The Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions squared off Sunday in a meeting of two NFL heavyweights who are hoping to contend for the ultimate prize.
They would win this heavyweight bout with a final scorecard of 48-42.
Josh Allen and the Bills came out dominant, attacking on the ground with Allen adding two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter as he continued to solidify his case for the league MVP award.
Just like in their Week 14 matchup with the Rams, the Bills’ offense kept scoring, carving up the Lions’ defense as well.
Allen would go 23 for 34 with 362 yards two passing touchdowns to go with 68 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries rushing. He became the first player in NFL history with 35 or more passing and rushing TDs in four consecutive seasons.
He also threw what appears to be the fastest 50+ pass of the Next Gen Stats era.
There are 70 throws of 50+ air yards in the NGS database.
This throw was in the air for 2.47 seconds. That is the fastest 50+ yard throw we’ve seen. https://t.co/7ab5H3Mcvj
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) December 15, 2024
“Still, offensively, I think, we need to find some more,” Allen said of the offensive performance after the game. “There’s too many plays we left out there. I know to nitpick a game like that in which we scored 48 sounds kind of dumb, but still feel like we left some out there.”
The Bills attacked the Lions’ poor short-field coverage on the ground and in the air, as Detroit ranked 30th in receiving yards allowed to slot receivers going into the game.
On a day in which the offense was spread out and distributed across the Bills’ offensive weapons’, slot WR Khalil Shakir had a receiving TD with 39 yards, RB James Cook added two rushing TDs and 133 total yards, rookie RB Ray Davis had 29 total yards and a receiving touchdown, and a former sixth-round pick (2019) by the Lions turned Bills RB, Ty Johnson, had a career day with 123 total yards including 114 receiving yards.
The Bills scored 30+ points for an eighth consecutive game to tie a league record, while also becoming only the fifth team to accomplish the streak and first since the 2013 Broncos.
They also scored 40+ points in consecutive games for only the third time in team history (1990 & 2021.)
Allen appears to be solidifying his MVP candidacy in the process.
“It’s the best I’ve seen him play and not surprised,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “When he sets a goal for himself, for a team, I mean, he’s hard to stop.”
Still, the QB sees ways he can be better.
“I think we’ve got guys who are bought in,” Allen added. “And the run game, it sets up the pass game and vice versa. I felt like I missed a couple of throws tonight and we’ll always try to find a way to get better.”