buffalo bills – Lions Lowdown

Five reasons the Lions win streak was snapped in 48-42 loss to the Bills

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions’ 11-game win streak was snapped by a 48-42 Buffalo Bills win on Sunday. Touted as a possible Super Bowl preview, the game showed how much work the Lions (12-2) have to do.

It’s not like the season is over.

“I think that’s a danged good team, we’re a danged good team. They played really well and we didn’t, that’s why the game was lopsided for most of the game,’’ quarterback Jared Goff said. “They’re the class of the NFL we’d like to think we are too. They came out and played better than we did.’’

Coach Dan Campbell took the blame for Detroit’s first loss in 91 days.

“I just feel like we didn’t play at the same level as that team. Honestly, I put this on me, I just didn’t feel like I had them ready to go, not like we’ve been,’’ Campbell said. “You get away, maybe if you’re not quite all the way to a 10, but not against the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs or Green Bay Packers or Minnesota. It’s not going to be good enough and it wasn’t good enough today.’’

Goff would like to see the team learn from the loss and move on to win the final three regular season games — at Chicago, at San Francisco and home to the Vikings.

“We’ll be just fine. I’m sure there’ll be a ton of stuff written about the sky falling but, no, internally we’re good,’’ Goff said. “… It sucks to lose. We would’ve loved to win every game out all the way through the Super Bowl. Hopefully, we can look back on this one as a good learning for us, move on and use some of the stuff we learned in this game to help us win the next three.’’

Five reasons for the loss:

ONE: Bills quarterback Josh Allen is a handful – the Lions knew this before they took the field but still could not stop him. He threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns and did plenty of damage tucking the ball under his arm 11 times and running for 68 yards and two TDs. “He got us a few times. We knew, unless we were in certain coverages, we had to keep him hemmed in there and it was going to take a lot of discipline up front,’’ Campbell said. “Look, he poses a huge issue, he’s tough. We knew that going in, certainly we wanted to be able to handle it better and it was one of those days we couldn’t counter it on offense.’’

TWO: The defensive injuries seemed to have caught up with the Lions who have 13 defensemen on injured reserve. However, Dan Campbell said, “I don’t buy it. We can be better, we should’ve been better. We know how good they are but that team was more urgent than us overall.’’ And it got worse for the defense losing three players during the game. Defensive back Khalil Dorsey (ankle) is out for the season while Campbell suspects it will be the same for CB Carlton Davis III (jaw) and Alim McNeill (knee).

THREE: Jared Goff became the first player in NFL history to throw for 400-plus yards (494), 5-plus touchdowns (5) and zero interceptions in a loss. Not a great claim to fame. The offense stalled on first 2 possessions and all of a sudden the Bills were up 14-0. Detroit got within 10 late in game but the Bills always seemed to have an answer. “We wouldn’t have had this production had our quarterback not played as good as he did,’’ Campbell said. “He played top-notch. That’s asking a lot of any quarterback with 59 attempts that was big time.’’ He was 38 of 59 for 494 yards.

FOUR: For the second straight game, the run game was not as effective as it should be. “We only had 15 rushes, we never got our run game going which was going to be a point of emphasis, even out of those 15 carries, we could never get it going,’’ Campbell said. “That’s two weeks in a row it’s not good enough.’’ One reason is the way the game flowed, the Lions were playing from behind the whole way. Jahmyr Gibbs had just 13 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown while David Montgomery, who got a little banged up, had just 4. Gibbs also had 83 receiving yards and a touchdown while Montgomery had 31. The Lions had 48 rushing yards while the Bills had 197.

FIVE: Dan Campbell called an onside kick in the fourth quarter which was returned 37 yards to the Detroit 5-yard line, with a touchdown scored on the next play that gave the Bills the 45-28 lead early in the fourth quarter. “I thought we’d get the possession, I thought we’d get that ball. It was one of (Jake) Bates’ best kicks I’ve seen him have,’’ Campbell said. “Obviously sitting here hindsight, them taking it to the 3-yard line, yeah I wish I wouldn’t have done that, but it is what it is.’’

UP NEXT: Lions (12-2) at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 22. The Bears (4-9) play at the Vikings (11-2) on Monday night.

Super Bowl preview? Five things to watch as Lions welcome Bills

In what could be a Super Bowl preview, the Detroit Lions (12-1) host the Buffalo Bills (10-3) at Ford Field on Sunday.

It’s a good angle but not one that the Lions are emphasizing.

“The head coach said it best early this week, we have earned a spot in the tournament based on what we’ve done thus far. We still need to win the division, we still want to get the No. 1 seed, and everything will play out from there. But that’s all way too far out in the future right now,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said.

While the Bills, who lead the AFC East, are coming off a loss to the Rams, the Lions have won 11 straight despite having 13 defensive players on injured reserve.

No excuses, the Lions just march forward and keep winning.

“This whole year has felt like he’s preparing this club for these type of moments. Not just these type of moments but moments like fourth-and-1 where we were all excited when it happened and when it went down because we understand what we’ve been prepared to do,’’ Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said.

“Coaches, players, administration, everybody we’re on the same page so we understand what’s going on. We’re happy to be in these moments and our guys understand the reason this is a big game is because they’re in it. That’s one big part – it wouldn’t be a big football game if we weren’t playing at a certain level,’ he added.

Coach Dan Campbell said the Lions need to be playing their best football.

“You don’t know what it’s going to take to beat the team that you’re getting ready to play. You don’t know what that’s going to be. We know that this is a good football team, I don’t know what it’s going to take. We know that Green Bay is a damn good team. We did just enough, but you don’t know what it’s going to take with the rest of these teams down the line and you don’t know exactly who’s going to be in, you don’t know – and so are you willing to say that it’s good enough right now? I’m not,’’ Campbell said. “I don’t want to take that chance, so we have to clean some things up and we will.”

Five things to watch:

ONE: The Lions running game was not up to standard in the win over Green Bay. Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs had one of their less productive games but it is not all on them. “You’re going to get four or five opportunities in a game where everything is blocked correctly – everything the perimeter, center, the interior – those have to be explosives. I’m not saying that happened this week but we have got to continue to make sure it happens,’’ running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said. “Then when there’s a 4-yard run you have to be able to get 5.’’

TWO: The defensive line welcomes back four who have been injured which will help in pressuring quarterback Josh Allen and stopping running back James Cook. Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal and D.J. Reader are all a go for Sunday. “We’re going to put a lot on our defense this week. Our defense and special teams are going to play a critical factor in this game,’’ Campbell said. “So, yeah, it’s critical, but it’s going to take all three phases here and I expect our defense to play well.”

THREE: Lions secondary faces challenge in Josh Allen who has completed 64.1 percent of his passes and thrown just five interceptions against 23 touchdowns. Allen’s mobility is also something to watch. “I think they have an offense to where, man, they are distributing the ball to a number of different people, and I know they’re going to get some people back this week who are a huge part of their offense, so that’s going to be something we have to be ready for, also,’’ Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “But, man, this quarterback, he’s an MVP-caliber guy, there’s no doubt about that, and we know that. But we’re going to go out there and do everything we can to stop what he’s trying to do. It’s going to be a tough challenge and we know it.”

FOUR: Quarterback Jared Goff has kept the offense running smoothly so far and needs to keep going against the Billls. Goff and Ben Johnson work closely each week to help develop the game plan. “The things that he’s most comfortable with usually work on game days, so we want to give him a lot of liberty early in the week, ‘Hey, I think we can get a post if we do this or that.’ And we’ll try to find a way to make that an alert for him if we can call it against the right coverage,’’ Johnson said. “So, it’s just, call it an hour every day over the course of the week. We’ve got a good process right now from Monday to Sunday that we just keep pressing the reset button every week. We can’t get tired of it. But he’s doing a great job of that.”

FIVE: Lions must continue success on third downs.They’re ranked fourth best in the NFL while the Bills third down defense is near the bottom at 25th. In the win over the Packers, Detroit was four of five on fourth downs, they may be just as aggressive on Sunday while waiting for some key defensemen to heal up and get back in the game.

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: LB Trevor Nowaske (concussion) is out. All others, who are not on injured reserve, are cleared.

BILLS INJURY UPDATE:CB Rasul Douglas is out. OL Tylan Grable, S Damar Hamlin, TE Dalton Kincaid, TE Quintin MOrris, S Taylor Rapp, DE Dawuane Smoot, LB Baylon Spector and DE Casey Toohill are questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 35, Bills 31

Lions’ last-second loss to Bills snaps win streak but doesn’t diminish confidence

DETROIT — While there was no hiding the disappointment and frustration of being within seconds of a win against one of the NFL’s elite teams, the Lions learned a little about themselves on Thursday.

When it was over the Lions lost 28-25 to the Buffalo Bills in the annual Thanksgiving game at Ford Field before 66,000-plus fans. It was the second straight win at Ford Field for the Bills (8-3) whose game against the Browns on Sunday was moved due to a snowstorm.

The Lions had turned a corner with three straight wins – two of them on the road. The loss on Thursday does not impact their faith in themselves. This is a different team than it was before those wins.

“I said it before the game, ‘This isn’t the (effing) same old Lions anymore.’ We’re going to go out there and we’re going to get our respect. We’re going to earn that respect,’’ left tackle Taylor Decker said. “We came up short today. Week in and week out we know we’re going to go out there and bring it. We’re not going to get down, we’re going to keep fighting. … I think we’re still trending up, I really do.’’

Coach Dan Campbell feels the same way. “I think just for (the team) to know that once again when you play a team like this it doesn’t always have to be perfect but when you’re playing that caliber of team the margin for error is very minute,’’ the coach said.

“I also want them to understand it should sting that we lost that game because we had our opportunities.That doesn’t mean we’ve taken a step back either. I still felt growth today. I feel like we’re continuing to take a step, we are fighting some things out. Yeah, there are still mistakes but I don’t feel like this was a step back, I still feel like we’re moving forward. … This can be a positive for us, not a negative,’’ he added.

Five keys to the game:

1. With 32 seconds left in the game, and the Lions down 25-22, Jared Goff’s pass to D.J. Chark on third-and-1 from Buffalo’s 33 was incomplete.”I wish I had thrown a different ball. I thought the play-call was great and (I) had some options what to do there, and yeah, if you had to do it again, do you do something differently? I don’t know, maybe, but if I throw a better ball, it might not matter,’’ Goiff said.. “But yeah, unfortunately, that’s going to be the play that gets focused on, but there’s a lot of plays that could have gone either way today as well.’’

2. Then instead of going for it on fourth-and-1, Michael Badgley kicked a 51-yard field goal to tie it. That left 23 seconds for the Bills to go downfield and score. Turns out they only needed 21. Josh Allen moved the Bills downfield to get in field goal range for Tyler Bass who kicked the game-winning 45-yard field goal. Campbell said he was trying to balance everything and wouldn’t change his calls. The Lions converted three fourth downs early in the game, one for a touchdown.

3. Goff was pressured all game with two backup guards starting — Dan Skipper at left guard and Kayode Awosika at right guard. Still Goff found success especially getting the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown who had nine catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Goff was 23 of 27 for 240 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

4. Bills quarterback Josh Allen gave the defense fits with his mobility and all-around strong play. “That quarterback is the real deal, he’s a warrior, he’s clutch and homemade a lot of significant plays,’’ Campbell said. Allen completed 24 of 42 passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns, He was also intercepted by Alex Anzalone. Allen also was the Bills’ leading rusher with 10 carries for 78 yards and a rushing touchdown. He gave credit to the Lions. “That’s a good team playing very well and playing good football right now, and they’re coached extremely well. So credit to them for such a good game plan,’’ Allen said.”But again, guys just continuing to grind. Guys going down, stepping up, just finding a way. Proud of our guys for doing that.’’

5. While kicker Michael Badgley came through with a 51-yard field goal to tie the game with 23 seconds left, he missed a 29-yarder wide left early in the game. The loss isn’t all on him but certainly the Lions need everyone to play nearly perfectly against a team like the Bills – or any NFL team for that matter.

BONUS: Rookie linebacker James Houston, a sixth-round pick, made a statement when he sacked Allen twice. It was his first NFL game experience. His mom and dad were able to make it to Detroit for the game and as a bonus it was his mom’s birthday .”I was expecting to kind of spare a little bit and go in on third downs and kind of help out a little bit,’’ Houston said. “With (LB Julian Okwara) JO going out I went in a little bit more. It’s just, opportunity meets preparation and that breeds success.”

(Up next: Jacksonville Jaguars at Lions, 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4)