For Week 12 of the 2022 season, the Detroit Lions will return home for their annual Thanksgiving Day game and this year they get to take on the Buffalo Bills. The Lions come into this one riding a three-game winning streak coming off a big win against a playoff team in the New York Giants.
The Bills are coming in off a 31-23 win over the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field in Detroit because in Orchard Park they got eighty inches of snow. The Lions currently sit all alone in second place in the NFC North and they are tenth in the NFC standings, while the Bills are tied for first place in the AFC East and they currently sit in the five seed position in the AFC.
How Do the Lions and Bills Matchup:
For the third straight week, the Lions will go up against a mobile quarterback (Justin Field and Daniel Jones). The thing for the Lions compared to the other matchups is this is an offense in Buffalo that can attack you through the air or on the ground so you can’t just focus on stopping one of the two.
This Bills team is also a team that can put up points in a hurry and on the defensive side of the ball they can get to the quarterback, as Von Miller has changed this defense and he ranks tenth in the league in sacks with eight. The other difference for the Lions is the Bills’ rush defense is better than the Giants and Bears, they rank seventh in the league in rushing yards allowed. The Lions may need to rely on Jared Goff to air it out and throw for three hundred or so yards.
The Detroit Lions vs Buffalo Bills: WAY TOO Early Game Prediction
This matchup between these two teams should be a good one assuming we see the same Lions team we have seen the last few weeks and the defense plays the way it has. When the schedule came out, I thought for sure this was going to be an easy loss for the Lions but now going into this one I am thinking differently. The biggest question is, is Josh Allen hurt playing injured?
Last weekend against the Dolphins he did not look like his usual self. Allen only attempted twenty-seven passes which is the second lowest amount he’s attempted this season, but the Bills ran the ball thirty-three times on Sunday which is the most attempts they have had this season in a game.
It sounds like the Lions will probably not have Jeff Okudah as it’ll be tough for him to clear concussion protocol with the quick turnaround of a Thursday game. It also sounds like the Lions will also be without three offensive linemen (Jonah Jackson, Evan Brown, and Frank Ragnow) so that’ll be a tough task to protect Goff against this Bills’ defense.
Maybe Aaron Glenn can whip up something special we haven’t seen yet that will stop this Buffalo offense. With all that being said, my prediction is Buffalo will come away with the win in this one. It’ll be closer than anyone expects with a final score of 30-24 with Goff throwing a late interception to secure the win for Buffalo. I hope I am wrong, and the Lions can pull this one out, but it will be tough against a good Buffalo Bills team.
Nation, what do you think about these predictions?
