The Lions are walking into Buffalo with a very recognizable blueprint, and it starts with how they want the game played. Detroit has leaned into its identity under Dan Campbell, and that approach showed up again in Week 1 against the Saints. The offense wants to operate from under center, the run game is built around Jahmyr Gibbs, and Jared Goff’s comfort level is tied closely to whether the pocket stays clean.
That last part matters a lot in this matchup. Scott Barrett of Fantasy Points pointed out before the season that no quarterback has shown a bigger split between clean-pocket production and pressured drop backs over the past three seasons than Goff.
His clean-pocket work has been elite, while his numbers dip sharply once pressure arrives. Against the Saints, he was pressured on just 22% of his drop backs and finished 3-of-7 for 49 yards and a touchdown without an interception.
The sample size in Week 1 was small, but the larger point is the same: getting to Goff is the job.
Detroit’s preference for playing under center is another clear tell. The Lions were under center on 75% of their offensive snaps in Week 1, second only to the Raiders at 75.5%.
The Ravens were third at 66.7%. Buffalo, meanwhile, was under center on 64.3% of its offensive plays in Houston.
That willingness to line up this way fits the way Detroit wants to build its offense, and it feeds directly into the play-action game.
That part of the Lions’ attack has been a staple for a while. In 2024, Goff led qualifying quarterbacks with 35.7% of his drop backs coming on play action.
That number dropped to 28.1% last season, but it still ranked among the league’s top 10. Against New Orleans, he used play action on 34.1% of his drop backs.
The run threat is not decoration in this offense; it’s the engine.
Gibbs is a huge reason why. In his first two seasons with Detroit, he was part of a running back committee with David Montgomery.
That changed in Week 1, and it changed in a big way. Gibbs carried 29 times for 156 yards against the Saints, while backup Sione Vaki had just two carries for seven yards.
Gibbs also added five catches for 30 yards. His 29 rushing attempts were five more than anyone else in the NFL in Week 1.
The Lions want the ball in his hands as often as they can get it there, and his explosiveness makes that easy to understand.
On the other side of the ball, Detroit brought a similarly aggressive approach. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard had the Lions blitzing at the 13th-highest rate in 2025, at 26.6%.
In Week 1, that number jumped all the way to 43% against the Saints, the fifth-highest rate in the league. Jim Leonhard blitzed C.J.
Stroud 24.7% of the time, which ranked 17th in Week 1.
That kind of pressure looks even more notable with Detroit missing its starting safeties, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. When healthy, they might be the best safety tandem in the NFL. Without them, Sheppard still chose to keep the pressure coming and force the ball out quickly before opposing quarterbacks can let deeper routes develop.
And then there’s Aidan Hutchinson, who remains the centerpiece of the pass rush. He posted 10 pressures in Week 1.
The next closest Lion was nose tackle Alim McNeill with three. Last season, including the playoffs, Hutchinson racked up 100 pressures.
The next-highest total on the team belonged to Al-Quadin Muhammad at 53, and he left in free agency for the Buccaneers.
Detroit added Derrick Moore in the second round in April, but expectations for him should stay modest. D.J.
Wonnum was brought in to help on the edge opposite Hutchinson, and he had three pressures against New Orleans. Even so, he has cleared 40 pressures in a season only once in his NFL career, back in 2021.
Hutchinson is still the player driving everything up front.
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Bills Penalty Numbers Look Ugly But The Real Damage Is Up For Debate
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Bills Fans Get A Wild New Game Day Twist For Lions Opener
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For a building that is already about to host its first regular-season game, the promotion adds a little extra novelty to an already big night in Orchard Park. Buffalo is also trying to keep its early-season momentum going and move to 2-0, so the opener is shaping up as more than just a first look at the new stadium - it is another chance to give the home crowd something to remember. [Read more 🡒]