Josh Allen leads 21-second game-winning drive, Bills move ahead in AFC East race

DETROIT -- The Buffalo Bills mightiness privation to play connected Thanksgiving each season. They improved to 3-0 successful Thanksgiving games implicit the past 4 seasons, the latest a 28-25 thriller implicit the Detroit Lions.

After the Lions tied the crippled late, the Bills took implicit with 23 seconds left. Quarterback Josh Allen pb a four-play, 48-yard thrust to acceptable up kicker Tyler Bass for a 45-yard game-winning tract extremity with conscionable seconds left.

They Lions haven't won connected Thanksgiving since 2016 and person conscionable six victories connected the vacation since 2000.

The Bills' triumph was overshadowed by a genu wounded to pass-rusher Von Miller, who did not instrumentality aft getting wounded successful the archetypal half.

Buffalo Bills

After Allen and wide receiver Stefon Diggs struggled to link for overmuch of the game, the brace got connected the aforesaid leafage erstwhile the squad needed them most.

For the archetypal 8 drives of the game, Diggs caught 3 of 9 targets for conscionable 12 yards. Allen's lone interception successful the crippled besides came erstwhile targeting Diggs. But connected the last 2 drives, Allen and Diggs connected connected each 5 targets for 65 yards and a score. Allen finished the crippled 24-of-42 for 253 yards with 2 passing touchdowns and different 1 rushing.

With the win, the Bills went against their ain caller history. The squad was 1-9 erstwhile trailing successful the 4th fourth implicit the past 2 seasons.

Describe the crippled successful 2 words: Impact injuries. The Bills came into the crippled without halfway Mitch Morse and mislaid near tackle Dion Dawkins (ankle) portion allowing 15 pressures connected Allen. When Miller near the game, the defence gave up a archetypal fractional lead.

Buy a breakout performance: Yes, antiaircraft tackle Ed Oliver broke retired a agelong clip ago, but this was his champion show of the play by acold erstwhile the Bills needed it owed to injuries connected the antiaircraft line. Oliver forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, sacked Lions backmost Jared Goff for a information and had 2 tackles for loss. His fifth-year enactment has already been picked up, and Oliver continues to amusement he's a cardinal portion of this defense.

Troubling trend: Allen is throwing excessively galore reddish portion interceptions. He has present thrown a reddish portion interception successful 4 of the past 5 games and leads the league with 4 reddish portion picks. Prior to this stretch, helium had thrown 2 successful his vocation (first 67 games). No backmost has thrown that galore successful an full play since 2019 (Mitch Trubisky and Sam Darnold each had four). The inclination started earlier Allen's close elbow injury, but helium has to find a mode to beryllium much cautious with the football. -- Alaina Getzenberg

Underrated statistic to know: Josh Allen present has 23 vocation games with a passing touchdown and a rushing TD, tied for the 5th astir successful NFL history.

Next game: astatine Patriots (8:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 1)

Detroit Lions

Detroit entered arsenic 9.5-point underdogs and Lions were connected the verge of snapping their five-game losing streak connected Thanksgiving, but contempt going toe-to-toe with Buffalo -- 1 of the league's champion teams -- they couldn't get a captious halt astatine the extremity of the game.

Buy a breakout performance: Have the Detroit Lions recovered different hidden gem successful James Houston? The rookie linebacker was elevated from the signifier squad the time up of the crippled and made the astir of his accidental with 2 sacks and a fumble recovery. He became the archetypal subordinate successful squad past to grounds a multi-sack crippled successful his NFL debut. Ahead of the game, linebackers manager Kelvin Sheppard said determination would "be a spot for James Houston present successful the future," erstwhile helium was capable to grasp the team's schematic concept, owed to his enactment ethic.

Bold prediction for adjacent week: The Lions volition activate rookie receiver Jameson Williams up of adjacent location crippled against Jacksonville. Williams, the 12th wide prime of the 2022 draft, was moving routes astatine Ford Field up of the crippled and if everything goes arsenic planned passim this week astatine practice, helium could marque his NFL debut adjacent week. Williams reported to signifier for the archetypal clip up of the Buffalo game, but the squad didn't bash overmuch during a abbreviated week. The Alabama merchandise told reporters that he's "real, real, existent excited to enactment my cleats connected and beryllium capable to enactment a jersey on." -- Eric Woodyard

Underrated statistic to know: Since the commencement of past play with Goff the Lions are 4-10 erstwhile scoring archetypal -- arsenic they did connected Thursday -- that's the worst people successful the NFL implicit that span.

Next game: vs. Jaguars (1 p.m. ET, Dec. 4)