Splitting points: The good plays the Lions made against the Bills added up in their favor, but there were points they gave away that came back to hurt. A 29-yard field goal that Michael Badgley missed kept the Lions from getting what appeared to be a sure three points. And the Bills got two points when quarterback Jared Goff was sacked in the end zone in the third quarter for a safety.
That was a swing of five points for the three points the Lions didn't get and the two they gave to the Bills. – Mike O'Hara
Nice debut: With the Lions banged up along their defensive line coming into Thursday's game vs. Buffalo and suffering another setback when Julian Okwara left the game with an elbow injury, rookie sixth-round pick James Houston stepped in and had a nice debut. Houston was elevated from the practice squad the day prior and finished with two sacks and a key fumble recovery. – Tim Twentyman
Holiday celebration: Houston had his parents in town to watch him play. He gave them a show. Houston said he might keep the game jersey he wore Thursday to commemorate his first two sacks. – Mike O'Hara
Touchdown machine: Lions running back Jamaal Williams recorded his 13th touchdown of the season to lead the NFL. Williams had 13 touchdowns total in his previous five seasons from 2017-2021.– Tim Twentyman
Big play: Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs made one of the biggest plays in the game when it was needed most. The Lions held him in check, with seven catches on 14 targets for 41 yards. But his eighth catch on his 15th target gained 36 yards and helped put the Bills in position to kick the game-winning field goal. – Mike O'Hara
Clock management: I wasn't a big fan of the clock management at the end of the first half by Campbell and the Lions' offense. I thought they left too much time on the clock without forcing Buffalo to use timeouts. They ran two extra plays ahead of the two-minute warning when they didn't have to. They ended up scoring with 1:55 left in the half, and Buffalo was able to go down and kick a field goal.
As for the clock management at the end of the game, some questioned a lack of urgency by the Lions, but I was OK with it. They were trying not to leave Bills quarterback Josh Allen too much time, but it turns out 23 seconds was still too much. – Tim Twentyman
