The Buffalo Bills don’t have much time to enjoy Victory Monday. A short week is already here, and the next test comes fast: the Detroit Lions at Highmark Stadium on Thursday Night Football, with two 1-0 teams meeting on Amazon Prime for the Bills’ stadium debut.
Detroit arrives with a familiar problem hanging over it. The Lions have been banged up again in 2025, and the injury trouble has already followed them into 2026. Before the season even kicked off, they put starting safeties Brian Branch and Kirby Joseph on the reserve/PUP list, leaving them without two defensive starters right out of the gate.
The backfield has taken another hit, too. Isiah Pacheco, who was expected to be the No. 2 option behind Jahmyr Gibbs, is out until at least December after back surgery.
Detroit’s projected injury report from its Monday walk-through also included the following:
The Lions are also coming off a wild Week 1 win that asked plenty of their legs. They watched a 21-point lead disappear against the New Orleans Saints, then saw the game pushed into overtime. New Orleans chose to go for two with 1:34 left in the extra period rather than play for the tie.
That kind of game can linger, especially on a short week. Detroit had to play almost an entire extra quarter, and that’s not the ideal setup when the next opponent is waiting on Thursday.
The Saints did their damage by throwing the ball all over the field. Tyler Shough piled up 410 passing yards, and Chris Olave was his top target, finishing with 10 catches for 182 yards.
Buffalo has its own momentum after Week 1. Josh Allen threw for 334 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns, while DJ Moore posted 100 receiving yards and a score. Those numbers could be in play again when the Bills and Lions line up under the lights.
In Other News...
Josh Allen Had Bills Fans Doing A Double Take On The Sideline
The Bills first regular-season game at the new Highmark Stadium already had the feel of an event, with Buffalo coming in at 1-0 after its win over the Texans and welcoming the Lions to the teams fresh home. But one sideline moment quickly drew attention when Josh Allen was spotted using smelling salts, a sight that sent fans doing a double take during an otherwise high-profile night for the franchise.
Allen later shed a little light on his game-day habits, describing a pregame routine that includes vomiting, listening to music, and drinking water. It is a reminder that even the most accomplished quarterbacks can have rituals that are anything but ordinary, and in Buffalo, every small detail around Allen tends to get magnified when the spotlight is this bright. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Passing Game Takes A Hit With DJ Moore Suddenly Out
A promising afternoon for Buffalos passing game took a sharp turn late in the second quarter when DJ Moore went down with a shoulder injury while trying to haul in a diving catch against the Detroit Lions. He was taken to the locker room for X-rays, and the Bills initially listed him as questionable before ruling him out after halftime.
For a team that had been leaning on Moore as part of its aerial rhythm, the timing could hardly have been worse. His status leaves Buffalo waiting for answers on how serious the injury is, and the bigger concern now is how the passing game will adjust if he has to miss more time. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Allen Was Furious Over How Bills Teammates Family Tragedy Went Public
The Bills spent the summer trying to navigate one of the hardest kinds of news an NFL locker room can face, with Ed Oliver mourning the death of his two-year-old son after the child was found unresponsive in a swimming pool near Houston in June. The Harris County Sheriff's Office investigated the incident, found no criminal findings and closed the case in August, while Buffalo publicly offered condolences and tried to keep the focus on support rather than details.
Josh Allen still made clear how upset he was with the way the tragedy became public. Speaking to the media, the Bills quarterback thanked the people who respected the familys privacy and criticized those who leaked the information before the family had a chance to process it. For a team that has had to rally around Oliver, the episode served as another reminder of how quickly personal grief can spill into the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]