The game of Week 15 is in Detroit, Michigan (with all due respect to Steelers vs. Eagles).
The 12-1 Detroit Lions are hosting the 10-3 Buffalo Bills in an NFC/AFC matchup that many are calling a potential Super Bowl preview. The Lions are riding an 11-game winning streak, but can’t afford a slip-up because the Eagles and Vikings—both 11-2—are right on their heels for the lead in the NFC.
The Bills are coming off a shootout loss to the Los Angeles Rams. They have a little less to play for, as they’ve already clinched the AFC East, and they don’t seem likely to catch the soon-to-be 13-1 Kansas City Chiefs. Instead, they’re just jockeying with the Steelers (10-3) and Texans (8-5) for seeding between 2-4 in the AFC.
Still, this is a litmus test for each team. Can they hang with the best teams in the other conference? Can the Lions defense—now at least a little more healthy—slow MVP candidate Josh Allen enough to let their offense win the game? Can the Bills defense bounce back after an awful performance against the Rams—and without three starting players in their secondary?
The answers are all coming at 4:25 p.m. ET, when the Lions and Bills kick off on CBS. We’ll be live from Ford Field offering drive-by-drive analysis, score updates, highlights, and injury news as it comes in. Simply stick to this page right here, and hit that refresh button as the game begins.
We’ll see you at 4:25 p.m. ET.
First quarter
The Bills won the toss and deferred, giving the Lions offense the first opportunity to take the field. Detroit would quickly go three-and-out after a pair of incomplete passes and a run of no gain.
The Bills got on the board first with an impressive drive from Josh Allen. He immediately got into Lions territory with a well-placed ball to Ty Johnson on a wheel route over Kwon Alexander for 33 yards.
On third-and-5, Allen then roped another ball to Johnson after scrambling to create time for another 25 yards.
Two plays later, the Bills were in for the score and the 7-0 Bills lead.
The Lions were able to pick up a single first down on the next drive, but on the next series, the Bills sent a cornerback blitz that wasn’t picked up and Jared Goff was sacked. The Lions couldn’t work their way out of the jam, and Goff was sacked again on third down.
Allen picked up where he left off, scrambling, finding time then connecting with James Cook for 28 yards. From there, the Bills methodically worked their way down the field, and capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown run from Allen. 14-0 Bills.
Jahmyr Gibbs gave the offense a little bit of a spark on their third drive. He took a screen 13 yards and followed it up with a 9-yard run to midfield. Then the Lions pulled out their bag of tricks with a David Montgomery throw-back to Jared Goff, who found an open Amon-Ra St. Brown for 24 yards.
Second quarter
A Gibbs 13-yard run moved Detroit into the red zone. Then on third-and-9, Tim Patrick made a wonderful catch, then reached over the pylon for a 12-yard touchdown catch. 14-7 Bills.
The Bills worked to midfield, where they found themselves in a fourth-and-2. Again, Allen found Ty Johnson on the wheel route over Ezekiel Turner for 31 yards.
Three plays later, James Cook went untouched into the endzone for a 6-yard touchdown. 21-7 Bills.
Lions cornerback Carlton Davis was hurt on the first play of that drive, he was listed as questionable to return with a jaw injury, while also being evaluated for a concussion.
The Lions’ ensuing drive started out promising with an 18-yard gain to Jameson Williams. Then they converted a fourth down of their own after Goff hit St. Brown for a 21-yard gain. Goff then converted a third-and-10 by scrambling for 11 yards. A few plays later, the Lions pulled out another trick play, running a play action fake and throwing it to jumbo offensive lineman Dan Skipper for a 9-yard touchdown. 21-14 Bills.
But Allen answered almost immediately. On the very first play, he escaped yet another sack attempt, then fired a deep shot to Keon Coleman for a 64-yard gain.
The Lions finally got a defensive stop, but it came at a cost. Cornerback Khalil Dorsey collided with his own players and injured his leg. The cart immediately came out and Dorsey appeared to be put in an aircast That said, the Bills missed the chip-shot field goal to keep it 21-14 with 1:43 left in the half.
The Lions drive kicked off with a 22-yard gain to Sam LaPorta. But the Lions stalled on the Bills side of the field and had to settle for a 52-yard field goal attempt, and Jake Bates pushed it wide left.
That left the Bills with 36 seconds from their own 42-yard line to add to their lead. Alim McNeill forced an intentional grounding to start the drive and put the Bills in a bind. Buffalo couldn’t dig their way out with enough time and the half ended 21-14 Bills.
