The Buffalo Bills are coming off their first loss since early October, having dropped a game against the Rams on the road in Los Angeles. There’s no time to hang their heads, though, with a trip to Detroit on deck to face arguably the best team in all of football.
Squaring off with the Lions won’t be an easy task. Detroit is fighting to hang on to a one game lead in the NFC race for home field advantage, and playing in front of their home crowd certainly won’t hurt their chances. For Buffalo, it’s a huge game against a tough opponent that can capitalize on an area that they have struggled in all season in their run defense.
In last week’s game against the Rams, the defensive front got pushed around and blown off the ball. It’s a trend that has been concerning all season. While the defense has held opponents to only 10 rushing touchdowns, which is seventh-best in the league, the rest of their rush defense numbers don’t look great.
Buffalo ranks 14th in rushing yards per game allowed (123.1), 26th in rushing yards per play (4.7), they’ve given up the sixth-most runs of 10+ yards (49), and rank 27th in EPA per rush ( -0.12).
Now they get to go against the best running back duo in all of football in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
Not only are they good, Detroit prides itself on controlling the line of scrimmage. They run the ball the fifth-most of any team in the league, rank 8th in yards per rush (4.6), fourth in rushing yards per game (151.1), and are fourth in total rushing touchdowns with 22.
Fun thing about the total rushing touchdowns — the three teams ahead of them are the Eagles, the Bills, and the Commanders. The team right behind them is the Ravens. What do those four teams have in common? Quarterbacks that run the ball, a lot. Detroit has Jared Goff, who has exactly zero rushing touchdowns this season, and has only 12 rushing touchdowns in his nine year career. It’s all about Montgomery and Gibbs.
In essence, the Lions are the best at what the Bills are the worst at, which should be absolutely terrifying for Buffalo and Bills Mafia. If the defense can’t make some major adjustments up front, it could be a long day for the Bills.