For the third time in four years, the Buffalo Bills found themselves playing in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving. This time it was against the Detroit Lions and this was by far the most exciting game the team has played on this holiday over the years.
It was a game that went back and forth with neither team having more than a seven-point lead at any point in the game. The Bills would take the lead late in the fourth quarter on a Stefon Diggs touchdown but miss the extra point that kept it a three-point lead.
The game appeared to be heading towards overtime as the Lions kicked a field goal with 23 seconds left but Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs found some magic and were able to get the Bills into position for a game-winner and help the Bills move to 8-3 on the season.
These are the grades for each position group for the Buffalo Bills in Week 12.
Quarterback
It was an inconsistent performance from Josh Allen against the Detroit Lions. He finished the game with 24 for 42 with 253 passing yards, 78 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns.
However, he once again had an interception in the red zone and in a close game like this not being able to come away with a field goal could have been costly.
In the end, he made the plays the Bills needed as he drove them down the field in 23 seconds thanks to a long pass to Stefon Diggs and then a couple of runs to set up Tyler Bass for the game-winner. There are opportunities to improve but on Thanksgiving, he did what he needed to get the Bills a win.
Grade: B-
Running Back
Last week against the Browns, it was a balanced attack between Devin Singletary and James Cook. However, this week it was almost exclusively Singletary as he had 14 of the running backs 17 carries.
He was very effective with those carries as well as he had 72 rushing yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. He also added one reception for eight yards.
The big question with this group is where is Nyheim Hines? The Bills traded with the Colts for the pass-catching running back but in his third game with the team, he hasn’t seen his role increase. He finished with only one carry for three yards and still doesn’t have a target.
I don’t think this is much on the player as it is on Ken Dorsey and the play-calling. He is a player that could certainly make an impact in this offense and the Bills need to utilize him more.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver
This week, it was Isaiah McKenzie who had the big game to compliment Stefon Diggs and not let defenses focus all their attention on the All-Pro wide receiver. McKenzie finished the game leading the team in receiving yards with 96 and caught six of his 10 targets. He also had the team’s first touchdown of the game when he was able to cross the field and get behind the defense for the score.
However, when the game is on the line Josh Allen knows he can rely on Stefon Diggs and these two were able to make big plays that helped the team win. The Bills were down 22-19 midway through the fourth quarter until Allen found Diggs on a slant for the touchdown.
Unfortunately, the Lions tied it up on their next drive and that set up the impressive throw and catch by Allen to Diggs. It was not an easy completion at all as Diggs did take a hit right when he made the catch.
It was the play of the game and helped propel the Buffalo Bills past the Detroit Lions.
Grade: A-
Tight End
It was a pretty quiet game from the tight ends as Dawson Knox had two receptions for 17 yards and Quintin Morris had one for three yards. However, it seemed like this was by design as the Bills had Isaiah McKenzie more involved this week.
This is one of the reasons that the Bills will sometimes give defenses problems because they do have a variety of ways they can beat teams.
Grade: C+
Offensive Line
There is no question that this wasn’t a great game from the offensive line as Josh Allen was sacked three times and hit eight times. However, there was a good reason as the Bills were missing multiple starters which forced them to shuffle their line.
Entering the game, the Bills had made Mitch Morse inactive and the team moved Ryan Bates from right guard to center. They would then have Greg Van Roten start in his place.
Then around halftime, the Bills would lose starting left tackle Dion Dawkins due to an ankle injury and have David Quessenberry start at left tackle in his place.
The Bills certainly didn’t have their best game but also didn’t have their best starting offensive line and this group did enough to get the job done.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line
The Buffalo Bills entered this game short-handed on the defensive line with Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa inactive. It didn’t get any easier once the game started as Von Miller was forced to leave early due to a knee injury and didn’t return for the second half.
However, the impact was minimized thanks to an incredible performance from Ed Oliver who dominated on the interior of the line with six total tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery, and two tackles for a loss but made one of the big plays of the game with the safety in the third quarter.
In addition to Oliver, the rest of the defensive tackles had big games as DaQuan Jones had a sack, Tim Settle had a tackle for a loss and a QB hit, and Jordan Phillips had two QB hits.
The bigger question is what does the defensive end position look like if Von Miller does miss extended time and Greg Rousseau is not ready to return next week?
Grade: A-
Linebackers
The Buffalo Bills once again were without Tremaine Edmunds as he deals with a groin injury but this week elected to make a change at the position. Last week, the Bills had Tyrel Dodson replace him in the starting lineup but against the Lions the Bills had A.J. Klein start in his place.
Klein finished the game with nine total tackles and one tackle for a loss while Matt Milano continues to play at a high level. He finished the game with seven total tackles, one tackle for a loss, one pass defended and one QB hit.
While Klein did a good job in place of Edmunds, there is no question this defense is much better when Edmunds is on the field, and that hopefully happens next week against the Patriots.
Grade: B
Secondary
For the first time since last Thanksgiving, the Bills had Tre’Davious White active for a game. The All-Pro cornerback suffered a torn ACL last Thanksgiving and his return will be a big boost for this secondary. However, the coaching staff has a clear plan to bring him along slowly and he played only about 15 snaps against the Lions.
The Bills’ defense is going to be much better once White is back to full strength because it has now been the third week in a row that the team has not had an answer for the number one wide receiver of the opposing team. In Week 10, it was Justin Jefferson, last week it was Amari Cooper and on Thanksgiving, it was Amon-Ra St. Brown who had nine receptions, 122 receiving yards, and one touchdown.
One player in particular who struggled this week was Dane Jackson, who seemed to be targeted early and often by Jared Goff. The third-year cornerback has had a pretty good season but this is one game he will want to forget.
Grade: C+
Special Teams
There was plenty of good and bad from the Bills’ special teams this week against the Detroit Lions. The bad obviously starts with a missed extra point by Tyler Bass at a crucial time of the game because if he made that it would have given the Bills a four-point lead.
However, he got a chance to make up for it in the final seconds as he connected on a 45-yard field goal to win the game.
In addition, the Bills’ punt coverage had a big mistake in the second half as they let Kalif Raymond take a punt 41 yards that set up Detroit for their only touchdown of the second half and to take the lead.
Grade: B-
Buffalo Bills Week 12 Final Grade
In past years, a last second victory over the Detroit Lions would have raised more questions but this year the Lions have been much more competitive and entered this game with a three-game win streak. In addition to that, the Bills were dealing with a multitude of injuries both entering the game and during the game by losing Von Miller and Dion Dawkins.
However, as has been a constant theme for this team this year they showed incredible resiliency and kept fighting. That quality put them in the position they needed to come away with a road win and move to 8-3 on the season.
There will be things that the coaching staff wants to correct but in the end with all the challenges they faced, they did what they needed to get the win.
Grade: B
Buffalo Bills complete the three-peat on Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions
For the second straight week, the Buffalo Bills face off in Detroit, but this time on Turkey Day against the Detroit Lions