Top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. Lions | Week 2

Sep 18, 2026 at 02:26 AM

Content Manager

1 — Josh Allen scores first TD at Highmark Stadium… then scores four more

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen turned in a show for the ages in his Highmark Stadium debut. After Buffalo won the coin toss and elected to receive, Allen immediately guided the offense on a 10-play, 85-yard scoring drive to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Allen accounted for 62 yards of offense on the opening possession, including a 1-yard run for the first touchdown in Highmark Stadium history. It was a special moment for the QB, who described his emotions right before kickoff.

"I think at the national anthem, I caught myself like taking it all in and understanding my job is the coolest thing in the world," Allen shared. "It's everything that I've ever wanted to be the quarterback of an NFL franchise. And I'm just very fortunate that I ended up here in Buffalo and got to be the first quarterback to open this stadium. It's a special spot."

The emotions Buffalo's franchise QB experienced pregame clearly carried over to the field as Allen amassed 248 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 69 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns.

The 2024 MVP is now the first QB in NFL history to pass for at least 5 touchdowns and run for at least 4 in a team's first two games. It's Allen's third two-game stretch in his career where he's reached those totals. After having only watched Allen's near-mythical powers from up above in the coach's box, head coach Joe Brady was at a loss for words when describing the QB's abilities.

"The only difference is now I'm on the field watching it and it's actually kind of more amazing," Brady said. "He literally gave everything he had out there, and he put the team on his back in a lot of those situations."

Coming off a 27-point performance in the first half where Allen accounted for 4 touchdowns, the Bills saw their lead trimmed to 27-17 in the third quarter. Buffalo's best offensive drive came on the ensuing possession where Allen led the team on a 15-play sequence that took over eight minutes of the clock.

Allen finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, his fifth score of the night and the 82nd rushing TD of his career. He is now tied with Hall of Fame RB Jim Taylor for 18th place on the NFL's all-time list.

"That was probably the biggest drive of the game," Allen said. "Eight minutes, finding a way to match the score… being on the other side of that before, I'm sure that's gotta be depleting."

Through two games under Joe Brady, the Bills have scored 77 points. That marks the fourth-most points in a head coach's first two games in the Super Bowl Era.

Related Links

2 — Dalton Kincaid continues torrid start

Coming off a career-high 130-yard Week 1 performance against the Texans, Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid followed it up with 7 catches, 95 yards and a touchdown against Detroit. Kincaid gave credit to the entire offense for how well they've performed the last two weeks.

"It's just Joe dialing everything up," Kincaid said. "We're interchangeable pieces, putting people out there. So just being on the same page with Josh makes a big difference**."**

According to Sumer Sports, Kincaid's 225 receiving yards over the first two weeks of the season is the highest total for a tight end since Jared Cook in 2019. His 95-yard outing Thursday night was the fourth-highest receiving yardage of his career.

The Bills capped off a near-perfect first half offensive output with a 16-yard strike from Allen to Kincaid over the middle.

"We were on the same page there," Allen said. "He's just got a savviness to him that a lot of a lot of guys don't have."

Kincaid led the Bills in receiving for the second consecutive game, averaging nearly 14 yards per reception.

*Watch Kincaid's postgame interview*

3 — Rousseau joins Hall of Fame company, Chubb gets his first sack

Buffalo Bills Legend and NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith was the Bills Legend of the Game, leading the charge right before kickoff.

Not only was Smith an excellent hype man, he also was on hand to witness another excellent performance from a current Bills pass rusher. Outside linebacker Greg Rousseau recorded two sacks on Lions quarterback Jared Goff, both of which came in the first half.

In doing so, Rousseau joined Smith as the only Bills players in franchise history to record 2+ sacks in each of the first two games of the season. The pass rusher also had two sacks in the Week 1 win over the Texans.

"Through two games, you've seen the kind of impact of what the scheme can do for him and his confidence in it," Brady said.

Rousseau said postgame that the switch to a 3-4 defense under Jim Leonhard has helped him, but added he's always been confident in his abilities.

The Bills defense collapse the pocket for the sack!

DETvsBUF on Prime Video
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/7mri0gBDgm
— NFL (@NFL) September 18, 2026

"I feel like I've always been a good player," Rousseau said. "I feel super underrated, but it's cool, it's part of the game."

As a unit, the Bills brought down Goff a total of four times. Second-year defensive lineman Deone Walker was a force of nature in the middle of the line, bursting through on several plays where he either got a hand on the ball or re-directed Goff into the arms of another Bills defender for a sack.

"We have so many types of changeups, switchups that you know it keeps the offensive line on their toes," Walker said.

Outside linebacker Bradley Chubb was a beneficiary of Walker's presence when he recorded his first sack as a member of the Bills in the second quarter. Aware that the Lions were down three offensive line starters, Chubb said the Bills took advantage:

"We just had the favorable matchups and made them pay," he said.