Billows of smoke from pregame fireworks hung high over the natural grass field inside Highmark Stadium as the Detroit Lions’ Jack Fox prepared to boot the football for the opening kickoff Thursday night.
A sold-out crowd of 60,108 conjured a deafening roar inside the Bills’ new home on Abbott Road. A global streaming audience watched the unveiling and prepared to watch a game that many expected to be a shootout between two high-octane offenses.
Before anybody made a tackle or threw a pass, Joe Brady sent a message to his players with one simple decision: If the Bills were to win the coin toss, Brady wanted to start on offense. From the moment the Bills promoted him to replace Sean McDermott in January, the youngest head coach in the NFL said he wants opponents to focus on stopping the Bills, not the other way around.
Bills linebacker Dorian Williams stands over Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff after making a stop during the second quarter Thursday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
The next three hours showed how these Bills are different, and why the rest of the NFL will not want to see Buffalo next on its schedule.
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Josh Allen scored five touchdowns, James Cook totaled 135 rushing yards and the revamped defense got a key fourth-quarter stop as the Bills improved to 2-0 with a 41-31 victory.
“It helps that we’ve been running this offense for a while,” center Connor McGovern said. “Joe and (offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael) are doing a great job. I’m excited because each week the defense is starting to click a little bit more and I know the next few weeks they’re going to be humming. When we put all three phases together, it’s going to be hard to stop us.”
For the fourth time in five seasons, the Bills started with consecutive wins. They’ve never done it like this before, though.
In victories over Houston and Detroit, Buffalo scored 77 points – the fourth-highest total by a head coach in his first two games during the Super Bowl era. In both games, the Bills totaled at least 400 yards.
The Lions (1-1) are not among the NFC’s top teams. Injuries have depleted their interior offensive line and secondary. Any opponent is difficult on a short week, though.
Remember how poorly the Bills played on a Thursday night in Week 3 last season against Miami (a home win, but an ugly one)? Players are exhausted. There’s not enough meeting or practice time. The game plan needs to be simple, with an emphasis on fundamentals and trying to diagnose the opponent’s issues. The Lions' start was so ugly, some of their defensive players were physically spent after a few drives.
The Bills scored on four consecutive drives to start the game. The first covered 85 yards in 10 plays – three passes, seven runs – and ended with Allen plunging into the end zone. The second covered 79 yards in nine plays, capped by the team’s fourth wide receiver, Joshua Palmer, getting wide open for a 43-yard touchdown.
By halftime, Buffalo had 27 points and 299 yards. It didn’t have its top wide receiver for long, either. DJ Moore, the veteran acquired in March to unlock Allen’s downfield passing potential, suffered a shoulder injury and could not return.
The loss did not change the Bills’ game plan. Six different players caught a pass. Allen had completions of 43, 25, 23 and 22. Once the Lions adjusted, Brady turned to Cook, who sliced through their defense. On one drive, Brady kept calling the same play. Detroit couldn’t stop it. The Bills averaged 6.5 yards per play and totaled 34 first downs. They converted nine of their 12 first downs.
“Don’t get complacent,” said tight end Dalton Kincaid, who made seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. “We have to continue to build and continue to get better. We’re doing that.”
To his credit, Brady has shown no signs of complacency or satisfaction. Since his first regular season as the Bills’ coach began, he has gone out of his way to point out mistakes that could have cost his team. In the fourth quarter, he didn’t like how Cook reached for the pylon to try to score on a 22-yard run. The extra effort was admirable, but Cook has fumbled too often for Brady to agree with the decision. In Week 1, the Bills could have turned the ball over four times. Instead, they don’t have one through two games.
The Bills’ final series of the first half spanned just 17 yards and ended with a punt. Brady was furious. He was determined for them to get back to the end zone the first time they had possession in the second half. After 15 plays and 8:22 of game clock, Allen gave Buffalo a 34-17 lead with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Bills coach Joe Brady talks to his players during the third quarter Thursday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Brady and the Bills scored 77 points in their first two regular-season games, including their 41-31 win over the Lions on Thursday.
“That was the start that we needed, and I just needed us to play that way all 60 minutes,” Brady said.
We know the Bills’ offense is good. It’s been among the NFL’s best since Brady became the play-caller in November 2023. The defense, however, remains a work in progress with a new coordinator, Jim Leonhard, and a 3-4 base scheme that’s drastically different than the one McDermott used for nine seasons. Through two games, Buffalo has allowed 62 points. Its opponents averaged 368 yards. If it weren’t for defensive tackle Deone Walker batting down two passes in a span of three plays to force a three-and-out, Detroit may have turned it into a one-score game.
There were tangible signs of progress, though. Jahmyr Gibbs, the Lions’ ultra-talented running back, rushed for just 52 yards. Detroit’s No. 2 receiver, Jameson Williams, caught just two passes for 33 yards. The Bills couldn’t cover Amon-Ra St. Brown, but nobody can cover him. He caught nine passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed 26 of 38 passes and threw four touchdown passes. Detroit scored on three of its final four possessions.
Bills linebacker Greg Rousseau tackles Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs during the second quarter of their game Thursday at Highmark Stadium. Rousseau had three tackles, including two sacks.
The Bills’ defense showed why players insist it’s different than years past. Twice, Greg Rousseau sacked Goff. With four sacks in two games, Rousseau looks like he's going to break through in the new defense. The Bills raced to a 21-0 lead in part because the Lions had to punt on three of their first four drives. The secondary is the most concerning aspect of Buffalo’s defense, but the defensive line outplayed the Lions up front despite Ed Oliver having missed the game with a hip injury he suffered during pregame warmups.
Buffalo had four sacks and 11 quarterback hits.
“It was one of the best games I’ve had since I’ve been here, with the entire defensive line working together,” Walker said. “Rushing four for one and helping out each other. ... We see it clicking. We were clicking with each other and we know what each other likes. The sky is the limit. We just have to keep putting in that work.”
The schedule does not get easier. In Week 3, the Los Angeles Chargers are in Orchard Park. Then it’s Drake Maye and the New England Patriots. In Week 5, the Bills travel west to play the Rams.
Fifteen games remain. The marathon has just begun. Through two weeks, though, Brady and his players have shown that these Bills have the potential to accomplish the goal they have not been able to attain.
