The Buffalo Bills are set to take on the Detroit Lions on Thursday night, and they’ll look to open play at the new Highmark Stadium with a win. After slaying their demons down south by beating the Houston Texans in Houston for the first time since 2006, Buffalo is riding high to open the 2026 NFL season.
The Lions also won their first game, though they took a slightly different route to do so. Detroit needed overtime to dispatch the New Orleans Saints, holding on to win 31-30 in a back-and-forth contest.
Neither the Bills nor the Lions were able to pull away from their respective opponents, and it’s likely that we’re set for an entertaining game between two of the more exciting offensive clubs in the league this season.
If the Bills are going to start this season 2-0, they’ll need to slow some of Detroit’s top players, and they have plenty of weapons to highlight. Here are five Lions to watch against the Bills this week.
_____________________________________________________________________________
RB Jahmyr Gibbs
Detroit’s top running back might wear number zero, but he’s arguably the best running back in the NFL right now. Equally dangerous as a runner and a receiver, Gibbs can hurt teams in a variety of ways. against New Orleans on Sunday, he totaled 156 rushing yards on a league-leading 29 carries. Nearly half of his rushing attempts resulted in a first down, as he achieved that mark a league-leading 14 times in Week One. As if averaging 5.4 yards per rush wasn’t impressive enough, Gibbs also totaled five receptions for 30 yards on five targets. That was actually a lower-end day for him as a receiver, as he has caught 186 passes for 1,479 yards and ten scores over the course of his career.
Now in his fourth year, Gibbs is the bellcow back for the first time, as his former running mate David Montgomery is now playing for Buffalo’s Week One opponent in Houston. Montgomery scored three times in the opener against the Bills, and while Buffalo limited his efficiency by holding him to three yards per carry, he doesn’t have nearly the same burst that Gibbs does. Buffalo needs to be disciplined in its run fits, and the defense needs to be much better overall when it comes to tackling. Otherwise, Gibbs will make them pay.
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
The Saints kept St. Brown relatively quiet last week, and he still caught ten passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns on 14 targets in the game. He currently leads the league in targets, receptions, and receiving touchdowns. After Buffalo allowed Nico Collins to catch seven passes for 75 yards and a score last week on ten targets, they’ll face yet another challenge this week in trying to contain St. Brown. He can operate from multiple places on the field, and whether he’s inside or outside, he’s extremely dangerous.
Will defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard have top corner Christian Benford travel with him like Benford did with Collins on Sunday? Or, will Leonhard try a different strategy this week? With speedster Jameson Williams on the other side, it’s difficult to commit too many resources to one offensive target, and that’s without even discussing tight end Sam LaPorta. The Benford vs. St. Brown matchup is going to be tremendous on Thursday night.
G Ben Bartch
After starter Christian Mahogany suffered an injury, which looks likely to keep him out of action this week, Bartch filled in admirably against the Saints. However, with a backup center in Juice Scruggs already starting, the difficulty for Detroit’s offensive line is cranked up a notch this week. Second-year man Deone Walker was a tremendous problem for Houston on Sunday, as was veteran Ed Oliver.
Not only is the talent of Buffalo’s interior defensive line something to contend with, but the crowd noise is certainly to be amped up this week. Buffalo’s home crowd is always lively, but with Thursday night being the home opener in a brand-new stadium, I expect the twelfth man to make communication difficult for Detroit. Starting a few backup offensive linemen on the road isn’t ideal, and if Buffalo’s top-line unit can take advantage of some backups up front for the Lions, they can have a huge impact on the game.
DE Aiden Hutchinson
This guy is a monster. Just four days after having to deal with the combination of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, Buffalo will have to find a way to deal with Hutchinson, a former No. 2 overall pick. On Sunday against New Orleans, Hutchinson had two sacks, four quarterback hits, and two tackles for loss. That’s how you impact the game up front. Buffalo had a great protection scheme in that they used double-teams, slides, and chips to keep Houston’s edge rushers off balance.
They varied who was staying in to chip, and they kept switching who they double teamed, as well. The Bills will have to be just as disciplined in their plan to limit Hutchinson, as he is the kind of player who can single-handedly ruin a game plan. Left tackle Dion Dawkins and right tackle spencer Brown have to bring their A-game.
CB Rock Ya-Sin
A banged-up Detroit secondary is an area that Buffalo’s explosive passing offense should look to exploit this week. They’re already missing starting safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, who are on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Reserve safeties Thomas Harper and Christian Izien are also dealing with injuries, so players like Avonte Maddox and Chuck Clark have stepped into larger roles. That kind of unrest at the safety level puts stress on the corners, and Saints quarterback Tyler Shough picked on Ya-Sin last week.
On ten targets, Ya-Sin allowed seven catches for 52 yards and a touchdown for a passer rating against of 115.2. Buffalo looked like a completely different team passing the football last week thanks in large part to the addition of DJ Moore on the outside. He opens things up for everyone, as does tight end Dalton Kincaid. If Ya-Sin is one-on-one against anyone on Thursday, I assume that quarterback Josh Allen will take his shots.
