The Detroit Lions dropped to 1-1 on the season after a 41-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, and there’s a lot to unpack from this one. Detroit’s secondary issues, defensive play-calling, and offensive line depth all came into sharp focus against Josh Allen and the Bills. Some Lions fans walked out of Week 1’s win over the Saints thinking Buffalo would put up a 40-burger on this team, and that’s essentially what happened.

With that said, it wasn’t all bad. There were a few bright spots worth mentioning before we get to the stuff that went wrong.

Winners

Jahmyr Gibbs

He had another solid performance. He ran for 52 yards on the ground, which wasn’t spectacular, but the Lions had to abandon the run game once they fell behind. Through the air, though, Gibbs looked great with 61 receiving yards and a touchdown. If this were a more balanced game, you would have seen a lot more from him on the ground.

Jared Goff

Goff was legitimately good. He went 26-38 for 327 yards, 4 touchdown passes, and a 130 passer rating. Detroit was never not losing in this game, and Goff could have easily gone down the tubes with everybody else. Instead, despite getting sacked 4 times and facing constant pressure, he stood in and delivered. Nobody should be mad at him.

Amon-Ra St. Brown

He was the best player on the field for Detroit. Nine catches for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. The question is why the Lions weren’t targeting him earlier.

That’s it for the positive things.

Losers

Brad Holmes

You have to understand something. By the time the Lions knew how serious the Terrion Arnold situation was, free agency had already passed. There weren’t really any good free agents left. I get that. But could Holmes have made a deal between the draft and training camp? Yeah. And he didn’t. There were guys available. Rasul Douglas was out there. Players with starting experience who could have come in and been better than what the Lions are getting out of their current cornerback room.

Detroit has a second-round pick who is a healthy scratch two weeks into the season. You have to do something. I’ve defended Holmes and his team-building philosophy a lot, to the point where some fans can’t stand me for it. And it’s made sense a lot of the time. You extend your core guys, you take care of business. I get it. But this team is in the perfect situation financially and roster-wise for a trade. Everything about this team is ready for it.

If I’m Brad Holmes, I’m calling Pittsburgh in the morning and offering the first-round pick for Joey Porter Jr. Simple as that. Porter isn’t the perfect fit for Pittsburgh’s system, but he’s a perfect fit for Detroit’s. He’s still been good even in a scheme that doesn’t suit him. It makes so much sense that it’s annoying they haven’t done it. The Lions don’t need to go out and trade for Maxx Crosby or some super expensive edge rusher. Just call up a team willing to trade their cornerback and get it done.

Kelvin Sheppard

If there’s one thing everyone knows about Josh Allen, it’s that you cannot blitz him. He will beat you every single time. And what did the Lions do? They blitzed like crazy. Allen scrambled out of pressure, hit guys downfield, and picked the defense apart. Per Sumer Sports, Allen posted a sub-60 completion percentage when not being blitzed but was over 70% when the Lions sent extra rushers. The numbers tell the story. Stop blitzing that guy.

The Lions’ pass rush has been better this season, and they did generate quick pressure. But against a quarterback like Allen, it doesn’t matter because he can escape the pocket and make plays. The blitzing approach will work better against other quarterbacks, but Sheppard has to adjust his game plan based on the opponent.

Larry Borom

Larry Borom is not a starter. He allowed 9 pressures, 2 sacks, and committed multiple penalties including false starts and a holding call. If this game were on Sunday, Blake Miller likely would have played. The Thursday night schedule made it impossible. Detroit has good offensive line depth, and that matters, but if those backup guys have to start consistently, it becomes a problem.

Rock Ya-Sin

Rock Ya-Sin had a rough night. Multiple defensive holding calls, a defensive pass interference, and he got targeted constantly because the Bills knew they could complete passes on him. Against Keon Coleman alone, Ya-Sin allowed 4 receptions on 4 targets for 29 yards. He gave up another catch to Dalton Kincaid for 23 yards. Meanwhile, DJ Reed was targeted just once all night, allowing 1 reception for 4 yards. There’s a reason the Bills avoided Reed’s side. He’s not a bad cornerback, but he desperately needs somebody on the other side.

Thomas Harper

He also struggled. Only 2 targets, but he allowed 41 yards and a touchdown. This team needs Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph back as soon as possible, and that’s probably not going to happen until after the bye. If they return to practice next week, the 3-week ramp-up period the Lions prefer would put them back right after the bye against Green Bay. That’s a big game you want your guys back for.

Isaac TeSlaa

TeSlaa rounds out the list. Dan Campbell talked about targeting him more, and they did, but TeSlaa only came away with 1 catch. He had a chance at a touchdown but didn’t position himself quite right on the route. The bigger issue is that he’s just not getting the opportunities everyone expected this season.

The bottom line

This was bad. There’s no going back on that. But it’s Week 2, and this was on a short week with everything going wrong leading up to it. The real evaluation point comes around Week 5, when you can start to say what this team actually is. Week 10 confirms it. And by December, you’re either talking playoffs or talking about the draft.

The Lions host the New York Jets in Week 3, with Aaron Glenn coming back to town. Let’s see where it goes from there.

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