3 key stats for Detroit Lions vs. Buffalo Bills
· Yahoo Sports
The Detroit Lions are hitting the road on Thursday night to take on the Buffalo Bills.
The Lions (1-0) are coming off a nail-biting, 31-30, overtime win at home over the Saints last Sunday in which they gave up a 21-point third quarter lead. On the other hand, the Bills (1-0) are ushering in their long-awaited new Highmark Stadium after a barn-burning 36-31 win over the Texans last week.
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The Bills carry the edge in overall momentum heading into Thursday night's game, but let's look at three key stats that should tell the story of this matchup:
Bills have won the last five meetings vs. Lions
Even during the pre-Josh Allen years, the Bills have had the Lions' number.
The Bills have won seven of their last eight games against the Lions, including 2024's MVP-defining, four-touchdown game for Josh Allen that ended in Buffalo's favor, 48-42. That 2024 victory for the Bills marked the fifth consecutive win over the Lions.
The Lions have won in Buffalo just once in franchise history. It was a 17-14 overtime victory by the Lions on Dec. 22, 1991. Detroit is 1-4-1 against the Bills in Buffalo and the Lions trail the all-time series, 4-8-1.
Detroit will have a tall task ahead of them under the lights in front of a crowd gearing up for Highmark Stadium's first game.
Lions and Bills lead the NFL in points per game
Over the last 50 regular-season games, the Lions (29.7) and Bills (28.8) lead the NFL in points per game. Their last meeting in 2024, and the results of each team's performances just last week show that trend is likely to continue.
The Bills torched what is thought of as a league-best defense in the Texans in Week 1, and the Lions' defense could not keep up with the Saints' offense in the second half of their season opener. Conversely, the Bills struggled significantly against the running game of the Texans, which should play into the Lions' hands in theory.
The Lions gave up six 20-plus yard passes in Week 1
The Lions' secondary may be the most inconsistent unit on the field on Thursday night. It's something that was obvious at the end of last season, and the team didn't do much to address it for 2026.
Against the Saints in Week 1, the Lions gave up six 20-plus yard passes. Those passes, multiple of which were glorified jump balls, seemed to happen at will for Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.
Now imagine that but with Josh Allen, who averaged 13.2 air yards per pass attempt last week against what's thought of as one of the league's best defenses in the Houston Texans.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: 3 key stats for Detroit Lions vs. Buffalo Bills