Plays That Defined 2022: Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions

The 2022 season is in the books but there’s one little thing missing. Illustrations. Let’s pretend the 2022 season is an actual book, with each game a chapter. It’s up to us to find one play or “illustration” for each that best shows us the theme of that chapter. Make sense? I hope so because we’re about to take a look at some plays and vote. Let’s find an illustration for...

Chapter 11: Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions

Let’s face it. We all love traditions. The Buffalo Bills winning on Thanksgiving has become a personal favorite. The Bills traveled to Detroit to take on the Lions, playing their second game in a row at Ford Field. The game itself was an exciting back-and-forth affair. Both teams struggled a bit through the air. When the dust settled, another strong run effort lifted the Bills past their feline foe. It was the first time an NFL team had won back-to-back games in Detroit since 2016, which is an awesome stat for Bills fans. Not so much for Lions fans.

Josh Allen’s touchdown (Q2; 8:00)

While Buffalo relied on the run game a bit like they did against the Cleveland Browns, it was less deliberate and more “Josh Allen being Josh Allen.” Case in point is this play, which gave Buffalo their first lead of the day in a game that featured numerous lead changes.

Ed Oliver scores two points (Q3; 9:11)

When a game is decided by just three points, it’s notable when two of them come with an oddity such as a safety. Buffalo’s defense didn’t have the best day of the season by any means, but this sack and score from Ed Oliver gave the Bills two points directly and stopped the Lions from progressing down the field in a tight game.

Lions’ two-point conversion (Q4; 13:47)

Just like the safety, in a game this close every point or two matters. Detroit had just retaken the lead by one point on a D.J. Chark touchdown. They went for two to make it a field goal difference.

Missed extra point (Q4; 2:40)

After Detroit’s two-point conversion put them up by three, Buffalo scored a touchdown to retake the lead for themselves. This failed try meant Buffalo was up by three rather than four. That allowed the Lions to tie the game up on the following drive.

Allen to Diggs bomb (Q4; 0:23)

The game was tied at 25. Buffalo had the ball after Detroit’s tying field goal. The good news is they had all their timeouts. The bad news was that they had under half a minute to make some magic. This 36-yard pass is the exception to show the rule. Overall, the Bills weren’t strong in the passing game all day. When it mattered most, two stars aligned to flip the field. After a couple more shorter plays, Buffalo had given Tyler Bass a manageable 45-yard field goal to take home the Turkey Day victory.