Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images This week we are reviewing the All-22 to see how the Bills were able to find success on the ground againt the Lions’ defense. Sometimes in football, you run up against the wrong team at the wrong time. That is exactly what happened with the Detroit Lions during their Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Simply put, it was the wrong time to run into MVP-frontrunner Josh Allen for a Lions defense that has been continually battered by the injury bug—especially over the course of the last several weeks. Time and time again, Allen made plays all over the field, both with his arm and his feet. He extended plays, dropped dimes into tight windows, and made something out of nothing when the defense had everything covered up downfield. However, one aspect of the game that got away from the Lions was their inability to slow down the Bills’ ground game. Running back James Cook was able to find quite a bit of success, racking up 105 yards on only 14 attempts, including a 41-yard gamebreaker early in the second half. Combine these issues in the front seven with the fact that Detroit was attempting to slow down a cyborg at quarterback, and you begin to understand why the Lions defense struggled so much against the Bills. In this film study, we are taking a look at some of the reasons why Detroit had so many issues slowing down Buffalo’s running game, and how it made slowing down Allen even more difficult. Inability to reset the line of scrimmage and defeat blockers First-and-10 on Detroit 35. 12:43 left in first quarter Throughout the game, Buffalo used a ton of motion in the backfield with their running backs that were designed to slow down Detroit’s linebackers. Combine that with the fact that they also had to account for Allen as a runner, and things quickly became really difficult for a defense that was rolling out players that have only been with the team for a few weeks. Watch as the left guard (#76) pulls and is able to kick out linebacker Ben Niemann. While that is happening, Bills fullback Reggie Gilliam (#41) meets linebacker Jack Campbell in the hole and prevents him from squeezing the gap that Bills running back Ray Davis fits through. Unfortunately for the Lions, this was a common problem against Buffalo. Defenders were having major issues defeating blockers, which in turn made life even more difficult for the linebackers. Second-and-6 on Detroit 22. 3:27 left in first quarter This next rep is a really nice design from Buffalo that once again has Detroit scrambling a bit pre-snap. First, Allen motions in Cook to the backfield from being split out wide towards the top of the screen. Once snapped, wide receiver Khalil Shakir releases behind Allen like he is going to receive a swing pass. This forces Lions defender Jamal Adams to widen out a bit, allowing for a big running lane between the receivers blocking near the numbers and the offensive line. While that is going on, Lions defensive lineman Jonah Williams gets walled off by Buffalo’s right tackle, and linebacker Jack Campbell hesitates just enough to allow Buffalo center Connor McGovern to climb and get a good block on him, too. Excellent design and execution from Buffalo routinely allowed them to get their runners into the second level without being touched. Second-and-10 on Detroit 26. 5:03 left in third quarter In the next clip below, we have another example of a Lions defender, this time veteran defensive lineman Pat O’Connor, not being able to disengage from their block, and once again it puts a lot of stress on Jack Campbell at the second level. Buffalo’s left guard is able to chip O’Connor and climb to Campbell easily, allowing for the Bills right tackle to get a running start on Lions defensive back Brian Branch. For most of the game, Buffalo was able to get looks like this whenever they wanted. Undisciplined eyes First-and-6 on the Detroit 6. 8:19 left in second quarter Hard to fault Lions defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad here, but when you are playing against an athletic quarterback like Allen in the red zone, these are the kinds of things you have to be on the lookout for. Muhammad follows Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins as he pulls down the line of scrimmage, and in doing so, allows for another walk-in score for Cooks. And to be fair to Muhammad, it wasn’t the only time Buffalo was able to fool the Lions with this sort of concept. This is the effect a quarterback like Allen can have on a front seven. For most of the year, the Lions’ front has been disciplined and gap-sound. Against Buffalo, not so much. Second-and-4 on the Detroit 41. 13:20 left in third quarter Lastly, we have Cooks’ 41-yard scoring run that happened early in the second half. Buffalo ran a “Dart” concept where the tackle pulls rather than the guard—something they had plenty of success with all afternoon against Detroit. Lions defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike is working against Dawkins, and once the ball is snapped, works across the face of the left tackle. Dawkins washes him down the line of scrimmage and out of the play, while the pulling right tackle (Spencer Brown #79) gets an excellent kick out block on Detroit linebacker Kwon Alexander on the edge. From there, a few defenders take bad angles and Cooks is off to the races. Just like that, the Lions deficit goes from 7 back to 14 points. To be blunt, injuries be damned. We have seen this defense execute far better than this in previous weeks, and I have full confidence they can rebound from this forgettable performance against a red-hot Bills team. Burn the tape, bury it, listen to Dan Campbell’s promo he cut on the radio this morning—and get ready to move on to Chicago. This team is still 12-2 and in full control of their own destiny with three weeks of regular season football remaining.