Story by
Detroit Lions no match for Josh Allen and show cracks in 48-42 obliteration by Bills
- Story by
- Detroit Lions no match for Josh Allen and show cracks in 48-42 obliteration by Bills
If Sunday's game was a Super Bowl 2025 preview, the Detroit Lions have a lot of work to do.
Josh Allen threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 68 yards and two more scores in another MVP-caliber performance as the Buffalo Bills dominated the Lions defense at Ford Field, 48-42 .
Advertisement
The loss, the Lions ' first since Week 2, snapped an 11-game win streak and pushed the Lions into a virtual tie for first place in the NFC North and for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Lions (12-2) have the same record as the Philadelphia Eagles for best in the NFC , but hold the tiebreaker over the Eagles for the No. 1 seed with three games to play. They have a half-game lead on the Vikings in the NFC North Division, with Minnesota set to host the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
Allen ran for touchdowns of 1 and 4 yards on Buffalo's first two possessions and the Lions gave up their most points since a 48-45 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 2, 2022, when they were in the midst of a 1-6 start.
Since the middle of the 2022 season, the Lions have gone 32-9.
Advertisement
James Cook ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries for the Bills (11-3) to become the first player to top 100 yards rushing against the Lions since two Carolina Panthers topped 100 yards rushing in Week 16 of 2022. Ty Johnson , a former Lions draft pick, caught five passes out of the backfield for 114 yards.
ANALYSIS: Forget the score: Detroit Lions need to fix their offense — and quickly
Jared Goff was 38 of 59 for 494 yards and five touchdowns for the Lions, and Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 14 passes for 193 yards and one score.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) evades being tackled by Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch (32) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.
The Lions scored touchdowns sandwiching a Bills field goal to climb within 38-28, but then failed on an onside kick — which new rules state must be declared by the kicking team, can only occur in the fourth quarter and can only be done by the losing team — and Buffalo receiver Mack Hollins returned the ball 38 yards. Ray Davis caught a 5-yard touchdown on the next play.
Advertisement
The Lions scored a touchdown, then kicked deep, but the Bills drove into the red zone and kicked a field goal to go up 48-35. Jameson Williams caught a 3-yard score with 12 seconds left, but the Bills recovered the onside kick to end the threat.
Here are three thoughts from Sunday's game:
Josh Allen for MVP
Fans at Ford Field broke into an "M-V-P" chant when Goff rolled to his right to extend a play and threw a short touchdown pass to Tim Patrick for the Lions' first points Sunday, but as one of 50 MVP voters, I came away from the game pretty convinced Allen will be the one taking home the award this year.
Advertisement
Allen was 23 of 34 passing, accounted for four touchdowns and made a handful of jaw-dropping plays that probably only two quarterbacks — him and Patrick Mahomes — can make.
On at least three occasions, Allen scrambled around for more than 6 seconds before completing a pass for a big gain. He bought nearly 8 seconds on the Bills' first third-down conversion, when he scrambled to his right and directed Ty Johnson down a seam between three defenders for a 24-yard pass, he heaved a ball 60 yards downfield to Keon Coleman on another rollout with pressure in his face, and he ran for two first downs with the Bills backed up in their own territory in the third quarter.
Goff has had a great season and almost certainly will be on my ballot ; we vote for the top five, and if Goff wins the award, he'll be the first Lion to do so since Barry Sanders split the vote with Brett Favre in 1997. And there are other players having really good seasons like Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson .
But Allen is a unicorn, the reason the Bills are AFC East champs for the fifth straight year and he had an MVP-caliber day against one of the NFL's best teams.
Advertisement
TRENDING: Lions injury updates galore vs Bills
Stretch marks
The Bills mostly dominated Sunday's game. They punted once, held the Lions' vaunted ground game in check, didn't allow a sack and picked apart the middle of the Lions' banged-up defense. The Lions trailed by 21 points late in the third quarter and failed to win the turnover battle (minus-one) for the fourth straight week.
But I think it's a stretch to say the Lions aren't in the same class as the best team and best quarterback they've faced this year.
Yes, this was at home, and, no, it's not a good omen to get blown out on your own turf less than a month before the playoffs begin. But the Lions still have one of the best offenses in the NFL as evidenced by their two quick-strike touchdowns in the second half, and that will keep them in any game against any team in the postseason.
Advertisement
The worst part about Sunday's loss is that the Lions likely won't get any rest down the stretch. The Eagles (12-2) and Minnesota Vikings (11-2) are still hot on their heels, and the Lions likely need to win their final three games — against the Chicago Bears next week, the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17 on Monday Night Football and the Vikings at home in Week 18 — to secure the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
Lions' decimated defense
Detroit Lions defensive end Josh Paschal (93) pressures Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.
The Lions may finally have hit a critical mass when it comes to injuries on defense .
Playing without starters Aidan Hutchinson , Marcus Davenport , Derrick Barnes and Alex Anzalone , the Lions lost two more starters to injury Sunday in cornerback Carlton Davis (jaw) and defensive tackle Alim McNeill (knee) .
Advertisement
While the extent of the injuries was not immediately known, the Lions ruled both out quickly, never a good sign for their upcoming availability. The Lions also lost top gunner (and backup cornerback) Khalil Dorsey to a gruesome ankle injury .
Lions coach Dan Campbell said this week he expected his defense to be better and was going to put more on their plate against the Bills than they had in last week's win over the Green Bay Packers . But the defense was too shorthanded, relying on backup linebackers and with no meaningful pass rush, to slow Allen and the league's second-highest scoring offense.
To win the Super Bowl, the Lions almost certainly will have to beat Allen or another similar quarterback in New Orleans . There aren't any more Mason Rudolphs or Mac Joneses on their schedule, so they'll need their offense to carry them in the playoffs.
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram @davebirkett .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions no match for Josh Allen, show weakness in 48-42 loss to Bills
