The Detroit Lions had managed to keep opponents at bay over the course of an 11-game winning streak despite dealing with a number of significant injuries. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn had done excellent work making the pieces at his disposal fit despite being without several stars.
However, the metaphorical dam he had built broke on Sunday, as the Buffalo Bills gashed the defense for 48 points. The Lions forced just one punt, and allowed touchdowns on each of Buffalo’s first three offensive possessions.
Buffalo used unique formations and motions to identify Detroit’s defensive coverages, then found favorable matchups to attack both on the ground and through the air.
Here’s a look at what allowed the Bills to be so successful on offense in Sunday’s game.
Through the air
This first clip comes from Buffalo’s second play of the game. After forcing the Lions to go three-and-out, Josh Allen and company are taking the field seeking to set the tone. James Cook ran for five yards on first down, setting up a second-and-5.
Pre-snap, Allen does some shifting around. Ty Johnson starts as the lone back, then shifts to Allen’s right when he drops into shotgun. Allen sends Khalil Shakir in orbit motion, and the defender follows to indicate man coverage.
After a play-action fake to Shakir, Allen gets into his drop. Amari Cooper runs to the middle of the field, clearing the whole left side for Johnson’s wheel route. Because it’s man, he’s isolated on Detroit‘s Kwon Alexander.
The veteran linebacker has a little bit of leverage at the start, but quickly loses it as Johnson outruns him. Allen lofts a perfect ball to space toward the sideline, and his running back hauls it in for a big gain.
After finishing their drive with a score and forcing another punt, the Bills got the ball back searching for more. Detroit is in its base defense, with three linebackers. Brian Branch is the lone high safety, with Kerby Joseph helping out underneath.
Buffalo sends fullback Reggie Gilliam in motion, and this time the corner on his side, Carlton Davis, does not go with him. Detroit is in zone coverage.
Allen makes what appears to be an audible. He sends Cook quickly out to his right in false motion, before the back comes back to the ball on the snap. Cook takes a quick play-action fake then runs toward the flat.
Detroit is able to create pressure, but Allen is not deterred by the heat. Instead, he patiently scrambles to his left to extend the play. Though the Lions have presence in the flat on Cook, Ben Niemann vacates his zone to go get Allen.
Now left alone, the running back runs to space and is able to get open for Allen. The passer threads the needle running to his left and Cook is able to get a big gain.
In the second quarter, the Lions got a touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Tim Patrick to cut the deficit to 14-7. Buffalo is hit with a holding penalty on first down, setting up a first-and-20.
Once again, the Bills use pre-snap motion to identify the coverage. Shakir goes in motion and is followed by Joseph, indicating man coverage. The wideout wraps back around Allen and runs to the flat with Ty Johnson acting as a pseudo-lead blocker.
However, Allen looks to his left instead on the snap. Cooper runs an out-and-up, once again clearing his side of the field for a pair of crossing routes on the opposite side. Because the Lions are in man-to-man, there’s little help on that side of the field.
Jack Campbell can’t stay in front of Dawson Knox, and Allen hits Knox for 19 yards to set up their third consecutive touchdown drive.
Later in the game, Detroit is desparate for a stop after getting within 14 at 35-21. The Bills have the ball with the third quarter waning, and are facing a third-and-4. Detroit needs a stop to maintain their momentum.
There’s more pre-snap movement, and the Bills have a unique formation with running back Ty Johnson lined up in the backfield in a wide alignment. This is done presumably to help identify coverage, as Johnson’s assignment is lined up wide with him.
Allen shifts Dalton Kincaid back inside, and Terrion Arnold goes with him. Buffalo creates space on the snap by having Curtis Samuel run a shallow whip route, opening up room for Kincaid to run a corner route.
Kincaid gains leverage on the route. Arnold should have safety help over the top, but Kerby Joseph also has eyes on the deep route on the other side of the formation. Because of this, he’s late to help and Allen drops in a throw to Kincaid for a big gain into Detroit territory.
On the ground
Buffalo’s use of pre-snap motion to creat advantages extended to the run game. On this play, the Bills are entering the red zone on their second drive of the game. Buffalo starts with Shakir, a receiver, lined up in the backfield to Allen’s left.
Allen motions James Cook into the backfield to his right and catches the snap. On the snap, Shakir orbits to the right where two receivers are aligned to set up what appears to be a screen. This causes Jamal Adams to crash in and try to break up the screen, which is exactly what the Bills were hoping for.
Allen hands to Cook, who cuts back to his right. Because Adams vacated his spot, Cook has a plethora of running room. He cuts underneath a grasping attempt from Adams and is able to evade another tackler to get inside the Detroit 10-yard line.
On this final clip, the Bills once again use misdirection to set up a big play. They pre-snap motion Keon Coleman out to the right to set up trips, and on the snap give the illusion that they are running a screen. This holds Detroit’s secondary on that side of the field.
While that’s happening, Buffalo executes a wide trap to the left. Cook gets the handoff with a head of steam, and right tackle Spencer Brown trap-blocks Kwon Alexander. Left guard David Edwards takes care of Jack Campbell, and there’s no help left for Detroit’s defense at the second level.
Kerby Joseph takes a bad angle on the play and is forced to make a diving attempt at taking Cook down by the hair, which is unsuccessful. Jamal Adams and Jack Campbell both can’t catch up, and Cook is able to get into the end zone.
Buffalo’s ability to both create and identify favorable matchups was a big reason for their success. Moving forward, Detroit will need to find ways to counter these situations, as well as maintain gap assignments in the run game. The Bills gashed the Lions in both areas, creating a situation in need of a prompt and sound response from the defense moving forward.
