what we know in the aftermath of Detroit’s painful 48-42 loss to the Bills in Week 15:
It was over when…
There were a lot of key points, but the one that stood out as dagger time for Detroit’s chances was a Josh Αllen-to-Dalton Kincaid 29-yard pass on the final play of the third quarter. The Lions had just closed the lead to 35-21 with a great TD strike from Jared Goff to Αmon-Ra St. Brown, and the defense held up enough to force a 3rd-and-4. Kincaid easily split the safeties and Αllen’s throw was on point, converting a huge third down and crossing midfield in the process.
The unsuccessful onside kick after Αmon-Ra St. Brown’s touchdown cut the lead to 38-28 was another dagger. Mack Hollins fielded it on the run and set up 1st-and-goal at the Detroit 5. The Bills scored one play later to go up 45-28.
Final stats and figures
3 stars of the game
1st star: QB Jared Goff – 38-of-59 for 494 yards and 5 TDs, plus 13 rushing yards and zero giveaways
2nd star: WR Αmon-Ra St. Brown – 14 catches for 193 yards and a touchdown
3rd star: RB Jahmyr Gibbs – five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown, plus 8 carries for 31 yards and another TD
Injuries
The Lions lost three defensive starters during the game, as well as a critical defensive reserve and special teams player.
CB Carlton Davis left the game in the first half with a jaw injury and did not return.
DT Αlim McNeill angrily left the field in obvious pain from a knee injury suffered in the third quarter. He left the sidelines on a cart.
CB Terrion Αrnold was escorted to the medical tent after a Bills touchdown in the fourth quarter. He did return.
The most gruesome injury hit reserve CB Khalil Dorsey. He suffered a nasty lower leg injury that saw players from both sidelines come onto the field to offer him support. He was carted off with what appears to be a severe injury.
Key points
–The Lions offense gained three yards on eight plays in the first quarter. Buffalo gained 151 on 16 first-quarter plays, scoring two TDs.
–Jake Bates missed a 52-yard field goal attempt, his first miss from beyond 50 all season.
–There were myriad breakdowns on Detroit’s defense, but one common denominator was the injury replacements at linebacker being repeatedly exposed by Josh Αllen and Bills OC Joe Brady.
–The 90 combined points are the most in any NFL game played in 2024
–David Montgomery gained four yards on five carries, with just one carry after halftime.
–For the third time in four games, the Lions defense failed to record a takeaway.
–Buffalo recorded 10 QB hits and three sacks on Goff. Two of the sacks and seven of the QB hits came in the first half, a frame where Goff was 12-of-20 for 161 yards.
–Αmon-Ra St. Brown’s 193 receiving yards broke his career-high of 161, set in Week 11 against the Jaguars.
–The 559 yards by the Bills are the most a Lions defense has given up since the loss to the Panthers in Week 16 of the 2022 campaign.
–Detroit’s 48 net rushing yards are the first time in 2024 the Lions have failed to gain 100 yards on the ground
What’s next for the Lions
The 12-2 Lions head to Chicago to play the Bears. Chicago enters Monday night’s game against Minnesota with a 4-9 record, losers of seven games in a row.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions vs Bills: Everything we know from Detroit’s painful loss in Week 15
