The Bills are on the road again in Week 15. Buffalo will be facing the 12-1 Detroit Lions in what is CBS' game of the week. The NFL Today crew will be on-site for its pregame, halftime and postgame show to breakdown the matchup from Detroit.
Here are five storylines to follow ahead of Sunday.
🎆1. No. 1 offense vs. No. 2 offense
We could get a second straight week of two high powered offenses going at it. After the Bills scored 42 points against the Rams, their second highest point total of the season, they now are averaging more than 30 points a game. This puts them at second in the league in scoring.
The Lions are right next to the Bills in that category. Detroit has scored at least 42 points in four games this season. They rank first in the NFL averaging 32.08 points per game.
Buffalo has scored 129 total points this year (2nd), while Detroit has scored 183 total points (1st). It's not only scoring, these two rank in the top 10 across the board on offense.
Total yards per game average
- Bills: 355 (10th)
- Lions: 394.8 (2nd)
Third down conversion rate
- Bills: 43.4% (9th)
- Lions: 45.8% (4th)
Red zone efficiency
- Bills: 68.5% (5th)
- Lions: 67.3% (6th)
Both offenses are led by two quarterbacks who are vital to their offenses in Josh Allen and Jared Goff. Goff is completing 72.4% of his passes this season (2nd in the NFL) and has a 109.1 passer rating (2nd). Allen has 32 total touchdowns this season (tied for 2nd) and only five interceptions in 13 games (ties for 7th least).
👹👺2. Slowing the two-headed monster
The Lions have a two-headed attack at running back featuring Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The two both rank top 10 in rushing touchdowns this season – Montgomery has 12 and Gibbs has 10. They also combine for 24 total touchdowns on the season.
When getting ready to face two of the best, defensive coordinator Bobby Babich says it comes down to the fundamentals.
"We just got to get back to our basics, back to our fundamentals and what our jobs are within each defense," Babich said. "There's a lot of good running backs in this league. I know these two that we're about to go against, I think a lot of people consider them as the best duo in the league, they're certainly going to be a challenge. But I think our guys are up to the challenge, I believe they're up to the challenge and they're ready to respond."
Gibbs is a 1,000-yard rusher this season averaging 5.7 yards per carry, ranking third among running backs. He also has the second-most rushes of at least 10 yards with 30. Montgomery is averaging 4.3 yards per carry and has 771 rushing yards so far.
They've got the fourth-best rushing offense in the league averaging just over 150 rushing yards per game. ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said it's not just the defensive line who has to be ready for the running game, the secondary also has to play a big part in stopping the run.
"They're always going to try to gain the numbers advantage," Orlovsky told One Bills Live about how their rushing offense works. "It is going to be like the vintage San Francisco 49ers run game and a lot like they saw last week (against the Rams)…the picture will constantly change for this defense and what gap responsibilities is who's. The front side is really good in their run game. The backside is championship. If the backside of Buffalo's defense isn't elite, they will get the ball run all over them."
😤3. Getting back to forcing turnovers
Week 14's game against the Rams marked Buffalo's first game all season not forcing a turnover. So far this season, the Bills have 24 takeaways. That ties for the third-most in the league.
After the loss, defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said the defense needs to get back to the basics and remember who they are as a defense.
"It's intention in what we're about," Babich said about getting back to taking the football away. "And I think there becomes a moment in games where you feel like, I think as a player, as a coach, as a playcaller, you have a pretty good handle and you're in control of the game. I think what you saw against the Rams was we weren't in control of the game…so I think we just need to fall back in line to what we know works for us and what the standard is here in Buffalo and that's the intention of taking the ball away."
In a game against the one of the most talented offenses in the NFL, getting takeaways is a way to keep the Lions away from what they do best. The group also holds onto the ball at the second-longest rate with a time of possession at 32 minutes and 10 seconds per game.
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said communication and being aligned on everything is key when going up against an offense like Detroit.
"They are going to present a formation and then within one second of you getting set with that five and six, they're going to change their numbers formation wise," Orlovsky told One Bills Live. "So, then you are going to have to change your formation numbers wise. And then, there is going to be another moment two or three seconds later where they change it again…when you're doing that to a defense, everybody's rules are changing, everybody's gap in the run game is changing, everybody's eyes and where they need to be, and responsibility is changing."
👍4. Buffalo's advantage against Detroit's defense
There aren't many flaws on Detroit's defense. They're allowing the second-lowest points per game at 18 and are allowing the second-lowest completion percentage at 60.7%.
One area they are surrendering yards is in the passing game. The Lions are allowing an average of 224.7 passing yards per game. That ranks in the bottom 10 of the NFL at 23rd. The Bills compiled 342 passing yards in last week's game against the Rams. They're averaging 229.3 passing yards per game (12th).
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said when Buffalo gets opportunities to throw the ball, they're going to have to take advantage of them.
"The Lions are going to give you opportunities to throw the football down the field," Orlosvky said on One Bills Live. "They are going to make you believe that you have to play one-dimensional, and they believe that they're either going to make you uncomfortable as a passer with the bodies they put near you and force you to make throws in really small spaces…there's going to be opportunities for offenses like Buffalo against Detroit, but you got to hit them when they're there because they're not going to be there all the time."
In addition to struggling in the red zone as of late, the Lions also haven't taken away the football at a normal rate. Over the last three games, Detroit has just one takeaway. That ties for second least in the NFL over that span.
Another thing that has affected Detroit's defense is their injuries. The Lions currently have 13 players on Injured Reserve and were without three additional defensive linemen, including D.J. Reader in last week's game against the Packers.
🔴5. An important red zone matchup
One of the many important matchups within this game for Buffalo's offense will be in the red zone. It features two top 10 components of Buffalo and Detroit's game.
The Bills are the fifth-best offense in the red zone scoring touchdowns 68.5% of the time. Over the last three games, they've scored touchdowns on 10 of their last 11 red zone trips. That's a 90.9% success rate, which is good for best in the league over that span.
Buffalo will need to keep their foot on the gas in that area of the game because the Lions are a top 10 defense in the red zone. They're allowing touchdowns in the red zone only 47.2% of the time, which is fourth best in the NFL.
While the Bills have been on a heater in the red zone over the last three games, the Lions have not. Detroit has allowed touchdowns on 62.5% of opponents red zone trips over the last three weeks. That puts them at 21st in the league over that span.
