The Buffalo Bills hosted the Detroit Lions at their brand new stadium in Week 2 Thursday Night Football action and Josh Allen put on a show in the Bills 41-31 victory over the Lions. The game was the Bills first regular season game at the new Highmark Stadium and he was simply untouchable.
Josh Allen accounted for five touchdowns, three through the air and two on the ground, as the Bills recorded their second consecutive 2-0 start to the season, defeating the Lions 41-31. The Bills, in their first regular season game at the new Highmark Stadium, improved their record to 2-0 while the Lions fell to 1-1.
Josh Allen Was Untouchable
Allen completed 20 passes out of 31 attempts for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night, running for 69 yards and 2 scores. His 5 total scores on the night gave him a passer rating of 121.4 and closed out the night without throwing an interception.
Allen kicked off the night with a fantastic 1-yard run to score the first TD on an 85-yard, 10-play drive. He followed that up by completing a 43-yard strike to his man on a blown coverage assignment by the Lions.
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Throughout the game, the Bills’ quarterback displayed the legs of a running back, whenever the Detroit defenders sat back in the pockets of their zone they were ran right through. Meanwhile when the Lions stacked the line looking to stop the Buffalo ground attack Allen picked the defenses apart with throws to his receivers. With his 10th game, or more, with 2 rushing touchdowns and 2 passing scores Josh Allen cemented his place among the elite of the NFL’s signal callers.
Scoring Summary — Quarter by Quarter
First Quarter — Bills Strike First and Fast
Josh Allen goes into the end zone for a touchdown. He punched the ball in from one yard out to start off the game for Buffalo. Josh was on fire on that drive completing 10/11 passes for 85 yards. Josh Palmer was the recipient of a 43 yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-0 in favor of the Bills after the first quarter.
End of Q1: Bills 14, Lions 0
Second Quarter — Bills Keep Pouring It On
The Bills added another tally to their score in the second quarter as tight end Dawson Knox scored on a 1-yard pass from Allen to extend their lead to 21-0. Detroit got on the score board late in the half as quarterback Jared Goff connected with running back Jahmyr Gibbs for an 11-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-7. Buffalo scored again at the end of the half on a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid. Detroit added a late field goal of 45-yards from Jake Bates to end the half, making the score 27-10.
End of Q2: Bills 27, Lions 10
Third Quarter — Detroit Makes It a Game
The Lions came out in the third quarter with a renewed sense of urgency to try and cut into their deficit. They did just that, as the Bills scored to take a 27-17 lead after the quarter. However, Allen would answer personally in the form of a 2-yard run to take back to a three score lead.
End of Q3: Bills 34, Lions 17
Fourth Quarter — Lions Rally Falls Short
The Detroit Lions fought the good fight until the very end of the game, but in the end, the Buffalo Bills were just too strong. They added two more touchdowns to the Bills’ lead with just over a minute left in the game by strong finishes from wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Isaac Nauta.
Final: Bills 41, Lions 31
Goff Threw for 4 TDs — Still Not Enough
In terms of passing for touchdowns, Jared Goff performed admirably. The Lions QB launched four TDs, and had Amon-Ra St. Brown for his top receiver of the night. The St. Brown offered 9 catches for 142 receiving yards and 2 receiving TDs. Gibbs (on the ground and through air) was also featured as a receiver for a Lions touchdown catch in the 2nd quarter.
For the Lions, the slow start proved to be too much to overcome for Goff and the offense who were forced to play catch-up for most of the night. The Bills’ defense forced the Lions to work hard for every score.
Halftime Snapshot
They outgained the Lions 299-155 for the night and held possession of the ball for a greater amount of time. Among the bunch of numbers over the game, was the bizarrestatistic that Buffalo’s star quarterback completed 12 of 19 passes for 164 yards and scored three touchdowns in two quarters. That was more than the entire Lions offense achieved in the half in terms of touchdown passes, as Goff completed 11 of 16 for 128 yards and just one TD.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Game | Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions |
| Result | Bills win, 41-31 |
| Week | NFL Week 2, Thursday Night Football |
| Date | September 17, 2026 |
| Venue | Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, NY (first regular-season game at the new stadium) |
| Bills Record | 2-0 |
| Lions Record | 1-1 |
| Allen’s Line | 248 pass yds, 69 rush yds, 3 pass TD, 2 rush TD, 0 INT, 121.4 rating |
| Goff’s Line | 4 TD passes, 0 INT |
| St. Brown | 9 catches, 142 yards, 2 TD |
What This Means for Both Teams
Buffalo Bills (2-0): Josh Allen was his typical MVP-caliber self, and Buffalo showed off its brand-new Highmark Stadium in style during the Bills’ second game of the season. The offense spread the ball around all night, with touchdowns credited to Josh Palmer, Dawson Knox, and Dalton Kincaid through the air, while Allen added two scores of his own on the ground.
That kind of balance is what makes Buffalo dangerous early on — opponents can’t key on one player. With Allen playing efficient, mistake-free football and the passing game hitting multiple targets, the Bills look every bit like the AFC contender many expected them to be.
Detroit Lions (1-1): Goff threw for four scores in the Lions’ thrilling second half. He was helped by the rugged play of wide receiver St. Brown who added 9-142-2 to his season totals in just his second outing of 2026. A faster start may have allowed the Lions to leave LP Field with a more respectable score.
The Bottom Line
The home team got the job done tonight as star QB Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills defended their den and proved why he is among the league’s best signal-callers. After a strong start to the night, the Lions were able to muster up some offense of their own but in the end it wasn’t enough to top Buffalo.
After the game the Buffalo Bills moved to 2-0 and put to rest any early season doubts. The Detroit Lions, meanwhile, will look to bring the same level of energy that they showed in the second half to games’ early stages.
