FIRST QUARTER — BILLS 14, LIONS 0
Give me the introductions: For every primetime game, I want to see the player introductions as they come onto the field. The hell with another shot of Al Michaels or Cris Collinsworth. Show me the players, the crowd and the atmosphere, especially for the first game in a brand-new stadium.
The bison: I wasn’t exactly thrilled seeing an actual bison sitting in a cage before the game. I get what they were going for, but I don’t need that as part of the spectacle.
How the hell did Ed Oliver get hurt?: Oliver hurts his hip during warmups and is ruled out before the game even starts. He wasn’t even on the injury report. Not exactly how you want to start the night.
Welcome to the new stadium: Buffalo’s opening drive: 10 plays, 81 yards, 5:51 and a touchdown. Josh Allen ran four times for 40 yards, James Cook had 23 yards on three carries, and Buffalo piled up 63 rushing yards on the drive.
Greg freaking Rousseau: What a quarter. Rousseau had two sacks, including a strip-sack, and helped make Detroit’s first two possessions an absolute mess.
There’s the deep ball: Allen hit Dalton Kincaid for 25 yards and then Josh Palmer for a 43-yard touchdown. Buffalo ran all over Detroit on the first TD drive and then showed it could attack downfield on the second.
169-10: That was the yardage difference after one quarter. Buffalo ran 21 plays to Detroit’s seven, averaged 8.0 yards per play to Detroit’s 1.4 and held the ball for 10:15. Complete domination.
STOCK UP 📈
Greg Rousseau: Two sacks, including a strip-sack. He was basically living in Detroit’s backfield.
Josh Allen: 97 passing yards, 40 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. Pretty good way to introduce yourself to the new stadium.
Explosive plays: Kincaid for 25 and Palmer for 43. More of this, please.
STOCK DOWN 📉
Ed Oliver’s hip: Getting ruled out after hurting yourself during warmups when you weren’t even on the injury report is just brutal.
The bison cage: I understand the idea. Still didn’t love seeing it.
Detroit’s offense: Seven plays. Ten yards. Two Goff fumbles that Detroit was lucky enough to recover. That’s about as ugly of a quarter as you can have.
SECOND QUARTER — BILLS 27, LIONS 10
Three possessions, three touchdowns: The Bills opened the second quarter exactly where they left off. Their first three possessions ended in touchdowns, and Josh Allen had three total touchdowns before we were even four minutes into the quarter. Buffalo wasn’t just moving the ball, they were basically doing whatever the hell they wanted.
More red sleeves: Dee Alford rocking the red sleeves with the Bills uniform is a great look. We need more of that. I’m always in favor of a little more color instead of everybody looking exactly the same.
Detroit finally wakes up: Give the Lions credit, because after gaining only 10 yards in the entire first quarter, they went 80 yards on one drive and finally looked like the offense everyone expected to see. Jared Goff hit Jahmyr Gibbs for the touchdown and, for the first time all night, Buffalo’s defense actually looked uncomfortable.
James Cook is cooking: Detroit scores and Buffalo basically responds by handing the ball to James Cook and watching him destroy people. On one drive Cook had runs of 20, 35 and 7 yards — 62 yards on THREE carries. By halftime he had 101 yards on only 11 carries. That’s 9.2 yards per carry. Maybe keep doing that.
Please be OK, DJ Moore: Moore went down trying to make a catch in the end zone, grabbed at his shoulder and eventually went to the locker room. He was listed as questionable to return. My immediate Twitter-doctor fear was collarbone, but that was purely me watching it from my couch, so hopefully I’m completely wrong. This is also where I remind everyone that I did NOT like seeing an actual bison in a cage before the game. Let Bruce roam free! You cannot cage a bison before the first game in a new stadium and then expect the football gods not to notice. FREE BRUCE.
And of course Bass misses it: Tyler Bass misses the extra point after the Kincaid touchdown. Blah. Nothing else really needs to be said. You’re rolling offensively, you put another touchdown on the board, and then you leave a point sitting there. Blah.
Give me this aggressiveness: This might have been my favorite little thing of the quarter. Detroit gets the ball with 1:58 left and Buffalo starts using timeouts because Joe Brady wants the damn ball back. YES. More of this. The Bills were basically saying, no, you’re not just bleeding this thing to halftime, give Josh Allen another shot. It didn’t work out, but I love the mentality. Don’t sit on a lead. Go get more.
Hey! It’s the punter!: Buffalo finally punted. I almost forgot we had one. At this rate the Bills punter should be paid by the punt. Congratulations on finally getting off the sideline and earning tonight’s paycheck.
Kelvin Sheppard might want another trade: If this keeps up, Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard may ask to be traded for Jerry Hughes again. Buffalo traded Sheppard to Indianapolis for Hughes back in 2013, and after watching his defense give up 299 yards in one half tonight, he may be ready to run the deal back himself.
Prime’s music department gets it: I really like the music outros going to commercial during these Prime games. Give me all the 90s music you’ve got. Somewhere I’m sure Pat Moran is dancing while shoving fingers or wings into his mouth. This is what primetime football should sound like.
The Terry Pegula Cam: I counted at least three cutaway shots of Terry Pegula writing something down. What the hell is he writing? How much this grass is costing him? Bible verses? At this point I need Prime to zoom in on the notebook.
And what’s with the Bible verses?: Why are we getting Bible verses before extra points? I’m not even complaining as much as I’m genuinely confused by the production choice. Is this going to be a thing all night?
Halftime beer: Sloop Brewing Juicer Bomb Double NEIPA. Bills up 17, James Cook already over 100 yards and Josh Allen has four total touchdowns. Seems like an appropriate time for a Double NEIPA.
📈 STOCK UP
James Cook — 11 carries, 101 yards. That’s 9.2 yards per carry, and he had 62 rushing yards on three carries on one touchdown drive.
Josh Allen — 12-of-19, 164 yards, three passing touchdowns, no interceptions, plus 40 rushing yards and another touchdown. Four total TDs in one half.
Dalton Kincaid — Five catches, 65 yards and a touchdown. He’s been involved from the beginning and continues to look like a major piece of this offense.
Greg Rousseau / pass rush — Rousseau’s first-quarter destruction set the tone, with two sacks and the strip-sack of Goff. I still want the complete QB-hit and pressure totals when they’re available because Goff has spent a lot of this half dealing with bodies around him.
Joe Brady’s aggression — Using the timeouts before halftime because he wanted another possession. It didn’t produce points, but I want that mentality.
📉 STOCK DOWN
DJ Moore’s shoulder — Questionable to return after going to the locker room. Please be OK.
Tyler Bass — Missed extra point. Blah.
Bruce’s cage — FREE BRUCE.
Detroit’s defense — Buffalo put up 299 yards on 36 plays, an absurd 8.3 yards per play, in the first half.
THIRD QUARTER — BILLS 34, LIONS 17
Well, Detroit officially made this a football game: Remember when the Bills had 159 yards and the Lions had minus-5? That feels like about three days ago. Detroit came out of halftime, drove for a touchdown and suddenly it was 27-17. From that ridiculous 159 to -5 point until Detroit’s touchdown, the Lions had outgained Buffalo 234-140. That first quarter was complete domination, but Detroit eventually remembered it was allowed to play offense too.
Amon-Ra finally showed up: After Buffalo basically erased him early, Amon-Ra St. Brown started finding room and finished Detroit’s opening drive of the half with the touchdown. Jared Goff was suddenly up to 198 yards and two touchdowns, and Buffalo’s defense wasn’t getting nearly the same pressure it was getting when Greg Rousseau was living in Detroit’s backfield in the first quarter.
And then Josh Allen said enough of this shit: Detroit cuts the lead to 10 and Buffalo answers with a 73-yard touchdown drive. Allen ran for 26 yards on the possession, Kincaid had the huge 23-yard catch to get Buffalo inside the 10, and Allen finished it himself. That’s exactly the response you want when a game that looked like a blowout suddenly starts getting uncomfortable.
Five fucking touchdowns: Allen now has three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns tonight. That’s five total touchdowns through three quarters, and this is the first regular-season game in the new stadium. Apparently he wanted to make sure somebody saved the game ball.
And five puts Allen in some ridiculous company: This is now Allen’s seventh career game with at least five total touchdowns, tying him for sixth-most by a quarterback in NFL history. The names he’s tied with? Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Cam Newton and Dan Marino.
📈 STOCK UP
Josh Allen: Five total touchdowns. 16-of-24 for 204 yards and three TDs, plus 66 rushing yards and two more TDs. Not much else needs to be said.
Dalton Kincaid: Up to six catches for 88 yards and a touchdown, including that huge 23-yarder on Buffalo’s response drive. He’s been involved all night.
James Cook: 14 carries, 108 yards. Still averaging 7.7 yards per carry even after Detroit started settling down defensively.
Buffalo’s answer: This might be my biggest stock-up of the quarter. Detroit went 80 yards for a TD before halftime, kicked the field goal, then came out and scored another touchdown. It was 27-17 and starting to feel uncomfortable. Buffalo answered with seven instead of letting this turn into a one-score game.
📉 STOCK DOWN
The defense after the ridiculous start: Detroit had minus-5 yards at one point in the first quarter. By midway through the third, it had 229. The Lions deserve credit for adjusting, but Buffalo stopped wrecking drives the way it did early.
James Cook’s workload: Not Cook himself — he’s been fantastic. I’m talking about how much Buffalo is leaning on him without getting Ray Davis involved. Give the guy a breather.
FOURTH QUARTER — Bills 41, Lions 31
I can’t fucking win with Benford: I praised Christian Benford for a great breakup in the end zone and, naturally, later on the same drive he gets called for pass interference. I should stop complimenting guys before the drive is over.
How did Allen get that ball out?: Aidan Hutchinson was basically wearing Josh Allen and Allen still managed to get the football away. One of those plays that looks like nothing in the box score but reminds you how ridiculous Allen can be.
Ugh. Punt No. 2: There went my beautiful one-punt-game stat. Buffalo punted twice tonight, which still tells you how efficiently this offense moved the football.
THERE’S THE STOP: This was the defensive possession I cared about. Detroit had momentum, Buffalo was on its heels, and the Bills forced a three-and-out. If we’re going to spend the season comparing Sean McDermott’s defense to Jim Leonhard’s, those are the situations I want to watch. When you’re on the ropes, can you stop the momentum?
Cook puts it away: James Cook ripped off 22 yards and then punched it in from the 1. He finishes with 135 yards on 21 carries, and Buffalo finally had its knockout punch.
Apparently Shakir is already 18th: Khalil Shakir moved into 18th place in Bills history in career receptions tonight, which immediately made me wonder if I could name the 17 guys ahead of him. I’m not confident I could.
17+ Buffalo had 17 offensive plays of 10+ yards against Detroit.
📈 STOCK UP
James Cook
The offense answering every Detroit push
That crucial defensive three-and-out
📉 STOCK DOWN
The second-half defense overall
My Christian Benford commentary timing
The approximately 7,000 Terry Pegula camera shots
FINAL WORD
The word for this offense tonight is balance, and I don’t just mean run versus pass. I mean the Bills looked like they could beat Detroit however the hell they wanted.
Want Josh Allen throwing it? Fine. He gives you 248 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Want James Cook? He goes for 135 yards on 21 carries. Want Allen running? He adds 69 yards and two touchdowns. Want explosive plays? Buffalo had them all night. Want death by paper cuts? They could do that too.
That’s what impressed me. There wasn’t one thing Detroit could take away and suddenly Buffalo was screwed. They could run it, throw underneath, go downfield, use Allen’s legs or just hand it to Cook and let him wreck people. Even after DJ Moore went out, the offense kept buzzing.
Buffalo finished with 446 yards, 41 points, zero turnovers and only two punts. Allen accounted for five touchdowns, Cook ran for 135 and Dalton Kincaid nearly reached 100 receiving yards. It was efficient, explosive and methodical at the same time.
The defense? That’s where the questions are going to be.
They started unbelievably well, with Detroit basically unable to move the football and Greg Rousseau living around Jared Goff. Then Goff finished with 327 yards and four touchdowns, Amon-Ra St. Brown had 142 yards and two touchdowns, and Detroit scored 31.
But I keep going back to that fourth-quarter three-and-out. Detroit had momentum, Buffalo’s defense was on the ropes, and that’s exactly the situation I’m watching when we spend this season comparing Sean McDermott’s defense to Jim Leonhard’s. Can you get the stop when you absolutely fucking need one?
Tonight, they did.
The Bills are 2-0, they’ve scored 77 points in five days, and right now the most encouraging thing isn’t that the offense has one dominant identity.
It’s that it might not need one.
FOUR NUMBERS I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT
TWO PUNTS
That’s it. Buffalo scored 41 points, produced 446 yards and punted twice. They scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, and by the time the second punt arrived in the fourth quarter, the offense had already done more than enough.
JAMES COOK — 135 YARDS
Cook finishes with 135 yards on 21 carries, 6.4 yards per carry and a touchdown. He had 101 yards by halftime and Buffalo could basically go back to him whenever it wanted something easy.
SIX SACKS THROUGH TWO GAMES
Buffalo had three sacks of C.J. Stroud in Week 1 and got Jared Goff three more times tonight. That’s six sacks through two games. Tonight’s pass rush also did it without Ed Oliver, while Rousseau had two sacks in the first half.
GOFF AND ST. BROWN VS. BUFFALO IS RIDICULOUS
Jared Goff entered tonight 0-3 against Buffalo despite throwing for 1,055 yards and nine touchdowns in those games.
Add tonight’s 327 yards and four touchdowns and he’s now thrown for 1,382 yards and 13 touchdowns in four games against Buffalo since 2020.
His record?
0-4.
Amon-Ra St. Brown entered tonight with 23 catches for 315 yards and two touchdowns in two career games against Buffalo.
Then he went for nine catches, 142 yards and two touchdowns tonight.
That’s 32 catches, 457 yards and four touchdowns in three games against Buffalo — an average of 10.7 catches and 152.3 yards per game.
Detroit’s record in those games?
0-3.
Apparently the formula for Goff and St. Brown against Buffalo is to put up completely stupid numbers and lose anyway.
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