Bills vs Lions

[HipKat]

PlayAction column: Receiving reinforcements key for Bills against blitz-happy Lions

The Detroit Lions play Cover 1 – man-to-man on receivers with one safety in the middle of the field – at the highest rate in the NFL, 40%, according to Football Insights analysis.

buffalonews.com

It looks like a good week for the Buffalo Bills’ offense to get receiving weapons Dalton Kincaid and Keon Coleman back on the field.

The Detroit Lions like to play man-to-man coverage and blitz, which puts a priority on receivers winning one-on-one matchups.

In fact, the Lions play Cover 1 – man-to-man on receivers with one safety in the middle of the field – at the highest rate in the NFL, 40%, according to Football Insights analysis. The league average is roughly 22%, while the Bills are at 15%, according to Football Insights.


Bills quarterback Josh Allen, scrambling against Detroit in 2022, might have to be on the run against the Lions’ blitzing defense on Sunday.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Detroit is blitzing on 35% of opponent drop backs, which is fourth most in the league, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

“They do play a lot of man coverage,” Josh Allen said. “Based on who they’re playing, obviously, it’s a little higher than some. And then again, they’ve been able to affect the quarterback.”

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn deserves credit for the performance of his defense, given all the injuries the team has suffered on that side of the ball.

Out on injured reserve for Detroit are both starting defensive ends (star Aiden Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport), No. 4 end John Cominsky, starting defensive tackle Kyle Peko and starting linebacker Alex Anzalone.

“I know they’ve been dealing with injuries, but their interior D linemen are really, really good, some of the best in the game,” Allen said. “Tough to run against. When you can’t run the ball successfully, it makes your offense that much tougher to move the ball. So, they’re doing a great job, and hats off to those guys.”

Despite the injuries, the Lions’ defense enters Sunday’s game ranked No. 3 in points allowed, No. 5 against the run, No. 23 in pass yards, No. 23 in sack rate and No. 1 on third downs.

The pass yards allowed are deceptive. Detroit has held the lead so much, opponents have had to throw in catch-up mode. If you look at efficiency vs. the pass (expected points added), Detroit is No. 1 vs. the pass.

It looks like the Lions will have their top two current defensive tackles, 335-pound D.J. Reader and 315-pound Alim McNeill, back from injury this week.

Glenn’s nature is to blitz. He sends middle linebacker Jack Campbell on blitzes a ton. One caveat: It is a little easier to have a big-blitz, man-coverage style when you know your offense is scoring 30 points per game.

“It’s not the fact that, man, we’re just trying to blitz to recoup what Hutch was giving us,” Glenn told Detroit reporters a couple weeks ago. “It’s the game plan that we’re trying to make sure we take advantage of. But at the end of the day, I like to blitz.”

Hoop rivals​

It will be a reunion when Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa faces the Lions. Detroit tight end Sam LaPorta was a teammate of Epenesa’s for the 2019 season at the University of Iowa. The two grew up about 20 miles from each other in southern Illinois.

“The 618 – he’s from the town over from me, and I played him in high school basketball,” Epenesa said, referring to the Southern Illinois area code. “I’ve known Sam a long time. A very talented basketball player. He’s got three sisters, and they all are hoopers, good basketball players. We ended up guarding each other. He was the biggest, strongest guy on his team. So we were matched up.”

Epenesa played at Edwardsville High, the No. 1-ranked basketball team in Illinois his senior prep season. Epenesa averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds a game as a senior.

“I could play a little ball,” Epenesa said. “I wasn’t like some all-star point getter, but we had Mr. Basketball and the Gatorade player of the year, Mark Smith.”

Smith went on to star at Missouri and Kansas State. Epenesa was one of the best all-around athletes in the state, too. He set the state record for the discus at 205 feet, 11 inches. By comparison, the Section VI record is 194-4, and the New York State record is 202-9.

LaPorta, the 34th pick in the 2023 draft, set the NFL rookie receptions record for tight ends last season with 86. This season, he has just 35 catches. Why the drop? His targets are down 40% from last season, due to the fact the Lions have run the ball more and fed young star receiver Jameson Williams more.

Iowa has a great track record of sending tight ends to the NFL, including Dallas Clark, ex-Bill Scott Chandler, George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant. Why?

“We’re an in-the-box team, we play downhill, we run the ball hard,” Epenesa said of his alma mater. “So we have a lot of tight ends that come out that aren’t afraid to block. It translates to the NFL. In the NFL, there’s some tight ends who block and some who catch passes, and at Iowa they do both.”

The 30,000-foot view​

The Lions are well set up for the future. Detroit entered the season with the seventh youngest starting lineup in the league, according to a Buffalo News study. The Bills had the sixth youngest roster of starters. There aren’t many key Lions starters whose contracts are up this year, either. Detroit has the most money invested of any team in the league in the offensive line, in terms of the average annual value of contracts at the position. Penei Sewell is the No. 2 paid offensive tackle overall ($28 million a year). Frank Ragnow is the No. 2 paid center ($13 million). Taylor Decker is the No. 9 paid left tackle ($20 million).

Two tight-end sets​

Besides Detroit having perhaps the best 1-2 running back tandem in the league, and the fact the Lions have one of the top three offensive lines in the NFL, there’s another reason defending the run will be a challenge for the Bills.

Detroit plays 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends, two wideouts) at the second highest rate in the league – 34.4%, according to Sumersports data. That puts slot cornerback Taron Johnson in a linebacker-type role vs. the run against bigger people.

The Bills have faced 12 personnel 21% of the time this season. Buffalo ranks fifth best in the NFL at defending 12 personnel pass plays, according to efficiency metrics. But the Bills are 26th at defending the run against 12 personnel groups.

Stats for the road​

Buffalo has scored at least 30 points in seven straight games. The Bills can become just the fifth team ever to score 30 points in eight straight within a single season, joining the 2013 Broncos, the 2007 and 2010 Patriots and the 2000 Rams. The Bills have scored 30-plus in 10 of 13 games, already the most in a season in team history.

 

[Victor7]

Ben Johnson has had the most raging boner in history after watching our defense last week and thinking what he's going to do to us this sunday. Add to that that the Lions had like 3-4 more days to prepare, plus the Bills possibly being down 2 starters and almost no practices and this is not looking good.

The 1 seed is long gone, even before the Rams game honestly. Lets just get through this game healthy. Win our last 3, secure the 2 seed and hope someone eliminates the Chiefs for us.



Lions 31

Bills 28



At least one more brain dead call from McD

 

[sukie]

Feeling good about this one. Lions too overconfident and coasting.

 

[SpikedLemonade]

Feeling good about this one. Lions too overconfident and coasting.

Jesus...this logic only works in sports.

Otherwise wives would be actually achieving organisms routinely.

 

[herodotus]

This game is going to be ugly, and I mean ugly. Probably uglier than some of those boney thin Auschwitz girls that some like posting in the hot girls thread in the NSFW forums. Seriously I think 33-6. The Lions will pound the rock all day long, and McDoofus will try to protect his defense by not letting Allen gun it. Oh well as long as everyone stays healthy they should still finish 13-4.

 

[SpikedLemonade]

I don't have a good feeling about this one but I voted a close Bills win.

 

[HipKat]

NFL Week 15 roundtable: Bills-Lions, Sam Darnold’s Vikings future, Eagles drama

A Bills-Lions showdown leads the way as our writers tackle all things Week 15.

www.nytimes.com

The NFL inadvertently gave us a gift with the Buffalo Bills visiting the Detroit Lions in Week 15.

This game won’t lack oomph just because both teams are playoff-bound already. The Lions don’t want to loosen their grip on the NFC’s top seed, much less the NFC North lead. And last week’s shootout loss in Los Angeles is more than enough to wake the Bills up.

Our writers Zak Keefer, Mike Sando and Jeff Howe tackle this potential Super Bowl LIX preview in our roundtable previewing the rest of Week 15’s schedule. Also on the menu this week: The Philadelphia Eagles, drama and all, host the cross-state Pittsburgh Steelers in another clash of first-place teams, and we ponder the futures of quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Derek Carr.

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Sean McDermott and the Bills defense are under scrutiny after last week’s shootout loss to the Rams. The Lions are favored to win it all and just keep finding ways to win. What do you make of this potential Super Bowl preview on Sunday?​

Keefer: For starters, I can’t wait to watch. What a championship matchup this would be — two hungry fan bases who’ve suffered through decades of heartbreak and who’ve yet to taste Super Bowl success. Both have been up against it in recent weeks, as well. The Bills, after beating each of last year’s Super Bowl teams in successive games, flopped in Los Angeles, ending their win streak at seven. The Lions won three games in 12 days but have an injury list that feels two pages long. Key will be if a bruised Lions defense can slow MVP front-runner Josh Allen. “A freak,” Detroit linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard called him. Both teams are going to light up the scoreboard. The difference will be which defense can find a way to get a stop in the fourth quarter.

Sando: I’m interested in how the head coaches handle late-game strategies. Dan Campbell’s fourth-down daring was a big part of the story for Detroit last week. Sean McDermott’s decision to approve a quarterback sneak at the risk of losing a critical timeout hurt Buffalo in its game. Both coaches have built up a lot of equity, but as the playoffs near, both will find themselves under additional scrutiny.

Howe: I’m curious to see if the Lions take elements from the Rams’ strategy last week, as they got 270 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns from Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. The Lions may be able to expose similar matchup advantages with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams or Sam LaPorta. If the Rams uncovered something in the Bills defense that can be replicated by some of the Bills’ top-tier playoff competition, it’s going to make their Super Bowl trek much more difficult. Allen can do it all when he’s on the field, but he can’t play defense, too.

There seems to be concerns over the Eagles’ passing game and a possible Jalen Hurts-A.J. Brown rift has been made public. Any small-picture or big-picture concerns as Philadelphia prepares to meet the Steelers on Sunday?​

Keefer: Something about the Eagles and drama — it always seems to follow them despite overwhelming success the last four years under coach Nick Sirianni. I’m not putting much stock into this purported beef: Brown wants the passing game to be better, and Philly needs it to be better, because skating past the three-win Panthers isn’t how this team needs to be playing as we inch toward January. As well as the defense is playing, and as well as Saquon Barkley’s playing, the Eagles remain the Lions’ biggest threat in the NFC. But if the late-season struggles continue, a painful playoff exit and dicey offseason could follow.

Sando: Does every Eagles defeat feel like three? It’s been so long since Philly lost, I’ve almost forgotten. The last real controversy flowed from a victory, against Cleveland, when Sirianni feuded with Eagles fans. We’re conditioned to wait for some sort of drama to materialize. The Eagles do not disappoint. There’s something swirling beneath the surface there. I’m waiting to see how the team handles its next stumble.

Howe: They’ve overcome drama before and have won nine in a row, so I’m more than willing to give the Eagles the benefit of the doubt. But I’m also not going to dismiss what’s transpired over the past week. The Eagles are playing winning football. They’re relying on their obvious strength, which is the ground game, and playing complementary football. Do they care about getting over the hump in the playoffs or putting up stats? Because they’re putting together a style that can carry them a long way in the postseason. If it falls apart, we’ll look at this as a likely tipping point.

Six teams — the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and Washington Commanders — are coming off the latest bye in the league this year. Ask players, and you get a variety of opinions on how the league handles distributing byes. How would you fix bye weeks in the NFL, especially with the league considering an 18-game schedule in the future?​

Keefer: Here’s a solution: two byes. That way players get a break early in the season and late in the year. Hopefully, this would ease the physical strain on the players, who won’t have to play a game every week for three straight months. Players tend to hate the early October byes because that leaves them without a break in November and December — when the games really start to matter and the toll of the season really takes hold.

Sando: I’m fine with the current setup and haven’t heard teams complaining too loudly. The second bye makes sense once the schedules lengthen by another game.

Howe: The two byes with the 18-game schedule is a given. I surely wouldn’t have any issue with two byes now, either. When the schedule comes out, you can always talk yourself into whether you’ve gotten the bye at the right time or wrong time, but that stuff always changes with injuries, winning streaks or losing streaks. The NFL has an unbalanced schedule (with a fair formula), so there will be reasons to complain about anything. Even with two byes, there’s no perfect way to evenly distribute them.

Sam Darnold is playing like an MVP as the Bears come to Minnesota on Monday night. He’s on a one-year deal with the Vikings. Do you envision him coming back with J.J. McCarthy in the fold? What kind of money could this version of Darnold command on the open market?​

Keefer: If I’m Minnesota, I’m working to keep Darnold. He’s just 27, remember, and the Vikings are playing about as well as any team in the league not named the Lions. Why not give him a chance to stay? To keep chasing a championship? There’s no guarantee McCarthy becomes The Guy, and rushing him into the lineup with a team that’s clearly ready to compete for a Super Bowl could backfire tremendously. But Darnold won’t come cheap. It wouldn’t surprise me if QB-needy teams — in a draft year light on star power at the position — are offering deals north of $40 million per season for Darnold. Or more. In their minds, he’s a much better bet than taking a rookie in this year’s class.

Sando: I’m not quite agreeing with the MVP premise on Darnold, who ranks 14th in EPA per pass play for an offense that ranks about the same on a per-play basis. I’m not expecting the Vikings to come off their plan to ride with McCarthy in the future unless Darnold leads a deep playoff push. Once Darnold hits the market, he should have multiple suitors and could command in that $40 million range annually. We do need to see how this season finishes, though.

Howe: I think Darnold will get something in the middle of Kirk Cousins’ four-year, $180 million deal and Baker Mayfield’s three-year, $100 million pact. It would help his case if Sean McVay disciples Zac Robinson or Liam Coen got head-coaching jobs, considering Darnold’s success with Kevin O’Connell. While I think there’s a valid argument for keeping Darnold and the team’s championship aspirations intact, it wouldn’t be terrific asset management to bury McCarthy for another couple of years. I also think O’Connell has done more than enough with his quarterbacks to believe there will be a smooth transition with McCarthy next season.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) fractured his left hand against the New York Giants last week and is deemed week to week. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

The Saints host the Commanders and could finish the season without Derek Carr, who fractured his left hand on Sunday. Carr has two years left on a four-year deal. It hasn’t worked so far in New Orleans. What does his future look like? What should the Saints do at quarterback in the offseason?​

Keefer: This will be the decision staring at the Saints’ new head coach the minute he walks in the door. Carr was never more than a stopgap in New Orleans while the franchise figured out what to do in the post-Drew Brees era. If it is time to move on and find a young replacement, the problem is interim coach Darren Rizzi keeps winning and the Saints keep going the wrong way in the draft order — they’re currently slated to pick 10th. While it’s not impossible to find a franchise quarterback outside of the top 10 (see: Bo Nix), it’s certainly harder. And that was in a year loaded with quarterback talent. This year isn’t. To land one of the marquee talents, a team has to be inside the top five. The Saints haven’t picked that high since 2006.

Sando: Getting out of the Carr deal and restarting with a long runway is what I’d prefer to do. The Saints could also draft a quarterback outside the top 10, using Carr as a bridge in an effort to keep the team competitive. As uninspiring as Carr has been, the Saints have been roughly league-average on offense with him on the field over the past two seasons (-0.01 EPA per play) and much worse (-0.24 per play) without him. Their third-down conversion rate with Carr (42 percent) far surpasses their rate without him (25 percent). Their rate of explosive pass completions is 60 percent higher with him.

Howe: Unless the Saints wind up with a premium pick and fall in love with Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, they should consider going all in on Arch Manning in 2026. The New Orleans native would be a godsend for the Saints. The problem there, though, is Manning might be the early favorite for the No. 1 pick in that draft, and they won’t finish with the worst record in the league with Carr at QB. This might be drastic and I don’t really expect to see it happen, but I’d consider taking a QB with a Friday pick, moving on from Carr, resetting the books by unloading other veterans who won’t be part of the long-term solution and looking to start anew with Manning in 2026. Call it a soft tank.

 

[HipKat]

How the Bills can limit the Lions’ two-headed rushing monster, defensive tackle help, and more

Plus, how losing one practice could affect the Bills.

www.nytimes.com

Fresh off their first loss since Week 5, the Bills watched last week as their defense was undone while their franchise quarterback delivered a nuclear performance. The 44-42 loss to the Rams certainly stung, both in the moment and their chances at the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

For the Bills to pass the Chiefs, a four-game winning streak to end the year is their best chance. That’s easier written than accomplished, especially since they’re going on the road to take on a Lions team that has won 11 games in a row.

In what many believe could be a preview of this year’s Super Bowl, what stands out from a Bills perspective heading into the matchup?

Here’s our Week 15 Bills notebook.

How can the Bills contend with the Lions rushing game?​

When you go back and watch the film from the Rams game, the one abundantly clear thing is that the Rams used the rushing success early on to set up the rest of their offensive attack throughout the game. The Bills defensive tackles had their worst game of the season, and that’s even considering the blowout loss to the Ravens in Week 4. It’s to the point where rolling out the same group and expecting different results is likely something they can’t take a chance with against this opponent.

The Lions have one of the most complete rushing attacks in the NFL. It starts with their offensive line, and as my colleague Colton Pouncy put it in our beat writer conversation on this matchup, right tackle Penei Sewell “should be in the offensive player of the year discussion. He’s been that good.” Sewell and the rest of the offensive line set up the David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combination for success almost every week.

What makes that duo so frustrating to defend is how the Lions handle their drives. Montgomery generally begins the game on the first drive to establish physicality, and then in the middle of that drive, the lightning-quick Gibbs will mix in for a pair of plays that can catch a defense napping before Montgomery goes back in and finishes the drive. On the next drive, it’s Gibbs starting it off, with Montgomery mixing in after a handful of plays and Gibbs finishing off the drive. They do this exact one drive-on, one drive-off all game in a neutral or positive game script. The dichotomy of power and speed, used at an incredibly high level behind one of the best offensive lines in the league is a humongous reason for all of their success.

So what do the Bills do? A potential lineup changeup might be a good idea. The defensive tackles would benefit the most from a new face in the lineup, as they really struggled across the board to hold their spot in run-defending against the Rams. Reaching down to their practice squad might be the perfect call this time around. This seems like an ideal spot for an Eli Ankou call-up. Ankou, a one-technique who can moonlight at three-technique, has one practice squad elevation remaining, and during his first two games — against two outstanding rushing opponents in the Seahawks and Dolphins, he was excellent. Should it go well enough, there’s a case for Ankou to take someone’s spot on the 53-man roster outright, whether it be Jordan Phillips or Austin Johnson.

I’d expect the Bills defensive line to play with a lot more intention and physicality this week. Last week’s showing was a terrible one, and overall, not the norm from what we’ve seen all year. Watching the film early this week will likely reinforce their desire to prove everyone wrong. If they get Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones playing back to the level they’re capable of and showed earlier in the year, along with a potential new helping hand in Ankou, they could stand up a bit better even in a difficult matchup. But make no mistake, there is no stopping this Lions rushing attack. Limiting its explosiveness and ability to take over the game will be the key.

Is it finally time for Dalton Kincaid and Keon Coleman?​

As the Bills have been patiently waiting for the return of two core members of their offense, wide receiver Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid, they have been slowly trending up throughout practices. Kincaid returned to the practice field last week in a limited capacity, but given it was an injury to his knee, a return last week didn’t make a great deal of sense with how conservative the Bills have been this year with players returning from injury. Coleman, on the other hand, looked to be closing in on a return. Despite wearing a non-contact jersey throughout the week, Coleman looked like a player who was close to a return. Ultimately the Bills opted to give it one more week with Coleman.

But this week, things are trending in a great direction for both players. Coleman is no longer in a non-contact jersey and began the week as a full participant. And Kincaid, after being limited all last week, was listed as a full participant on Wednesday and Thursday. They could always opt for one last week to allow Kincaid to get ready, but getting the full participation tag to begin the week is always a positive sign. It would not be a surprise if the Bills got both back in the lineup just in time for what should be a high-scoring showdown against the Lions.

Ja’Marcus Ingram has been serving as the Bills’ top backup cornerback for the last three games. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)

Ja’Marcus Ingram or Kaiir Elam?​

Rasul Douglas was ruled doubtful to return against the Rams and then was labeled a non-participant through the first two practices this week. It is looking increasingly likely that the Bills will be down a starting cornerback Sunday. The Bills duo of Douglas and Christian Benford have been a mainstay in the starting lineup all year, only going through one game this year without the full duo available. That happened against the Dolphins, which yielded Kaiir Elam in the starting lineup for the then-injured Benford. However, things have changed with Elam. He’s been a healthy scratch over the Bills’ last three games, with Ja’Marcus Ingram serving as the team’s top backup cornerback.

On Wednesday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott gave an ominous answer as to why Elam had been a healthy scratch, saying that everything is earned. However, there is some gameday roster logic as to why Elam might have been the choice for a healthy scratch over Ingram, and it all has to do with special teams. Over the last three games, the Bills have had wide receiver Jalen Virgil on the 53-man roster and active. And while he’s helped round out the receiver room as Coleman was injured, he also played a high percentage of special teams snaps. Elam, on the other hand, was a low percentage special teams player whose reps were likely given to Virgil. So without a defensive function or a special teams function, it became a numbers game. Ingram doesn’t play every special teams snap, but plays on three of the four units.

Regardless of who was or wasn’t active, it all comes down to who will start in place of Douglas. McDermott gave no indication, only saying “we’ll see.” If we take it for what it’s worth, Elam was working with Benford on the practice field well after Wednesday’s practice ended. That’s not uncommon for Elam, even for games he wasn’t starting, though it’s noteworthy all the same. The Bills do know what Elam provides to them defensively, and there could be some value in that against an outstanding offense, rather than giving Ingram the first start of his NFL career. But Ingram has made some clutch plays on defense, particularly earlier in the season, and he also played the Rams tough against some great competition. It’s really a toss-up between the options, and one the Lions will be keeping a close eye on in warmups.

Will losing a practice make an impact?​

Due to a sudden snowstorm that yielded at least two feet of snow in Orchard Park, along with blowing winds that made travel treacherous, the Bills decided to cancel their practice and instead hold a virtual team meeting on Thursday. But how will it impact them for the game? There are two ways to look at this. The first is that they’ll likely go the entire week without a fully padded practice, which is wholly uncommon in the NFL. The team decided to conduct only a walk-through on Wednesday, as has been their lean late in the year the past few seasons to reduce the toll of injuries when everyone has bumps and bruises. That Wednesday usually gets everyone prepared for the Thursday practice, with a lighter day on Friday. Although not a deal breaker, it could inhibit some of the matchup-related parts of their playbook they wanted to all get on the same page with during the fully padded session on Thursday.

The other way to look at this is that the Bills, under head coach Sean McDermott, are now well-versed in weather impacting their plans. Even in 2022, when the Bills had to move their entire operation for a home game to be played in Detroit against the Cleveland Browns, they were still able to power through and win that game. Snow impacting this time of year is a part of life for the Bills and McDermott, so he’s likely had a full plan in place if their practice was interrupted. But the good news is they’re likely to get in the building on Friday to make up for lost time, and still have a Saturday walk-through before they travel to Detroit. Either way, the duration of this snowstorm seems a bit more favorable than some of the others they’ve dealt with over the years.

Bills projected practice squad elevations: DT Eli Ankou, S Kareem Jackson

Bills projected inactives: WR Jalen Virgil, OL Will Clapp, DE Casey Toohill, DT Jordan Phillips, LB Edefuan Ulofoshio, CB Rasul Douglas, S Taylor Rapp

Prediction: Bills 31, Lions 28​

With the way these two offenses are playing, and especially without any weather concerns in the domed environment at Ford Field, I don’t think points will be tough to come by on Sunday. The Lions will challenge the Bills run defense early and often, and while I think the Bills will hold up better this week than they did last week, I’m still expecting a lot of production from the Lions ground game. From a Bills perspective, Allen is playing the best football of his career, and the Lions’ injuries across their defense will be something for the Bills to exploit. The Lions are hoping to get back a quartet of defensive linemen (D.J. Reader, Alim McNeal, Levi Onwuzurike and Joshua Paschal), but there remain legitimate questions about how the back seven of the Lions will hold up against the Bills passing attack.

Ultimately, I’m expecting this to be a back-and-forth showdown with plenty of offense. I think the Bills will have a response on defense from their Week 14 showing, and force Jared Goff into a couple of turnover-worthy throws. Whether or not they can take advantage will be the true determinant for the Bills coming away with one of the toughest road wins of the year. But a slightly more motivated defensive effort, plus Allen working against a slowly healing yet still injured Lions defense is enough to think they can return from Detroit with a victory.

 

[HipKat]

Buffalo and Detroit, forever connected, can finally dream of a Rust Belt Super Bowl

As the Lions and Bills prepare to play each other in a Week 15 game Sunday, maybe this is the year for one of them.

www.nytimes.com

There’s a long history of Buffalo and Detroit sharing their inspirational figures.

Joyce Carol Oates and Rick James, Bob Lanier and Pat LaFontaine.

They’ve easily crisscrossed the path around Lake Erie, whether by Interstate 90 or Ontario’s Highway 401, to find a familiar setting on the other end — another vibrant Rust Belt city that’s been kicked in the teeth but refuses to roll over. They’re union towns, hard-drinking towns. They’re poorer than most places their size. On the Canadian border, Tim Hortons is a local coffee shop and Labatt Blue is considered a domestic beer. Their sports teams are oxygen.

And, for generations, the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions have deprived them.

There’ve been successes, of course: the Bills with their back-to-back AFL titles in the 1960s and four straight Super Bowl losses three decades back, the Lions with their pre-JFK dominance and Barry Sanders’ resplendence until too much dysfunction made him quit.

Who could have entertained the notion of Buffalo and Detroit playing for the Lombardi Trophy?

“It would be a Super Bowl made in heaven,” said Mary Wilson, widow of Bills founder and Detroit businessman Ralph Wilson. “It would be awesome.”

A possible championship preview will be the chief storyline on Sunday when two ringless franchises meet at Ford Field. The 12-1 Lions have been betting favorites to win the NFC, while the 10-3 Bills last week slipped back to the second-best odds in the AFC behind the Kansas City Chiefs, whom the Bills conquered last month.

Just three seasons ago, each fan base wanted to lash its head coach to a downriver barge. Lions coach Dan Campbell is the clear favorite for Coach of the Year. Bills coach Sean McDermott locked up his fifth straight AFC East crown with a month’s worth of games remaining.

“There are so many commonalities,” said John Beilein, former basketball coach at Canisius College and the University of Michigan. Beilein, a lifelong Bills fan from nearby Burt, N.Y., is the Detroit Pistons’ senior adviser for player development.

“It’s amazing how these teams have evolved. They’ve each had a renaissance, with their cultures of being good, smart teams that don’t beat themselves. Dan Campbell could run for mayor, governor, senator and he would win.”

Buffalo and Detroit are interchangeable when it comes to the old “drinking town with a football problem” quip.

Their NFL teams matter so much, at least in part, because they savor a happy distraction. Recent data shows they rank similarly among large metros in unionization (Buffalo first, Detroit seventh), poverty (Detroit second, Buffalo third) and excessive drinking (Buffalo fourth, Detroit 13th).

“It’s cold and dreary and gloomy and not a whole lot else to do, so they latch onto their teams,” said former Bills and Lions tight end Pete Metzelaars, who grew up in Michigan between Detroit and Chicago. “They’re towns that fell on hard times and needed to transition, needed to recreate themselves — much like their football teams.

“Buffalo lives and dies and bleeds with the Bills. The city’s hopes and dreams rise and fall whenever the Bills win or lose, walking around Monday morning all wowsy wowsy woo woo. Detroit’s been waiting for years and years and years to have a successful team. Now they’re living and dying with the Lions too.”

Sports examples of Detroit-Buffalo commingling are abundant. Chris Spielman was a heart-and-soul linebacker in both cities. Popular Bills quarterbacks Joe Ferguson and Frank Reich made their final starts for the Lions.

Dominik Hasek, the Buffalo Sabres’ greatest goaltender, lifted the Stanley Cup twice with the Detroit Red Wings. Iconic coach Scotty Bowman stood behind both teams’ benches and never stopped living in suburban Buffalo, usually spending his day with the Stanley Cup there in his backyard. Sabres great Danny Gare later became the Red Wings’ captain. Roger Crozier took the Conn Smythe Trophy with Detroit before becoming the first goalie in Sabres history.

No. 16 hangs from the rafters at each downtown arena. Lanier, the Bennett High and St. Bonaventure legend, is honored by the Pistons in Little Caesars Arena. LaFontaine, the Hall of Fame center who grew up in suburban Detroit, saw his number retired in KeyBank Center.

But it was Ralph Wilson who made the greatest crossover impact.

Wilson was a charter member of the Foolish Club, the group of firebrands who launched the AFL in 1960. The Detroit insurance, construction, trucking and broadcasting magnate owned a minority stake in the Lions and endeavored to be a full NFL owner, but he grew tired of the league’s reluctance to expand and threw in with the AFL instead. Wilson initially tried to put his team in Miami, but when the city refused to lease the Orange Bowl, he shifted to Buffalo.

“The reason Ralph went to Buffalo was because he was told it was such a great sports town, and Buffalo lived up to it,” Mary Wilson said. “Two great football cities. Detroit is an unbelievable sports town, but the greatest fans are the Buffalo Bills’.”

The Lions’ influence on the original Bills was unmistakable. Ralph Wilson hired Lions defensive coordinator Buster Ramsey as the Bills’ first head coach. The Bills also adopted the Lions’ uniform and helmet colors (Honolulu blue, silver and white), but switched to their current colors for their third season. A Bills-Lions summer exhibition was common from 1967 until the NFL took over preseason scheduling from individual clubs a few years ago.

Wilson remained dear friends with Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr. until their deaths 16 days apart in March 2014.

Mary Wilson assumed controlling ownership of the Bills until they were sold. Terry and Kim Pegula made the highest bid at $1.4 billion. It was a formality when NFL owners approved the Pegulas’ purchase at an Oct. 8 meeting that had been on the league’s calendar for over a year.

The date provided a poetic transition. Mary Wilson knew the final game of Ralph’s ownership era would conclude three days before the vote. She was there, sitting in the Lions season tickets Ralph maintained for over half a century, as the Bills won 17-14 in Ford Field.

The last Bills game of the Ralph Wilson ownership era was a 17-14 win against the Lions in Detroit. (Joe Sargent / Getty Images)

Now she helps oversee the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, endowed with $1.2 billion from the Bills sale, with a focus on awarding grants in Western New York and Southeast Michigan. A major initiative was committing $200 million to transform underused parks into community destinations. Buffalo’s old LaSalle Park on the Niagara River became the 100-acre Ralph Wilson Park, and Detroit’s derelict West Riverfront Park is being turned into the new Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park.

Not since landscape-architect grand master Frederick Law Olmsted created Buffalo’s parks system and Detroit’s Belle Isle Park in the late 1800s have the cities’ green spaces been so enriched.

“The two parks on the riverfront in Detroit and in Buffalo, they’re going to be Ralph’s greatest legacy,” Mary Wilson said.

Ralph Wilson would have emitted that trademark cackle upon learning his Bills were sold to a boyhood Lions fan. Terry Pegula grew up in Northeast Pennsylvania, but he adored Detroit Tigers right fielder Al Kaline. Pegula found it natural to adopt the Lions as his NFL team, too. Although never a Red Wings guy, Pegula tried to apply a heavy dose of “Hockeytown” mystique by branding his Sabres enterprise “Hockey Heaven.” The name didn’t stick.

Pegula has enjoyed substantially more success with his football club. From his first full season as owner, the Bills have a .611 win percentage (compared to a .463 win percentage before), reached the postseason in nine out of 10 seasons and endured just two losing seasons.

Two of the Bills’ victories happened with the Lions’ critical assistance.

Buffalo is the “City of Good Neighbors,” but the Lions twice came to the Bills’ rescue when deadly snowstorms struck Western New York and forced games to be relocated. At Ford Field, the Bills rolled the New York Jets in November 2014 and the Cleveland Browns in November 2022.

Over the 64 years the Bills and Lions have existed, they’ve made the playoffs in the same season just five times. Before last year, they won a playoff game in the same season once. It happened in 1991, the Lions’ lone postseason victory between their 1957 NFL title and last year.

“My coaching years at Michigan were the same years the Bills were bad,” Beilein said, referring to Buffalo’s 17-year playoff drought that ended in 2017. “They went through three or four coaches, and so did Detroit. I had several guys on my staff and on the team from the Detroit area, and just remember lamenting about our teams and the misery-loving-company I had with all the Detroit fans. It connected us. A new coach, a new optimism, and there we are all over again.”

But the possibility of Detroit and Buffalo playing in the Super Bowl has added significance because somebody finally would win one.

A wonderful feat to win the AFC and advance four straight winters, but the Bills’ inability to cash any of their opportunities is an organizational scar.

From the group of 28 teams that existed upon the NFL’s 1976 expansion, the Lions and Browns officially are the last franchises without a Super Bowl trip, although the original Browns did morph into the Baltimore Ravens, winners of two Lombardi Trophies.

To explore what an NFL championship would mean to Buffalo or Detroit, scant better options exist than Mike Lodish, a native Detroiter and 11-year NFL defensive tackle. Lodish played in a record six Super Bowls. After appearing in all the Bills’ defeats, he earned two championship rings with the Denver Broncos.

“The biggest similarity between the two cities — more than being blue collar and the Great Lakes and all the manufacturing — is how their fan bases have such a desire to win a championship,” Lodish said. “Both Buffalo and Detroit need it because they haven’t had one. The need is monumental.

“If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can win a Super Bowl, why can’t Detroit or Buffalo? Ultimately, it’s everything.”

Everyone interviewed for this story, however, insisted a championship parade would have greater significance to Buffalo. They’re all rooting accordingly.

Detroit, after all, has reveled in sports glory this century through the Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers, Wolverines and Spartans.

Mary Wilson sold the house in Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., last month and considers herself a Western New Yorker these days. She got rid of her suite at Highmark Stadium, she said, because she got tired of playing hostess and simply wanted to concentrate on the game. So she has six Bills season tickets out in the crowd now.

She also still has two of Ralph’s six Lions season tickets. Mary will be sitting in Ford Field on Sunday, but cheering for the visitors.

“I’m really looking forward to this game,” Mary Wilson said. “People ask me, ‘Who are you going to pull for?’ I go, ‘Are you kidding?’ I never go against the Bills.”

 

[SpikedLemonade]

This will be a tough one.

NOT the game...the Menu.

Mother Fuckers won't let you shoot or eat a Lion anymore unlike when my ancestors -- all our ancestors -- lived in Africa.

So I am making Detroit Style Pizza instead like a fuckin' non-lion eating peasant.

Here is the recipe that is my guideline ==> https://alexandracooks.com/2021/08/13/detroit-style-pizza-two-ways-yeast-and-sourdough/

Prepping toppings now.

Sliced up some Italian Sausage I BBQ'ed earlier in the week.

Making a list for grocery shopping in 5 minutes -- any requests?.

I have all sorts of hot and sweet peppers from the garden and elsewhere.

I will need a ton of cheese.

Going to make 5 big sheets:

(1) The 27 year old daughter's pizza I will do the dough for -- she can get off her ass and do the rest;

(2) The wife's pizza that I will roll out and walk away in disgust -- probably Organic Kale, Peruvian Quinoa on a sauce of African Wachati Guano;

(3) A pizza for a helpful neighbourhood buddy and his picky eating 12 year old son -- pepperoni and cheese; and

(4) A Garlic Cream White Sauce Pizza (toppings to be determined) and

(5) A Kitchen Sink Tomato Sauce Pizza for me.

BILLS 42 - 39​

 

[SpikedLemonade]

Given we are all from Africa, I still maintain we should be able to eat lion.

 

[HipKat]

Bills-Lions: Who you got? Buffalo News writers make their predictions on Sunday's game​

Bills-Lions: Who you got? Buffalo News writers make their predictions on Sunday's game

See which team The Buffalo News' Bills reporters are picking to win today's game.

buffalonews.com

Jay Skurski​

The Bills are just 3-3 in their past six road games. The Lions are riding an 11-game win streak, but four of those wins have been by three points or less, including their last two games. Detroit has looked a bit vulnerable lately, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for the Bills. Detroit’s running attack is a big mismatch against the weakest part of the Bills, which is their run defense. Cornerback Rasul Douglas’ absence due to injury also is a concern. The Lions have scored at least 40 points four times this season and topped 50 twice, so they are obviously explosive. This is a gut-check game for the Bills' defense, which was outclassed last week against the Rams. Josh Allen likely will need another Superman performance to lift the Bills. Lions, 35-31.



Josh Allen runs for a touchdown during a game against the Lions in 2022. Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News

Mark Gaughan​

I actually think the Los Angeles Rams’ offense is better than Detroit’s offense, even though the statistics say otherwise. The Rams’ Matthew Stafford is clearly superior to the Lions’ Jared Goff. However, the Lions’ run game is better. Detroit’s offensive line is better, Jahmyr Gibbs is an elite running back and David Montgomery is the best No. 2 back in the NFL. This is the big problem for the Bills on Sunday. Only two defenses have stopped the Lions’ run game this year, Houston and Green Bay last week. Not sure how the Bills are going to keep Detroit under 130 rushing yards. I like the Bills’ offense to produce. The Lions like to blitz, and Josh Allen is outstanding against the blitz, plus it gives him more running lanes to scramble. Can the Bills run on Detroit? That’s uncertain, too. Detroit also has the rest advantage this week. Lions, 37-30.

Ryan O'Halloran​

Super Bowl preview, anybody? Two title-starved franchises meet in a matchup of the NFL’s top two scoring offenses (Detroit 32.1, Bills 30.5). The major signs point to a track meet. The Lions’ injuries on defense have decimated their depth chart and the Bills’ beleaguered defense was strafed by the Rams last week. Both offenses are led by MVP candidates (Josh Allen and Jared Goff). So, of course, let’s go with the opposite unfolding. Defense. Stops. Field goals instead of touchdowns. The Bills bounce back to move to 11-3. Bills, 23-20.

Katherine Fitzgerald​

Without cornerback Rasul Douglas and with a slew of Buffalo players questionable for the game, I worry about the Bills in this contest. The Bills' defense faltered last week in Los Angeles, and the group will need to bounce back in a big way to contain the high-scoring Detroit offense. On the offensive side of things, Buffalo will need to eat up the clock and score effectively. It’s a boost that rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman should finally be back. If there’s a rematch, I’d go Bills, but this week, it’s Detroit. Lions, 38-33.

 

[HipKat]

Four keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday​

Four keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday

Bills quarterback Josh Allen knows controlling time of possession will benefit the Buffalo defense, helping in the mission to play complementary football.

buffalonews.com

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) is knocked out of bounds by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nick McCloud (35) during the second quarter
at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News)

1. Control time of possession.​

The Lions are averaging 32:21 when it comes to time of possession, but with that, they’ve been able to open up their playbook. “This is an offense that you got to keep up with,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said, “You're going to have to score points on the offensive side of the ball.” Allen knows controlling time of possession will benefit the Buffalo defense, helping in the mission to play complementary football. “We’re not playing (Detroit’s) offense on our side of the ball, but they do such a good job over there of holding onto the football and scoring points,” he said.

2. Get to Goff.​

Detroit's offensive line is strong. Pro Football Focus ranks it first in the NFL. With that, Lions quarterback Jared Goff is able to play to the best of his abilities. “They do a great job, in particular in the play-action game and screen game,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “They do a great job protecting (Goff) in those two capacities. … He’s in sync with the coordinator. And they do a great job and just very creative in how they scheme things up.” Goff’s completion percentage of 72.4% is second in the league among starting quarterbacks, behind only the Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa. The Lions’ run game and their ability to protect Goff allows him to keep opposing defenses on their toes.

3. Bounce back on defense.​

Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich thinks his defense will come out Sunday with the right mindset to make corrections after last week’s poor showing. They’ll need to. “Don't flinch,” Babich said Monday on the team’s approach. “We didn't play well enough. I think the guys would tell you the biggest thing for us is our offense was scoring and getting us back on the field and we couldn't get a stop. … So, our response, I expect our guys' response to be exactly what we all think it is. They know what our standard is here in Buffalo. We need to live up to that standard.”

4. Stick to your identity.​

McDermott said multiple times on Wednesday that while the Bills need to improve, they can’t get away from the things that have brought them success all season long. Babich echoed that the defense needs to be themselves, despite what Detroit shows. “This will be our fifth game in a sense against that style of offense,” Babich said. “So, it obviously provides a little comfortability in the fact you can anticipate some of the things. But everybody's a little bit different. So, what we got to worry about is ourselves. We got to worry about ourselves and have a high awareness of who we're going against, how they like to play, how they like to attack.”

 

[HipKat]

The Bills and Lions share a longtime connection. Now, they’re formidable foes

The symbiotic relationship between the two cities and their football teams has much to do with Bills longtime original owner Ralph Wilson, who grew up in Detroit but wound up making Buffalo his adopted home.

buffalonews.com

Buffalo shares a unique connection with Detroit.

They’re both Great Lakes region cities with similar industrial-driven, gritty culture and history, trying to find their way in a changing economic landscape.

The football teams in those towns have endured years of struggles and ill fortune, only to rise to Super Bowl hopefuls over the past several seasons.

The communities live and die with their hometown team, and their attitudes and hopes many times swing like a pendulum depending on how the franchises are doing.

These days, the teams are certainly on the upswing, and the belief that’s resulted in the two communities has been palpable.

When the 12-1 Lions and 10-3 Bills meet at 4:25 p.m. today at Ford Field in Detroit, the game will be one of the NFL regular season’s premier matchups and is even being billed as a potential Super Bowl preview.

It’s been over 30 years since the teams met during a season in which both will make the playoffs.

“The hope that is established in communities when two great teams like this do as well as they’re doing this year just changes the culture of community and the desire to see things move forward in the right way,” said Dave Egner, president and CEO of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, which financially supports both Western New York and Southeast Michigan.

The symbiotic relationship between the two cities and their football teams has much to do with Bills longtime original owner Ralph Wilson, who grew up in Detroit but wound up making Buffalo his adopted home. His legacy in both places remains to this day through the work of the foundation that bears his name.

“There’s so much happening in these cities, so when these communities can rally around these teams and then win, the joy of that carries over into daily living,” said Mary Wilson, the wife of the late Bills founder.

“This is a wonderful moment in time,” she added. “There’s so much attention being brought to the game because of this connection of Ralph to these two great cities that are so similar in many ways and the foundation that is helping both of them.”


Mary Wilson, widow of Bills founder Ralph C. Wilson Jr., mingles with guests during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new stadium.
A Buffalo-Detroit Super Bowl would be “a match truly made in heaven,” she said. Derek Gee, Buffalo News

But the teams also share in something not as enviable – years of struggles on the field, which at times have served to dampen all the work being done to help grow both regions. That’s not the case this season.

While Buffalo has been on fire with enthusiasm for the Bills, who have now won five straight AFC East divisional titles, the same can be said of Detroit, which advanced to the NFC championship game last season for the first time since 1991.

The Detroit Police Department reports that crime rates have actually been going down since the Lions began their winning ways, according to Roxanne Caine, vice president of the Detroit Lions Foundation. Detroit also hosted the draft earlier this year, bringing more than 775,000 fans to downtown for the three-day event.

“There’s so much pride in this city and so much pride in this team, and it’s everywhere,” Caine said. “Five or six years ago, it was hard to find people wearing Lions gear and now no matter where you go someone is wearing something with Lions on it. It’s really awesome to have the love for this team transform the way people feel about the city and themselves.”


An end zone view at Ford Field in November 2022. Harry Scull Jr./News file photo

Fans in both cities see eye to eye​

Those shared experiences in sometimes difficult times have also created somewhat of a kinship between the two fan bases.

There’s a camaraderie between Lions’ fans, known as One Pride, and Bills Mafia, and the two fan bases have expressed excitement about gathering for this game.

“Both cities are blue-collar cities, and with both teams having struggled for years and now blossoming again, there’s definitely a connection there,” said Andrea Morrow, a longtime Bills fan and president of the Detroit Bills Backers.

After being born and raised in Buffalo, Morrow moved to Detroit in 2015 for work but maintained her passion for the Bills.

“People I work with support the Bills, because of me, and I tell them I support the Lions as long as they’re not playing the Bills,” she said. “And that’s how it seems to be with everyone I run into in Detroit.”

The Lions have also opened their stadium for two Bills home games over the past decade, welcoming Buffalo fans when snowstorms made it impossible to play in Orchard Park.

As a thank you for hosting a November 2022 Buffalo game in Detroit, Bills Mafia donated to the Lions’ foundation, according to Caine. And then when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field a few months later, the Lions used that funding to promote CPR and AED education throughout their community, she said.


An aerial view shows construction at Ralph Wilson Park in Buffalo over the summer. The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation is financially supporting projects in
Western New York and Southeast Michigan. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

A powerful impact in two communities​

Based in Detroit, the Wilson Foundation has made grant commitments of over $1 billion – almost 50/50 into the two markets – since it was formed in 2015.

Western New York and Southeast Michigan have similar issues in that they are traditionally manufacturing and industrial cities now adjusting to technology and having to grow in new ways.

The foundation’s resources are being used for a variety of causes, including youth sports, caregiving, parks and recreation, and organizations working for equity, community building and financial prosperity.

“Both places are retooling employment and culture,” Egner said. “It’s been a blast to work in both places because of their similarities, and they both have unique assets while sharing an international border with Canada.”

After working in the insurance business owned by his father and investing in mines and factories around Michigan, Wilson founded the Bills in 1960 and owned the team for 54 years before his death in 2014 at the age of 95. He aimed to make a significant and lasting impact by forming the foundation to disperse some of his fortune after his death.

“He loved both cities and he loved the game and fans, and now he’s making an even larger impact with his foundation,” Mary Wilson said.

The late Bills owner once owned a small share of the Lions, who he’d been a fan of since his childhood. But with no path toward gaining more of a piece of the NFL team, he changed course, selling that portion of the Lions and paying $25,000 in 1959 to give the Bills their start in the AFL.

Egner said Wilson was a risk-taker who bet on Buffalo, calling him a “go for it on fourth-and-one kind of guy.”

“He would have great admiration for (Lions coach) Dan Campbell and his courage to go for it on fourth down and (Bills quarterback) Josh Allen doing whatever it takes to get to the first down marker,” Egner said.


Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen runs with the ball during a November 2022 game against the Detroit Lions. Harry Scull Jr., News file photo

Simultaneous success of teams has been rare​

With Buffalo and Detroit having a lot in common, it’s special when the Bills and Lions meet, especially when both are doing so well, Egner said. But that has not been often over the years.

This will be only the second time that the teams will meet during a season in which both will make the playoffs. The only other time it happened was in 1991, when the Bills made it to the second of four straight Super Bowls, and the Lions reached the NFC championship game. The Bills lead the series, 7-4-1, dating back to when the teams met for the first time in 1972.

So, the excitement level for this matchup is through the roof, Morrow said.

Detroit Bills Backers are preparing to welcome the thousands of Bills fans who loyally travel to the team’s road games. They’ve sold over 400 tickets to their “Motown Takeover Tailgate” party from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and are hosting a welcome party in Detroit the day prior.

“A lot of people are saying this is the preview to the Super Bowl, but I don’t say that because while I’m not a superstitious person, I like to go one week at a time, especially when it comes to the Bills. But it is a game everyone wants to see,” Morrow said.

If this game turns out to be a Super Bowl preview, Mary Wilson said it would be “a match truly made in heaven,” referring to her late husband. It would also mean that one of the franchises would win their first Super Bowl.

While she adores Detroit, she’ll be donning Bills blue when she attends the game Sunday.

“I’m happy for Detroit and thrilled for the Lions and always thought they’d make a comeback,” Wilson said. “(But) when I met Ralph in 1990, my introduction to the NFL was the Buffalo Bills so I fell in love with Buffalo and the Bills.”

As for Egner, regardless of who wins, he said, “I can’t lose.”

 

[HipKat]

Bills at Lions: How to watch, odds, expert picks with Detroit as close home favorite​

Bills at Lions: How to watch, odds, expert picks with Detroit as close home favorite

Sunday’s showdown has Game of the Year potential. Prepare accordingly.

www.nytimes.com

There’s a lot at stake in Week 15, but nothing looms larger than this potential Super Bowl preview. The 12-1 Detroit Lions welcome the 10-3 Buffalo Bills on Sunday, with the hosts favored by a narrow margin.

How to watch Bills at Lions​

• Venue: Ford Field — Detroit
• Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
• TV: CBS
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)
• Watching in-person? Get tickets on StubHub.

These teams have the best point differentials in the league — the Bills are a dominant plus-129, and the Lions are a downright silly plus-183. It’s a cool development for two of the sport’s most passionate and starved fan bases.

Detroit is first in points for and tied for second in points against. Buffalo has scored 30 or more in every game since mid-October, and tout the presumed MVP under center in Josh Allen. Last weekend, Allen made fantasy football history in Los Angeles — but his team lost, due to a few perplexing coaching decisions and a blocked punt returned for six.

Allen has been superbly disciplined this year, but Detroit’s Kerby Joseph leads the NFL with seven interceptions.

Buffalo’s offense gets well-deserved love, but its defense is great as well. Six Bills have multiple interceptions. Greg Rousseau is on the verge of setting his career-high in sacks, while A.J. Epenesa is on pace for his most quarterback hits. The Bills are perhaps weakest in run defense, where they are allowing 4.7 yards per carry.

Detroit loves running the ball. Its “Sonic and Knuckles” duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs has combined for 24 total touchdowns and almost 1,800 rushing yards.

This Lions defense is best in the league on third downs. But while Dan Campbell is known for rolling the dice, it’s the Bills that have this season’s best fourth-down conversion rate.

Sunday’s showdown has Game of the Year potential. Prepare accordingly.

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Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions odds​

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Expert picks for Bills vs. Lions​

 

[SpikedLemonade]

Pizzas almost done

 

[sukie]

Is that canned or fresh Guano?

 

[SpikedLemonade]

Last one is in the oven

 

[SpikedLemonade]

Is that canned or fresh Guano?

I have NO fresh.

Remind me to tell you next week about my bat house story

 

[SpikedLemonade]