Bills open new stadium with impressive performance over Lions

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- In the debut of the new Highmark Stadium, the Buffalo Bills gave the home crowd something to cheer about as they opened things with a 41-31 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

The Bills celebrated the opening of their new stadium with everything from an appearance by Hall of Famer Bruce Smith to bands, and then the fireworks really began. With Josh Allen running and passing for two touchdowns in the first quarter, the Bills raced to a 21-0 lead by early in the second quarter and never looked back.

Allen accounted for five touchdowns in the game -- his fourth career game with at least three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Kordell Stewart, who did that twice, is the only other player in NFL history with multiple such games.

While Allen picked apart the Lions' injury-ravaged secondary -- a busted coverage left Joshua Palmer wide open for a 43-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter -- James Cook III ran all over the Lions' defense for 135 yards, including 101 in the first half, and a touchdown. It all led to some lopsided statistics that will undoubtedly be noted by future opponents.

The Bills had 11 first downs in the first quarter, their most since Week 9 of 2020 against the Seattle Seahawks. And the Bills' emphasis on a vertical attack, established in their season-opening triumph over the Houston Texans, continued. In the first half, Allen was 3-of-5 for 84 yards and two touchdowns on passes of at least 15 air yards.

Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:

Buffalo Bills (2-0)

What to make of the QB performance: Allen made the Lions' defense pay whenever it sent the blitz. In the first half, the Lions blitzed on 11 of 23 dropbacks, and Allen was 7-of-10 for 98 yards, with two touchdowns and a sack. Allen had just one game last season with multiple touchdowns against the blitz.

Most surprising performance: With defensive tackle Ed Oliver being a last-minute scratch after injuring his hip during pregame warmups, second-year defensive tackle Deone Walker was pressed into an increased role, and he responded. He had five of the Bills' eight quarterback pressures in the first half. On those plays, QB Jared Goff was 2-of-3 for 25 yards with two sacks. In the first half, Walker was on the field for 24 of the Bills' 30 defensive plays. He opened the fourth quarter with another pressure, his sixth of the night at the time. He had six pressures in 200 pass-rush plays last season.

Stat to know: James Cook III, who had 13 rushes for 57 yards in Week 1, had 83 rushing yards before first contact in the first half against the Lions. That's more than the Lions had in total rushing yards in the first half (57). -- Judy Battista

Next game: Vs. Los Angeles Chargers (1 p.m. ET, Sept. 27)

Detroit Lions (1-1)

It was a humbling experience for the Lions. By halftime, Detroit trailed 27-10, allowing Allen to throw three touchdowns and run for another as the defense couldn't get a stop.

But the Lions showed life in the second half with WR Amon-Ra St. Brown scoring a 2-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 10.

Coach Dan Campbell was heated entering the locker room, as he couldn't contain his emotions on live television -- saying that "the little s--- is killing us." Detroit was playing without two of its starting offensive linemen, Christian Mahogany (hip) and Blake Miller (knee), who were both ruled out ahead of the contest, and the Lions are hoping they'll return for Week 3.

What to make of the QB performance: It was a disastrous start for the offense as Jared Goff was sacked twice with just 2 passing yards in the first quarter. But Goff helped stabilize the unit as the game progressed, finishing 26-of-38 with 327 passing yards and four touchdowns. He also hit 40,000 career passing yards in 153 games, which is the sixth fewest a QB has needed to hit that benchmark in NFL history. The Lions are still working out the kinks under first-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing while working to get healthy, but they have put up points in the first two games.

Most surprising performance: The lack of involvement for WR Jameson Williams. Coming off a strong training camp, Williams seemed poised for a breakout season as the WR2 but is off to a slow start. He was targeted just three times, finishing with two reception for 33 yards in Buffalo. In Week 1, Williams finished with four catches for 45 yards with a dropped pass, despite nine targets.

Trend to watch: Detroit's defense has allowed at least 30 points in back-to-back games. The secondary continued to struggle against Allen and the Bills' offense. This stretch marks Detroit's first time allowing 30 points in its first two games of a season since 2021 -- the first games of the Dan Campbell era in Detroit. The Lions have allowed 30 or more points in five of their past eight regular-season games. -- Eric Woodyard