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'That's Buffalo baby' | How the Bills bounced back in a big win over the Detroit Lions

Dec 15, 2024 at 10:57 PM

Dorian Alerte

Contributing Correspondent

The Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions proved to be the game that everyone was waiting for as both teams combined for the highest scoring game of the NFL season, scoring 90 points combined.

Buffalo, who came off a loss against the Los Angeles Rams that was previously the highest scoring game of the season was on the opposite side this time, defeating the Lions, 48-42 in a game that came down to an onside kick recovered by CB Taron Johnson.

"A tough win," head coach Sean McDermott said. "We figured it was going to be like that here, and it's a really good football team."

Throughout the week, the Bills emphasized urgency and that urgency was met as they raced out to an early 14-0 lead over the Lions.

"The mindset that we had this week was win every play, whatever the play was, find a way to execute at the highest level," QB Josh Allen said. "We were just focused on the next one. Guys made some really good plays tonight."

Even though the Bills returned several key pieces on the offensive side of the football in WR Keon Coleman and TE Dalton Kincaid, the defense was without starters S Taylor Rapp, S Damar Hamlin and CB Rasul Douglas. They had players step up in their place who routinely made plays against a Lions offense that was matching the Bills offense shot for shot late in the game.

"We had three secondary guys out, and then we lost some guys during the game, and the guys stepped up again," McDermott said. "I thought they came out ready to play."

Rookie S Cole Bishop was one player that was identified by McDermott that stepped up when his number was called along with veteran S Kareem Jackson.

"A rookie who had a rocky first game," McDermott said. "The thing I love about Cole is he has upped his urgency in terms of his preparation week after week. He was making an impact on special teams, and then his number gets called. And I thought he looked like he knew his job. And there were some plays there. I'm sure that you know, he's going to learn from… And then Kareem coming in… Here's a guy that hasn't really played in our system very much, if that and he was ready to go."

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Veteran RB Ty Johnson also stepped into a larger role, leading the team in receiving yards with 114.

"It's only a matter of time before the work that you put in gets the shine that it deserves, Ty is just one of those guys that he's just himself," LT Dion Dawkins said. "He plays hard, he practices hard, he's in the building early. He was even in the building on the day that the whole world was shut down in Buffalo, which was Wednesday."

McDermott said that he saw the attitude and focus from his team that he recognized throughout the season.

"You could tell there's an attitude and a focus about them… you could tell just something in the locker room, that's what I'm used to feeling, that's what I'm used to seeing," McDermott said.

This win did not come without adversity throughout the week. The Bills were only able to have one full practice on Friday after having a walkthrough on Wednesday and having to cancel practice on Thursday due to a blizzard. While this is nothing new for the Bills, McDermott believed that it showed that resilience of this team.

"I think we've shown that we do have it over the years, we take pride in that. That's Buffalo baby," McDermott said. "It's the magic of Buffalo, is how I look at it. This gives me chills, even saying it, because our community, our fans, they don't get enough respect. They really don't. And people talk about the Mafia, but it's not enough, and it goes beyond the Mafia. It's the people of Buffalo, the communities Western New York. Just a lot of heart, a lot of desire, a lot of work ethic. This team personifies our community."

On their way to the victory, the Bills won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. McDermott and other players answered questions throughout the week about DT Ed Oliver, and Oliver answered the call, generating a season-high 10 QB pressures, the most in a game by a defensive tackle this season and getting a sack of QB Jared Goff.

"Ed's been doing this thing like yeah he might not have the numbers and stuff but he's been playing good football in my opinion," DE Greg Rousseau said. "He did it again he had a whole bunch of QB hits, a sack should have had some more… A dude can really be playing some good football out there and not have the flashy numbers, but still be playing good ball and I feel like Ed's been playing good ball for a minute."

The offensive line also dominated as the offense ran for 197 total yards and four touchdowns. RB James Cook had a majority of those yards, rushing for 105, including a 41-yard touchdown while Allen had 68 yards on the ground.

"It's a beautiful thing when the offense can play offense and put that pedal to the metal," Dawkins said. "17, he's out there, he's extending plays and as the O-line up front, we have to win that trench battle… Late in the season, it becomes a trench warfare- it's an O-line against the D-line and my chips are with us."

Allen had another performance for the ages and his teammates loved what they saw from the quarterback who had accounted for 10 total touchdowns in the last two games.

"Josh is the best player in the league," CB Taron Johnson said. "So having that, it's special because I truly feel like he's unstoppable and having a quarterback like that is extremely helpful for our team."

Dawkins said that in the middle of the game he even told Allen that he is his biggest fan.

"I'm honored to be his left tackle," Dawkins said. "I'm honored to be the best for him."

The Bills celebrated the win, but with three games left in the regular season, they were ready to get back to work and watch film on how they can be better for their next game.

"A lot we can still improve on," McDermott said. "I thought we left some out there, a couple of those red zone sequences, we could be better… But good team win."