DETROIT – Most teams, even contenders, could use a reality check at some point during a season. They are not uncommon in the NFL. Some happen early and can help the 53 guys in a locker room collect themselves before things snowball. Some happen mid-season, when enough time has passed to see the bigger picture. And some happen later, propelling teams to a postseason run.

The Detroit Lions took a hit on Sunday as they lost to the Buffalo Bills 48-42. What they do with it remains to be seen.

“It’s hard to swallow, but at least now we know where we stand against one of the best teams in the AFC,” head coach Dan Campbell said Sunday. “And it’s not good enough. Not today, that’s not it.”

Campbell took the blame for this. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Detroit has lost two games this season and both times he turned the criticism on his team and directed it at himself. This time for his team’s slow start in one of the most anticipated matchups this season.

This game was heralded as a potential Super Bowl preview. Two of the best players in the league – the 12:1 Lions against the 10:3 Bills – competed against each other in Detroit. With only a handful of games left in the regular season, it was as close to a benchmark game as Detroit would see by the end of the season. A possible look at a team that could await them on the other side in February.

When the Bills won the toss and put it back, the Lions couldn’t afford to play into their hands. This game was all about points, with two defenses faltering lately. The Lions needed a longer drive – especially with a heavy dose of their rushing attack – to keep the Buffalo offense off the field and make it clear to them that they would be the enforcers.

In some games you have to set the tone and decide how the day will go. In a possible preview of the Super Bowl, the Bills did. The Lions didn’t.

What we saw was Jared Goff unbuckling his chin strap and jogging to the sideline after making an ugly three-pointer on Detroit’s first possession. Three plays, no yards, punt. That gave the Bills the ball back after just 58 seconds. Then the MVP frontrunner took center stage.

Allen and the Buffalo offense seemed ready to take control of the game and never look back. They acted with a calm and collected swagger that made you think they had the game to lose. It felt like every time they lined up for first down they gained five or six yards, resulting in manageable comebacks. It felt like they were scoring a touchdown every time they took the field.

These are the tells that can inform you that you will be able to do this whatever you want. The Lions know the feeling well. Just not this Sunday.

“I just feel like we didn’t play at the same level as this team did today,” Campbell said. “That’s how I feel and that’s honestly why I put this on. I didn’t do that, I just didn’t feel like I had them ready to go, unlike ours. You can get away with it, maybe if you’re not quite at the 10 yet, but not against the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs or the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota, Philadelphia – whoever they are. It won’t be good enough, and it wasn’t good enough today.”

Allen and the Bills scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the day, building a solid lead as Detroit’s offense picked up through the air. They did their best, with Goff completing 38 of his 58 pass attempts for 494 yards and five touchdowns, but that’s not usually a recipe for success for the Lions. It usually indicates a shootout or lack of quick success. This time it was both.

As much as the Lions would have liked to get the game going on the ground, an early deficit put them in a hole they just couldn’t get out of. They had to give it up. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery totaled 35 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Buffalo deserves credit for the win at the line of scrimmage, against an offensive line that typically doesn’t get thrown around like it did Sunday. If the Lions had been able to sustain drives with their running game instead of throwing it 58 times, they could have limited Allen’s number of possessions, which would have resulted in a more controlled game. That didn’t happen.

Instead, Allen used his agility and otherworldly arm strength to extend plays and essentially force a limping Detroit defense to play backyard football all day. This is a game you don’t want to play with everyone. He will make you grab your ball and go home.

“Light up! Oh my God. That’s Josh Allen in every sense of the word.”

– Tony Romo on @BuffaloBills Completion that has set up a TD pic.twitter.com/mW1r9YOGQg

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 15, 2024

KEON IS SO BACK.

📺: @paramountplus & @NFLonCBS#ProBowlVote | @keoncoleman6 pic.twitter.com/0d8KkW84TS

– Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 15, 2024

The Bills finished the game with 48 points, 559 yards, an average of 8.2 yards per play and a whopping 197 yards rushing. It was easily Detroit’s worst defensive performance of the season. Buffalo moved the ball with so much efficiency that Campbell was forced to attempt an onside kick while trailing by 10 with 12 minutes to play just to try to gain a possession for his offense. If a Bills player fell on the onside attempt, you might be able to prevent him from seriously running out of time (like Buffalo did on its next possession) and hold him to a field goal. Instead, Mack Hollis hit the ball to himself and returned it to the Detroit 5-yard line, setting up another Bills touchdown.

The ball didn’t bounce their way in this game.

“I just thought we were going to get possession of the ball,” Campbell said of the onside kick attempt. “I thought we were going to get the ball. It was one of (Jake) Bates’ best kicks I’ve ever seen. That was a real blast at the end, you know, that thing passed us well and Hollins made a great play. And you know, sitting here now in hindsight after they made it to the 3-yard line, I wish I hadn’t done that. But it is what it is.”

To make matters worse, the Lions’ already weak defense could become even thinner after Sunday’s loss. Star defensive tackle Alim McNeill left the game after landing awkwardly on a play. He was visibly frustrated as he left the pitch and was seen with trainers before heading into the blue medical tent. The Lions later announced that he would be sidelined with a knee injury. Cornerback Carlton Davis was evaluated for a concussion and did not return after sustaining a jaw injury. Campbell said he will learn more about both players tomorrow, but said he doesn’t have a good feeling about either player at this time.

“When I say, ‘I’m not feeling good,’ that usually means it’s not going to be good for the rest of the year,” Campbell said. “Well, not a good feeling about it.”

At the start of Sunday, the city of Detroit had not seen its NFL franchise lose since mid-September. And yet it feels like we have reached a crucial point in the season. It’s worth taking a closer look after a game like this.

The Lions (12-2) now have the same record as the Eagles (12-2). The Vikings could join them with a win over the Bears on Monday night. They still have a lot to do before the end of the season and, to be honest, they won’t be able to avoid a slip-up from now on. Both teams are lurking.

The injuries continue to pile up. McNeill and Davis would suffer massive losses if they were out for the season. It feels like we’ve said that about five or six different players and there’s only so many left. This is not the same defense that held teams under 20 points every week. Many of the faces deployed out there went unnoticed as they walked the streets of Detroit. It was a nightmare season defensively due to injuries.

At the same time, we are taking a step back here. The Lions have four wins against other teams that currently occupy playoff spots in the NFC – the Vikings (1-0), Packers (2-0) and Rams (1-0). Starting 12-1 and winning 11 in a row despite all the injuries they’ve suffered is as impressive an accomplishment as they’ve had this year. It was unlikely that the Lions would make the playoffs with a 15-game winning streak. They probably had to suffer a loss.

As for the seedings and the NFC North race – that second win over the Packers gave the Lions some much-needed breathing room and softened the blow of a potential disappointment against the Bills. Because of this win, the Lions and Eagles are tied for first place in the NFC, with Detroit remaining in pole position. If the Lions win against the Bears, 49ers and Vikings, they can still secure the No. 1 seed even if the Eagles also win. The same goes for the NFC North race against the Vikings. If you win all three, you win the division. You have to think of this as a three game season.

Losing to the Bills by six, despite everything that happened, isn’t worth abandoning ship. The Lions don’t have to face Josh Allen every week. If these teams meet again this season, it will continue in the Super Bowl. The Lions shouldn’t lose any sleep over this game and a possible rematch in February. You need to focus on what comes next.

“We’ll be fine,” Goff said. “I’m sure there will be a lot of stuff about the fall of heaven, but no, internally we’re good. … Ideally we would have won every game leading up to the Super Bowl, and I hope that we can look back on this as a good lesson for us and move forward and apply some of what we learned from this game to help us in the next ones to win three games before we get into the playoffs.”

The Lions believe they are battle tested. Now they face their biggest battle yet – a three-game stretch to reach their regular-season goals.

What they do from here will tell us a lot about the team they ultimately are.

(Photo by Jared Goff: Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)