Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Against the Bills, three players came out on top as winners despite the loss—and some others weren’t at their best. Who on the Lions could have done better and who showed up? In a possible Super Bowl preview, the Buffalo Bills traveled to Ford Field to take on the top team in the NFC, the Detroit Lions. While the Lions were coming off a win over the Green Bay Packers, the Bills were coming off an explosive loss to the Los Angeles Rams and wanting to right the wrongs of last week. Both teams have clinched playoff spots but were hunting to be the top seed in their conferences. The Lions’ injuries showed today against the Bills as more players went down and the defense had no answer for the Bills offense. No matter if it was third-and-1, or third-and-20, the Lions' defense was letting the Bills' offense convert anything. Detroit was able to put up a fight on offense, giving their all to make up for the defense. In the end, it wasn’t enough for Detroit as they lost 48-42. Check out my winners and losers in the Lions loss to the Bills. Winners Jack Fox Starting with the punter is never a good sign of how things went for the Lions. Jack Fox did his best to boot the ball downfield when the Lions were forced to punt. His first punt was a monster of 60 yards. The coverage didn’t do well in stopping Buffalo easily on the play, but Fox did his job in making it tougher for Buffalo. He finished with three punts for 167 yards with one landing inside the 20. If the offense can’t do much, at least Fox can pin the opponent deep. Jahymyr Gibbs Jahmyr Gibbs had the most success against the Bills' defense in the ground game. Gibbs finished with 31 yards on eight carries. He used his speed to avoid defenders at times and made something out of nothing. Gibbs had to carry the load for the running backs as David Montgomery played through an injury. Montgomery would return thankfully, but Gibbs was used for the majority of the game. He was used a lot in the receiving end late in the fourth quarter as the team had to abandon the running attack, and even with that, Gibbs hurt the Bills there with five catches for 83 yards. Jared Goff In a battle of two top teams, it was also a battle of two MVP contenders. For the Lions, Goff did everything he could in the game today. He took some lessons from Bills quarterback Josh Allen and used his legs a few times to extend plays for a touchdown—or even run for a first down. The best play he made was the first touchdown pass to wide receiver Tim Patrick. TP stretching for the score❗️#BUFvsDET | CBS pic.twitter.com/UsLKMZQd3S— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 15, 2024 With the defense struggling, it was up to Goff and the offense to try and make this game close. He went 38-for-59 for 494 yards and five touchdowns. In my opinion, Goff was out of the MVP race after throwing five interceptions against the Houston Texans. After this game, losing to Allen who made a lot more wow plays, it’s safe to say Allen got the better of Goff today despite having the worse stats as his team won. Losers Defensive line The biggest goal for the Lions’ defense this week was to contain Allen in the pocket and generate pressure. The defensive line struggled to do both of those. Allen had plenty of time to throw the football in the pocket, and when the Lions pressured him, he easily escaped and made them pay for it. Allen connected on multiple passes when he was forced out of the pocket Allen did damage however he wanted; whether on the ground or through the air, he made the Lions pay. Allen finished with 11 carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Through the air, Allen went 23-for-34 for 362 yards with two touchdowns as he connected on deep passes against a secondary that was gassed because the defensive line couldn’t get to him. If Allen wasn’t hurting them through the air, Bills running back James Cook knocked them around on the ground. Cook had 14 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns, with the Bills as a whole getting 33 carries for 198 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Offensive line Earlier this week, I said the Lions’ offensive line was important for this game as they had to open up the lanes for the running backs. The offensive line struggled to do that and protect Goff when in the pocket. Detroit only ran for 48 yards on 15 carries, averaging 3.2 yards per carry. Goff was sacked three times and he had to move around in the pocket for most of the game. There was a play where center Frank Ragnow got pancaked, leading to Goff getting sacked the third time. Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver had himself a game with four tackles, two QB hits, and a sack. The Lions didn’t have an answer for someone to go up against him on the line. The Lions offensive line is the most important position on this team and when they struggle, the offense feels it. Goff has done well when being blitzed this season, but when he is under the type of pressure he was today, it turned into a few bad throws that were incompletions. Injuries The Lions are already one of the most banged-up teams in the NFL, and the hits keep on coming. Despite multiple defensive linemen returning from injuries, more names were added to the list. First, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who returned after missing most of the second half last week, left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury and didn’t return. His loss will be felt if he ends up missing substantial time. The secondary got banged up too as starting cornerback Carlton Davis III left the game in the first half with a jaw injury and didn’t return. One of his replacements, Khalil Dorsey, injured his ankle and was ruled out as he left on the cart. The Lions can’t seem to catch a break on injuries no matter where they are. The defensive line is already down two starters in Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport, missing McNeill for any long period would be horrific. The secondary losing a good special teamer in Dorsey, and a starter in Davis could test the limits of this team. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley was a healthy inactive today, so thankfully Detroit has some depth there, and if safety Ifeatu Melifonwu can return soon, the secondary should be fine.