Josh Allen Scores Five Touchdowns as Bills Beat Lions 41-31 at New Highmark Stadium
Josh Allen accounted for five touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills beat the Detroit Lions 41-31 in the first regular-season game at the new Highmark Stadium.
Allen finished with 248 passing yards and 69 rushing yards for 317 total, throwing three touchdown passes and running for two more.
Four Straight Touchdown Drives
Buffalo scored on each of their first four possessions and led 21-0 before Detroit registered a point.
Allen opened the scoring himself, capping an 85-yard drive with a one-yard run for the first touchdown in the $2.2 billion stadium. The second drive was simpler still, ending with a 43-yard pass to a wide-open Joshua Palmer. Further touchdown throws went to Dawson Knox from a yard and Dalton Kincaid from 16.
James Cook did the damage on the ground, gaining 101 yards from 11 carries in the first half alone. Defensively, Gregory Rousseau sacked Jared Goff twice on Detroit's opening two series.
The Lions finally responded when Goff found Jahmyr Gibbs for an 11-yard score, adding a field goal before half-time.
Detroit's Recovery Falls Short
Detroit were the better side after the interval, outscoring Buffalo 21-14 across the second half. Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown twice, the second cutting the deficit to ten early in the third quarter.
Allen ended any comeback with a 15-play, 75-yard drive lasting eight minutes and 22 seconds, converting four third downs along the way, three of them on quarterback sneaks. He finished it with a two-yard run for his fifth touchdown of the night.
Goff ended with 327 passing yards and four touchdowns, but Detroit could not run the ball, Gibbs managing 52 yards from 16 carries. Buffalo recorded 34 first downs and converted nine of 12 third downs, scoring on all but three drives.
The result extends a worrying pattern for Detroit's defence. They allowed New Orleans to score on four of their final six drives in Week 1 before conceding 41 here.
Allen Building an Early MVP Case
The performance followed a Week 1 display in which Allen threw a late touchdown to Palmer to beat Houston 36-31. He now has eight touchdowns in the season's first six quarters.
Buffalo lost defensive tackle Ed Oliver, a surprise inactive before kick-off, and receiver Khalil Shakir picked up a shoulder problem during the game. Detroit lost safety Avonte Maddox to a foot injury, adding to an already depleted unit missing Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.
Both teams entered the night at 1-0. Buffalo move to 2-0, while Detroit fall to 1-1 with questions over a defence that has now conceded 30 or more points in consecutive weeks.
