Thursday night takeaways: Buffalo buried Detroit early and ran out the clock

Detroit threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, didn't turn the ball over once, and still lost by 10. That happens when you spot a team 21 points and can't run the ball.

The game was over before Detroit woke up

Scoring by quarter: Bills 1st 14 pts, Bills 2nd 13 pts, Lions 2nd 10 pts, Bills 3rd 7 pts, Lions 3rd 7 pts, Bills 4th 7 pts, Lions 4th 14 pts

• 21-0 before Detroit reached the end zone, on an Allen 1-yard run, a 43-yard strike to Joshua Palmer, and a 1-yard shovel to Dawson Knox
• Detroit outscored Buffalo 21-14 after halftime, which is exactly the kind of stat that means nothing
• The Lions never led, and never got closer than 10 after the first quarter

Buffalo won it on the ground

Rushing yards: Bills 203 yds, Lions 66 yds

• 36 carries, 203 yards, 5.6 a pop, three touchdowns. Detroit ran 20 times for 66
• That bought Buffalo 33:45 of possession to Detroit's 26:15, and 15 rushing first downs to Detroit's 2
• Josh Allen accounted for five touchdowns, three passing and two with his legs, on a 121.4 rating

Goff's stat line is a trap

Total yards: Bills 446 yds, Lions 355 yds

Sacks taken: Lions 4, Bills 2

Jared Goff finished 26 of 38 for 327 and four scores with a 130.0 rating, and it still wasn't a good night for the offense. Buffalo got him four times for 38 yards, hit him 11 times, and made Detroit one-dimensional by the second quarter.

• 10 penalties for 58 yards for Detroit, double Buffalo's five
• Neither team turned it over, so this wasn't luck. It was 137 more yards and seven more minutes of ball
• Detroit's onside kick attempt late tells you how the fourth quarter actually felt

What it means

• Buffalo can win ugly and pretty. They dropped 36 on Houston in Week 1 and just won a game by running it 36 times
• Detroit's run game is a real problem. Jahmyr Gibbs caught a touchdown but the ground game never threatened, and that's now the second straight week their defense gave up a big early lead
• Amon-Ra St. Brown is still the most reliable target in football: two touchdowns, both in traffic

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