The Bills christened their new stadium with an impressive showing on Thursday night. Buffalo parlayed an early 21-0 lead into a 41-31 win over the Lions.
We expected a high-scoring game, and that's exactly what happened. Buffalo, however, was the only team to put points on the board during the game's first 20 minutes. The Bills' early success was spearheaded by Josh Allen, who scored four touchdowns in the first half as Buffalo took a 27-10 lead at intermission. Allen -- who scored four touchdowns in Buffalo's Week 1 win over the Texans -- scored another touchdown in the second half while making an early case for league MVP.
To their credit, Detroit (1-1) didn't give up. The Lions' offense, led by Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown, eventually found its rhythm. But the unit was not able to make up for its defense's shortcomings. Detroit's defense has surrendered 71 points during the season's first two games.
As noted above, this was the first game played at Buffalo's new Highmark Stadium. Buffalo made history by becoming the first team to score at least 27 points in the first half in their new home stadium since the 1971 Cowboys. That Cowboys team eventually won the franchise's first Super Bowl, which could be a good omen for this year's Bills team.
Fittingly, the Bills' best player since the turn of the century played a big role in the first game at the new Highmark Stadium. Allen scored the first touchdown in the new stadium on a 1-yard touchdown run. He ultimately recorded his fourth career game with three touchdown passes and two touchdown runs. No other player has more than two such games.
Allen is the first player with five or more touchdown passes and three or more touchdown runs through the first two games in NFL history. He also recorded his 83rd career touchdown run, which ties him for 18th all-time with Packers Hall of Fame running back Jim Taylor.
Allen's big night was even more impressive when you consider that DJ Moore left the game in the second quarter after sustaining a shoulder injury and a stinger. With Moore out, Keon Coleman stepped up with several clutch receptions. Allen had success all night throwing to tight end Dalton Kincaid, who caught seven of eight targets for 95 yards and a score. Kincaid has 205 receiving yards through Buffalo's first two games.
Buffalo's passing game was complemented by running back James Cook III, who rumbled for 135 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Cook had 100 yards in the first half alone.
Early on, Buffalo contained Gibbs, allowing them to pin their ears back and rush Goff on third down, leading to sacks and incompletions. That was a big reason why the Bills jumped out to a 21-0 lead.
The Lions eventually got their offense going, which started with Detroit finding different ways to use Gibbs on their first scoring drive. From that point on, the Lions did a better job protecting Goff, who also did his part by getting rid of the ball faster.
Per usual, Goff put up impressive numbers with 327 yards and four touchdowns. St. Brown caught nine passes for 142 yards and two scores. Gibbs tallied 113 total yards and a score. All of it, though, was in a losing cause.
If you're a Lions fan, it's not too early to be concerned about your defense. In fact, you should be concerned after watching your defense get chewed up and spit out two times over a five-day span.
It's one thing to allow a lot of points against a great offense, but it's a different thing altogether to give up wide-open scores, which was the case multiple times in the first half. There was no Lions defender in the vicinity of Josh Palmer, for example, on Palmer's 43-yard touchdown catch that extended Buffalo's lead to 14-0.
The Lions also had no answer for Allen, who literally ran circles around Detroit's defense. The Lions have to find a way to make better in-game adjustments on that side of the ball. Fortunately for them, they won't typically face a quarterback who is as versatile and as good as Allen.
Because of their struggles on defense, it was imperative for Detroit to force turnovers on Thursday night, which had allowed them to defeat New Orleans in Week 1. That didn't happen on Thursday night, however, and the result was another embarrassing performance by the Lions' defense.
Buffalo advances to 2-0 after posting a 41-31 win over the Lions. The Bills took a 21-0 lead before holding on. They become the first team in NFL history to start 2-0 despite allowing over 30 points in each of their first two games.
Detroit falls to 1-1 and facing major questions its defense after giving up 71 points in its first two outings.
Detroit has crossed the 30-point barrier as Goff hits St. Brown for another score. It's too little too late, however, as the Bills are in victory formation.
James Cook punches it in, and the Bills have a 41-24 lead with 2:50 left. Cook did most of his damage in the first half, but he's still had his moments in the second half and especially on that drive. He's now up to 134 yards rushing for the night.
Bills keep the ball and keep the clock running after Keon Coleman makes a clutch catch on third down. Coleman has played well tonight with D.J. Moore out after he sustained an injury in the second quarter.
Coleman's caught each of his five targets for 51 yards. Bills have the ball, up 34-24, in Lions territory with 5:42 left.
Detroit's defense finally got a stop, but its offense couldn't capitalize after not gaining a yard on its ensuing drive. Give credit to Buffalo's pass rush who were able to pressure Goff on that possession. They also stuffed Gibbs for no gain on second down, which forced Goff into another obvious passing situation on third down.
We expected a high scoring game, and that's exactly what we've gotten. It's now 34-24 Bills after Goff hits Sam LaPorta from a yard out with 10:47 left. Lions offense has found its stride, but it needs two stops from its defense.
Detroit's offense has woken up, but its defense still can't stop Allen and Co. even without D.J. Moore. For the 10th time in his career, Allen has scored multiple TDs on the ground and in the air in the same game. He just capped off a 15-play drive (that took 8:22 off the clock) with a 2-yard run.
The Lions at least made the Bills work for it, but the negative there was that it took a ton of time off the clock.
The dynamic duo of Goff and St. Brown cuts the Lions' deficit to 27-17 in the third quarter. The Lions have scored 17 of the game's last 23 points after falling behind 21-0. Give the Lions credit for fighting back and making some adjustments.
Both teams are down a starter for the rest of the game.
Moore remains in the Bills' locker room with the shoulder issue he sustained on an attempted catch in the end zone, which leaves Buffalo without its top receiver as it seeks to pull away for good.
Maddox has a foot injury and was carted into the Lions' locker room. His absence is another blow to an already thin safety unit that is without its regular starters in Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.
Don't count them out quite yet. The first half was atrocious at times, but this is only a 10-point game after the Lions scored their second touchdown of the night.
Jared Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown on a slant route for the score.
Score: Bills 27-10
First downs: Bills 20-11
Third down: Bills 3-4, Lions 2-5
Total yards: Bills 299-155
Red zone: Bills 3-3, Lions 1-2
TOP: Bills 16:35
Detroit's TD was quickly matched by the Lions, who re-gained their three-score lead when Allen hit Dalton Kincaid on a 16-yard drive.
Allen has four touchdowns THIS HALF! Eight touchdowns in six quarters this season.
The Bills could be without their No. 1 receiver for the rest of the game. DJ Moore is questionable to return after he landed awkwardly on his shoulder while attempting to make a catch in the end zone.
Trainers took Moore into the locker room, where he will undergo X-rays.
Well, at least it won't be a shutout. The Lions still have lots of work to do if they're going to get back into this game, but they are finally on the board.
Jahmyr Gibbs can really do it all. He broke out of the backfield and hauled in a touchdown grab in the end zone to get Detroit's offense off the schneid.
It's 21-7 Bills late in the second quarter.
The carnage continues in Buffalo. The Bills just scored their third TD in as many possessions after Allen hit a wide open Dawson Knox that capped off a nine-play, 57-yard drive.
Making matters worse for Detroit is safety Avonte Maddox left the game with an injury during the drive. He's being carted off the field.
Score: Bills 14, Lions 0
First downs: Bills 11-1
Third down: Bills 3-3, Lions 0-2
Total plays: Bills 21-7
Total yards: Bills 169-10
Time of possession: Bills 10:15
The Lions got their initial first down of the night on a 16-yard run by Gibbs, but the drive ended moments later when Goff had to fall on a high snap on third down. Goff was sacked on the previous play by Greg Rousseau, who already has two sacks.
Making matters worse is the Lions aren't giving their defense a rest. Detroit has run just seven plays compared to Buffalo's 18.
This one is starting to have the look of a blowout.
Buffalo's second drive was even easier than its first, and the result was another TD. Allen hit Joshua Palmer -- who was wide open -- for a 43-yard TD with 3:42 left in the opening quarter.
The Bills were 2 of 2 on third down on the drive that included the TD pass to Palmer that was a third-and-11 play.
Greg Rousseau sacks Jared Goff on third-and-8, forcing the Lions into a quick punt. A player earlier, Rousseau stuff Gibbs to no gain on his first carry.
As we discussed before the game, a key for the Bills would be containing Gibbs and focing the Lions into obvious passing situations on third downs. So far, so good.
The first ever drive at Highmark Stadium is capped off by a one-yard TD run by Josh Allen. The Bills drove 85 plays in 10 plays and picked up a whopping seven first downs.
Allen ran four times for 40 yards and completed both of his passes for 22 yards. MVP stuff indeed.
Bruce Smith, the defensive anchor behind Buffalo's four-time AFC championship teams, is tonight's legend, a new tradition at Highmark.
Smith is the only player in NFL history with 200 career sacks.
Bills: Contain Jahmyr Gibbs
Gibbs was a machine during Detroit's Week 1 win over the Saints. If the Bills can neutralize him, it'll put more pressure on Jared Goff and the Lions' passing game. It'll also force the Lions into challenging third downs.
Lions: Get after Allen
The Lions' defense made splash plays that negated some of the good things Tyler Shough did this past Sunday. Detroit needs to do the same tonight against Josh Allen, who can be prone to putting the ball on the ground. It's hard to see the Lions winning this game if they don't force any turnovers/win the turnover ratio.
After 53 years in the old Highmark Stadium, the Bills will play their first regular season game tonight in their new home, which is using the old stadium's name.
Costing roughly $1.1-$1.2 billion, the stadium seats 60,108, which is 11,000 fewer than the old stadium. It's an open air stadium, it includes a 360-degree canopy that shelters roughly 64% of the seats.
Ed Oliver was included in Buffalo's inactives after he got hurt during warnups.
For the Lions, Wingo, Rolder, and Hassanein are inactive for a second straight week.
Buffalo has suffered a tough setback prior to tonight's game. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver sustained a hip injury during warmups and will not play tonight.
Carter's spot in the starting lineup will likely be filled by DeWayne Carter, a 2024 third-round pick who played last week after missing the entire 2025 season with an Achilles injury.
Welcome to our coverage of tonight's game between the Bills and Lions. This is the first regular season game at the new Highmark Stadium, so you can bet that Bills Mafia will be loud and will be ready to cheer on their team. We'll post both teams inactive reports shortly.
