The Detroit Lions lost 41-31 to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.
The Lions (1-1) gave up 21 straight points to start the game, and the Bills (2-0) never looked back. Bills quarterback Josh Allen finished with five total touchdowns.
Here's a look at the winners and losers from the Lions' loss:
Loser: Kelvin Sheppard
The Bills' offense torched the Houston Texans last week, and merely kept that rolling this week. However, when the majority of a defense is struggling with coverages, penalties, and perceived effort, it's impossible to argue that coaching is not a problem.
Kelvin Sheppard's unit surrendered 41 points and touchdowns on six of the Bills' eight possesions before Buffalo knelt out the clock. When your defense allows 27 points in the first half, you're going
to fall into this group.
Winner: Aidan Hutchinson
Aidan Hutchinson with an early strip-sack fumble of Josh Allen. Bills got back on the football. pic.twitter.com/VxUV8WUWmW
— The Lions Wire (@thelionswire) September 18, 2026
Despite the defense's overall poor performance, superstar EDGE Aidan Hutchinson managed to make his presence felt for a second-straight week.
Hutchinson notched a strip-sack of Josh Allen on the first series of the game, setting a franchise record for consecutive games with a sack. He finished Thursday's game with the sack, forced fumble, and three total tackles.
Loser: Brad Holmes
Lions general manager Brad Holmes took a lot of questions in the offseason about the team's plans to acquire players to revamp its secondary.
Holmes shrugged off many of those questions, relying on short-term rentals and castoffs from other teams to fill the team's needs at safety and cornerback. The team's weakness reared its ugly head in a big way on Thursday night, and it felt like a skill issue.
In their defense, Josh Allen is an otherworldy talent, but Holmes has had multiple seasons to attack this roster's holes in the secondary and has done little to instill confidence in his ability to do so.
Winner: Amon-Ra St. Brown
St. Brown back into the end zone. Second TD tonight for the Sun God. pic.twitter.com/fZ8kzsIV3P
— The Lions Wire (@thelionswire) September 18, 2026
The Lions' offense couldn't get into much of a rhythm with the Bills taking complete control early in this game.
However, it appeared as though the gameplan changed coming out of halftime with an emphasis on star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. The offense suddenly had life and consistency with Jared Goff connecting to St. Brown on key downs to keep drives alive depsite the lopsided score.
St. Brown finished with eight catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
Winner: Jared Goff
Frustrating night, but this is an absolute dot from Goff to Isaac TeSlaa. pic.twitter.com/b0DXBw3J7I
— The Lions Wire (@thelionswire) September 18, 2026
Jared Goff was excellent on Thursday night, completing 26 of 38 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns. Look at throw to the sideline from Goff to Isaac TeSlaa. It's a shame Goff's effort was wasted with the Lions' defensive effort.
Goff put up his stat line with an offensive line that was missing three starters and that allowed him to be sacked four times.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Winners, losers from Lions' 'Thursday Night Football' loss vs. Bills
