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Martin didn’t punt in last week’s 44-42 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and the Bills’ clinical offensive approach, led by quarterback Josh Allen, continued against the Lions. The Bills tied an NFL record with their eighth consecutive game with at least 30 points.

The Bills improved to 11-3, two games behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC with three games remaining, but they took a one-game lead over Pittsburgh for the conference’s second seed. The Steelers lost 27-13 at the Philadelphia Eagles.

A recap of Bills-Lions:

Takeaways

• The Bills’ offense did whatever they wanted against an injury-ravaged Lions defense. Period. The Bills rolled up 559 yards, averaged 8.2 yards per snap, committed no turnovers and scored on seven of their 12 possessions.
• Gashed by the Rams last week, the Bills’ defense – minus three starters in the secondary – forced Detroit’s league-leading scoring offense to punt on its first two drives. On the opening drive, defensive tackle Ed Oliver and linebacker Matt Milano combined for a second-and-10 run stuff (David Montgomery for no gain). On the second drive, cornerback Christian Benford’s first career sack was followed by Oliver’s third-down sack. The Bills turned those two stops into a 14-0 lead and they never trailed.
• Back from a right wrist injury that cost him four games, rookie receiver Keon Coleman’s 64-yard catch late in the first half came on a play Allen extended for 6.40 seconds. But the Bills got too cute. On second down from the 2, Allen threw 1 yard to receiver Curtis Samuel. Following a penalty and incompletion, Tyler Bass missed a 24-yard field goal.
• Coach Sean McDermott made the right game management decision around the seven-minute mark of the third quarter by electing to punt on fourth-and-5 from the Bills’ 45. Martin’s punt was downed at the Lions’ 4. Leading by 14 points, it wasn’t the time to give Detroit premium field position. The Lions turned it over on the ensuing possession.
• A little early for the Lions to try and onside kick with 12:00 remaining? We thought so. Bills receiver Mack Hollins recovered the kick and returned it 37 yards. Running back Ray Davis’ 5-yard touchdown catch made it 45-28 Bills.

Did you notice?

• Detroit’s offense got going on the first quarter’s final play. On second-and-1, quarterback Jared Goff received Montgomery’s throwback. The Bills’ back end covered up the downfield options, but Milano equal parts fell asleep and had his eyes on Goff, allowing receiver Amon-St. Brown to cross the field to make a 24-yard catch. Detroit cut the Bills’ lead to 14-7 five plays later.
• The Bills gambled by playing man coverage on a fourth-and-4 play for the Lions, and it was costly. The Bills rushed five, but Goff bought enough time to find St. Brown for 21 yards. Five plays later, the Lions cut the lead to 21-14 on 6-foot-9 reserve offensive tackle Dan Skipper’s 9-yard touchdown catch.
• Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey sustained a serious lower leg injury with 1:47 left in the first half when he was following his man across the field and he collided with Bills running back Ty Johnson, who was running in the opposite direction. Dorsey was carted off the field and transported to a local hospital.
• The starting secondary for the Bills minus cornerback Rasul Douglas (knee) and safeties Taylor Rapp (neck/shoulder) and Damar Hamlin (back/ribs): Kaiir Elam at cornerback and Cole Bishop/Cam Lewis at safety. The Bills didn’t play any dime (six defensive back) snaps in the first half. Bishop was injured (cramps) in the fourth quarter and carted to the locker room, replaced by Kareem Jackson.
• At linebacker, Baylon Spector replaced Milano (groin) in the fourth quarter.
• On Saturday, Bills right tackle Spencer Brown was fined $11,255 for his face-mask penalty in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and left tackle Dion Dawkins was docked $14,069 for his unnecessary roughness penalty (removing the helmet of an opponent). It was the second fine this year for both players.

Game balls

CB Christian Benford. His third-quarter forced fumble led to a Bills touchdown and a 35-14 lead. He also had six tackles.

RB Ty Johnson. By the midway point of the second quarter, he had set a career high for single-game receiving yards (the previous high was 71) thanks to catches of 33, 23 and 31 yards. He finished with 114 yards on five catches.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The Bills rolled up 325 first-half yards and 559 yards total, the clinic serving as an audition tape for Brady when/if teams with head-coaching openings reach out to interview him after the season.

QB Josh Allen. Another game with a lot of touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) and no turnovers.

RB James Cook’s hair. His locks survived getting pulled at by a Detroit defender during Cook’s 41-yard touchdown run that stretched the Bills’ lead to 28-14 with 13:11 left in the third quarter.

Gassers

LT Dion Dawkins. The Bills were 1 yard away from taking a 28-14 lead late in the second quarter, but Dawkins was called for false start (his team-high 14th penalty of the season) pushed the Bills back. They didn’t score.

Lions uniforms. Detroit went with black jerseys and black trousers, and if you could read the jersey numbers inside the stadium or on television, you get a gold star.

Next

The Bills return to Orchard Park to host the New England Patriots (3-11) Sunday at 1 p.m. The Patriots lost 30-17 at Arizona on Sunday and are led by first-year coach Jerod Mayo and rookie quarterback Drake Maye. Since quarterback Tom Brady departed the Patriots after the 2019 season, the Bills are 7-2 against New England. It will be a chilly one at Highmark Stadium – the forecast calls for a high of 18 degrees.