Sports
Jamyr Gibbs in the Buffalo game (Photo by Jeff Nguyen)
The upside of Thursday night's humiliating loss to the Buffalo Bills at the new Highmark Stadium? The score could have been far more lopsided than it was. Buffalo jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half and ultimately beat the Detroit Lions 41-31.
Simply put: The Lions were outclassed, outplayed and outsmarted. The Lions' defense was awful, giving up 71 points in two weeks. Far too many Buffalo receivers were wide open.
If in the beginning of the game you were one of those Lions fans who felt the season was already doomed, you weren't alone. Of course, as the game progressed, the Lions looked less like a team that was hopeless and more like one that needs a lot of improvement to compete.
And yes, penalty after penalty hurt.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen was unstoppable, throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns and running for 69 yards. He converted third downs into first downs time after time.
There were some positives. Jared Goff was 26 of 38 passing for 327 yards and four touchdowns caught by Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown (two) and Sam LaPorta.
Coach Dan Campbell at the post-game press conference talked about the team's shortcomings and said after a two-game snapshot, they know who they are and what needs to be done to improve. A frustrated defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said something definitely has to change, saying the team can't continue pounding its head against the wall.
Here's what sports writers had to say:
John Niyo, the Detroit News:
There’s really no defending this. a week after Detroit narrowly avoided franchise-worst collapse against the New Orleans Saints, this was probably the worst possible remedy for Kelvin Sheppard’s crew, facing Allen and the Bills’ high-powered attack. With a short prep week, to make the challenge even more daunting.
But this bad? No excuse. And until it stops, no one’s going to start taking the Lions seriously as a real contender this season.
Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press:
It was ugly, then not as ugly, then interesting, then borderline compelling when the Detroit Lions got the ball with eight-plus minutes left and the chance to cut their deficit to three if they scored a touchdown.
That they were in that spot on Thursday, Sept. 17, was hard to believe considering the three quarters and change that came before that moment – the abysmal defensive and the (too often) sputtering offense and the brain cramps.
They looked like they hadn't practiced, and, well, they hadn't as much as they would during a regular week. But then, Buffalo had the same three days between games, and the Bills looked like a juggernaut at Highmark Stadium, taking the opening kickoff and scoring without facing a third down, and then scoring touchdowns on their next three drives.
Brandon Knapp, Pride of Detroit:
The game felt over just as it began, as the Bills drove down the field with ease to go up 7-0. The Bills’ defense was stout and continued to dominate the Lions’ offense, and after just five minutes in the second quarter, it was 21-0. Detroit tried to make it a game and scored to close the gap, but every time they got close, Buffalo pulled away. Detroit’s efforts came too little too late, and it was an embarrassing loss on national television...
The Bills finished the game with 446 yards, rushing for 203 and throwing for 243. Quarterback Josh Allen made the Lions’ defense pay on the opening drive, rushing four times for 40 yards and a touchdown, making it look easy. The Bills offense only got stopped twice, moving the ball however they wanted for all four quarters.
Penalties (more on that later), missed assignments, and too many easy plays by the Buffalo offense hurt Detroit. Detroit looked unprepared and still seemed to be recovering from the previous week’s game. Buffalo also had a short week, but their defense made far fewer mistakes than Detroit’s. Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard had a rough game, and it seemed like he didn’t have his guys prepared.
Lukas Weese, The Athletic:
The Detroit Lions hung around tonight against the Buffalo Bills. It was their terrible start that did them in.
You can’t give up 21 unanswered points to a team like the Bills, especially with their dynamic offense led by Josh Allen. The Lions couldn’t get anything going on offense until Jared Goff’s touchdown pass to Jahmyr Gibbs in the second quarter.
At one point, the Lions had just 10 yards of offense while the Bills had 21 points and 16 first downs. Not ideal as the Lions enter Week 3 1-1 on the season.