ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills delighted the home crowd with a 41-31 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday in the debut of their new Highmark Stadium.
The Bills celebrated the opening of their new stadium with everything from Hall of Famer Bruce Smith to a performance by the band, and then the fireworks really started. Josh Allen scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and the Bills jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back.
Allen scored five touchdowns in the game, marking his fourth career game with at least three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Kordell Stewart did it twice and is the only player in NFL history to play in such games multiple times.
While Allen picked on the Lions’ injury-riddled secondary — a defensive miscue left Joshua Palmer open for a 43-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter — James Cook III burst through the Lions defense for 135 yards, including 101 yards and a touchdown in the first half. This all leads to some lopsided statistics that will no doubt be noticed by future opponents.
The Bills suffered 11 first downs in the first season, their most since Week 9 of 2020 against the Seattle Seahawks. The emphasis on vertical offense that the Bills established when they beat the Houston Texans early in the season continues. In the first half, Allen went 3-for-5 for 84 yards and two touchdowns on air passes of at least 15 yards. The biggest problem for the Bills offense was the absence of receiver DJ Moore in the second quarter due to a shoulder injury.
Here are the biggest things for both teams on Thursday night:
What to think about the QB’s performance: Every time the Lions blitzed, Allen paid the price for the Lions defense. In the first half, the Lions completed 11 blitzes in 23 retracements. Allen was 7 of 10 for 98 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 sack. Allen only had one game last season with multiple touchdowns against the blitz.
most surprising performance: Sophomore defensive tackle Deone Walker was forced into a larger role and he responded when defensive tackle Ed Oliver suffered a last-minute hip injury during pregame warmups. He forced five of the Bills’ eight quarterback pressures in the first half, and ended up with seven total pressures — six out of 200 pass rush snaps last season. Quarterback Jared Goff went 2-for-3 for 25 yards and two sacks. Walker also had three hits/defended passes.
Just do some statistics and you’ll know: Cook, who had 13 carries for 57 yards in Week 1, had rushed for 83 yards before the first contact of the first half against the Lions — more than the Lions had in the first half (57 yards). He had 104 rushing yards before first contact, his third career game with 100 or more yards.——Judy Bautista
Next game: vs. Los Angeles Chargers (September 27, 1 p.m. ET)
It was a humbling experience for the Lions. With Detroit trailing 27-10 at halftime, Allen threw for three touchdowns and ran for another touchdown when the defense couldn’t stop it.
But the Lions showed energy in the second half, with WR Amon-Ra St. Brown racking up 142 yards on nine catches and two touchdowns, and scored a 2-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter to close the gap to 10 points.
Coach Dan Campbell was so emotional entering the locker room that he couldn’t control his emotions on live television, saying “this little bastard is killing us.” Detroit is without two starting offensive linemen, Christian Mahogany (hip) and Blake Miller (knee), who were both ruled out before the game and the Lions are hopeful they can return in Week 3.
What to think about the QB’s performance: It was a disastrous start for the offense, as Jared Goff was sacked twice in the first quarter and allowed just 2 passing yards. But as the game progressed, Goff helped stabilize the team, shooting 26 of 38, passing for 327 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also reached 40,000 career passing yards in 153 games, the sixth-fewest passing yards required by a quarterback to reach that benchmark in NFL history. The Lions are still figuring things out under first-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing while trying to get healthy, but they have allowed 62 points in their first two games.
Most surprising performance: WR Jameson Williams lacked involvement. After a strong training camp, Williams seemed poised for a breakout season as a WR2, but got off to a slow start. He was targeted just four times, including two catches for 33 yards in Buffalo. In Week 1, Williams had four receptions for 45 yards and a pass breakup despite nine targets.
Trends to watch: Detroit’s defense has given up at least 30 points in back-to-back games. The secondary continues to struggle against Allen and the Bills offense. It marked the first time since 2021 that Detroit has given up 30 points in the first two games of a season, the first in the Campbell era for Detroit. The Lions have allowed 30 or more points in five of their past eight regular-season games. ——Eric Woodyard
Next game: vs. New York Jets (Sept. 27, 1 p.m. ET)