The Buffalo Bills defeated the Detroit Lions on Sunday, gutting out a 14-13 victory at home. While the game ultimately ended with Buffalo on top, there were moments where it appeared the outcome would be different. In the first half, especially, the game had the feel of one that Buffalo was bound to lose.
Much of that feeling had to do with the team’s inability to slow one key player on the Lions’ side. While that receiver had a career day, it was the Bills who came out ahead.
WR Kenny Golladay
The 6’4” wide receiver is a match-up nightmare for any cornerback, and Buffalo’s defenders struggled to contain the hyper-athletic Golladay throughout the day. In the first half, Golladay was unstoppable. He caught four passes—all of which went for at least 20 yards—for a total of 115 receiving yards. Had he not caught another pass, Golladay would already have set a career-high in receiving yards for a game, with his previous high-water mark having been 114 yards in a game. The Bills managed to slow him down in the second half, allowing him only three more receptions for 31 yards, giving him a total of seven catches for 146 yards on the afternoon. Golladay was Detroit’s highest-scoring fantasy football player, though, notching 18.1 fantasy points on the day.
QB Matthew Stafford
Detroit’s veteran quarterback was under duress all day, as the Bills came after him and hit him hard all afternoon. Stafford was very successful when targeting Golladay, but not at all when targeting other players. On passes Golladay’s way, Stafford was seven-for-eight, totaling 146 yards. On all other throws, he was 15-for-21 with 62 passing yards and a short touchdown throw to Andy Jones. Stafford scored 12.32 fantasy points on the day, which was second among Lions players, but only nineteenth among all quarterbacks on the weekend.
RB Zach Zenner
Zenner was Detroit’s most successful running back from a fantasy football perspective on Sunday, carrying ten times for 45 yards and a touchdown in the loss. He also caught three passes for zero yards on the afternoon. His stat line gave him 12 fantasy points, which was solid given the low-scoring nature of the game, but wasn’t much to celebrate in terms of overall fantasy success.