The Lions came into Thursday night hoping to make Buffalo’s first game at New Highmark Stadium a little less celebratory. Instead, the Bills turned it into a rout early and never really let Detroit breathe.
Buffalo ripped off a 21-0 start, and even though the final score settled at 41-31, the Lions were never close after the Bills pushed the lead to 14-0. The only real misfire for Buffalo was a missed extra point.
Detroit did get some offense from a few places, starting with Jahmyr Gibbs. He was the engine in the first half, especially on the Lions’ lone touchdown drive before halftime.
Gibbs handled most of the chunk gains on that series and finished it himself with a receiving touchdown. At one point, he had 80 total yards while the rest of the offense outside of him had only 18.
Even after the game plan shifted away from him once Detroit was chasing points, Gibbs still piled up 113 total yards.
Sam LaPorta also looked like himself again after missing the end of 2025 with injury. He wasn’t just a receiving outlet - he helped open lanes for multiple Gibbs runs and then added six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.
When Detroit needed a play in the second half, he was the guy they leaned on. He also pulled down a one-handed catch on a lob from Goff.
Amon-Ra St. Brown was, once again, targeted early and often.
This time, the production matched the workload. He crossed 100 yards by the fourth quarter, scored his third touchdown of the young season in the third quarter to help trim the deficit to 10, and then added another touchdown grab under the two-minute warning.
He finished with nine catches for 142 yards and two scores.
But the night was defined just as much by the Lions’ self-inflicted damage. The offensive line had too many mental mistakes, and those errors kept Detroit from turning this into the kind of shootout it briefly looked capable of becoming.
Trystan Scruggs had a rough night after being the best blocker of the group against the Saints, per PFF. The Penn State product delivered a high snap that forced Goff to fall on the ball on third down, then followed it with a false start on third-and-inches that ended in a punt on the next play. As the source put it, “A false start as a center is an inexcusable penalty, and it is the mental errors that stopped Detroit from turning Thursday into a shootout.”
Dan Skipper Borom had his own struggles filling in for injured rookie Blake Miller. He was beaten for multiple pressures, committed a false start in the two-minute drill to end the first half when Detroit was near field goal range, and then added another false start on fourth-and-three in the red zone. Later, he gave up a sack on second down during a late push while Detroit was still trying to find a touchdown with less than four minutes left and down 17.
The penalties kept coming on the other side too. Rock Ya-Sin was targeted repeatedly and picked up two flags, including a defensive holding that could have been called on him or Roger McCreary after a Skyler Gill-Howard interception off a deflection. He was also hit with an offsides penalty while pressing, another preventable mistake.
Terrion Reed also had a rough night in coverage and discipline. Josh Allen carved up the Lions for four first-half touchdowns, and Reed was flagged for holding on one of Allen’s first throws of the game, which only tacked on five free yards.
Marcus Maddox barely had time to settle in before a leg injury sent the former Eagle off on a cart. Before he exited, he was beaten on a blown coverage that led to a Joshua Palmer touchdown with no Lions defender within 10 yards, and that came on third-and-11.
Aidan White flashed early with some first-half pressure, but he faded as the game went on. What really landed him among the losers was a facemask penalty after Detroit had stopped Buffalo on the goal line. Instead of forcing the Bills to settle down, White handed them a free first down while they were already up 10, and Buffalo scored on that drive.
Isaiah TeSlaa won the WR3 competition over Tay Martin and Greg Dortch in camp, but through two weeks he still hasn’t given Detroit much in the box score. He was targeted once in Week 1 and twice in the first half Thursday, with no catches.
His fourth target became a six-yard reception, and he later had an end-zone target knocked away. He did finally come up with his first big catch of the season on fourth down, but by then the Lions were down 17 and the two-minute warning was near.
Lacy rounded out the night with one more costly mistake. He didn’t make much of an impact on the game, then committed a facemask penalty with Detroit down 10, taking away one more chance for the Lions to stop the clock and chase an unlikely comeback.
In Other News...
Lions Got Caught In Buffalo's Big Night For One Clear Reason
The Lions found themselves on the wrong end of Buffalos first night at the new Highmark Stadium, a 41-31 Bills win that felt as much like a franchise celebration as a regular-season opener. The pregame and in-game scene had the full Buffalo treatment, from live mascots to Bills Mafia table-breaking and a performance by the Barenaked Ladies singing O Canada, all of it building a loud, charged backdrop for a team eager to christen its new home the right way.
Josh Allen made sure the occasion belonged to Buffalo on the field, too, with five total touchdowns powering the Bills past Detroit. For the Lions, it was the kind of game where the atmosphere, the opponent and the stakes all seemed to point in one direction, and Buffalo seized the moment from the opening emotions of the night. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Window Suddenly Looks Tied To One Brad Holmes Problem
The Lions have spent the past few seasons building one of the leagues deeper rosters under Brad Holmes, and the early returns from his draft work were a major reason why Detroit could finally sustain that progress. But the more recent classes have not given the team the same kind of lift, and that shortage has started to show up in the places the Lions can least afford it. When young players are not adding reliable snaps on either side of the ball, the margin gets thinner fast.
Detroits recent struggles have made the issue harder to ignore because the team is now feeling the weight of misses, setbacks and unavailable players from those newer groups. A roster that once looked stocked with homegrown help has had to lean more heavily on the same core names, and that is a tougher way to survive when the competition tightens. The bigger question hanging over the Lions is whether the next wave of draft talent can still restore some balance before the window gets any harder to hold open. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Fans Finally Have An Update After That Brutal DJ Moore Injury
There was a collective exhale after DJ Moore went down against the Lions, because any shoulder injury to a top pass-catcher can look worse in real time than it does once the cameras pull back. The Bills wide receiver was checked out after the hit, and the early read is encouraging for Buffalo and anyone who was watching that moment with a little extra concern. He was able to walk off the field on his own, and the team sent him for an X-ray before getting a clearer picture.
For now, the injury is being treated as day to day, with medical sources not considering it serious and a chance he suits up next against the Chargers. For the Lions, it is a reminder of how quickly one collision can become a storyline that lingers beyond the final whistle, especially when the player involved is central to an opponents offense. The immediate scare appears to have passed, but the next update will still matter for both teams short-term outlooks. [Read more 🡒]