Match results: The Bills won a 48-42 shootout against the Lions, but it wasn't as close as the final score indicated. Buffalo never trailed, pulling away in the second half to go up 11-3. The Bills remain two games behind the top-seeded Chiefs, but have improved to a game behind the second-seeded Steelers.
The Lions improved to 12 wins and 2 losses with the win. They are currently tied with the Vikings in the NFC North, but have the tiebreaker advantage thanks to their Week 7 win in Minneapolis. The Lions and Vikings will meet in Week 18, so there's a good chance the district title will be decided in that game. The Lions remain the No. 1 seed because they have a better conference record than the Eagles.
The Buffalo Bills head to Detroit to take on the Lions, a potential NFL Game of the Year contender. This will be the first time since the two teams met on Thanksgiving Day in 2022, and each team has only grown in profile since that game, which the Bills won late in the game.
The Lions are only 2.5 point favorites against the Bills on their own. By FanDuel Sportsbookand it's the second time in two months that Buffalo is an underdog.
Bills playoff photos
Buffalo is 10-3 and has already won the AFC East title. They are competing for the No. 1 seed with the Kansas City Chiefs, whom they defeated in November, but after losing to the Los Angeles Rams last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers could tie with Buffalo in the standings. If Buffalo wants to find a way to earn a bye and home-field advantage through the playoffs, they'll need to win, including perhaps beating a dangerous Lions team on their own turf.
lions playoff photos
The Lions have the best record in the NFL at 12-1, but have been unable to ease off the gas as the Minnesota Vikings sit just one game back at 11-2. While any other team with 10 or more wins could win the division, NFC North teams are on the back foot. Detroit won against Minnesota, but both teams will meet in the final week of the season. Detroit wants to put some money between them and the Vikings, and the Philadelphia Eagles are also lurking in the conference standings at 11-2.
Impact on tiebreaker
For the Bills, a win in this game would certainly give them a tiebreaker in the event of a tie with the Steelers. Buffalo and Pittsburgh currently have identical conference records, and the reason the Bills are in second place is because of their winning streak. However, by the end of the season, after both teams play four games against the Ravens, Jets and Chiefs, the record vs. common opponent standings will likely be higher than the SOV.
For the Lions, the tiebreaker against Minnesota is already set in stone. Even if both teams advance and Detroit's only loss is to Minnesota, the Lions will still have a win on their record against a common opponent in the NFC North. (The Lions beat the Rams, but the Vikings didn't.) So this game only matters for the Lions on their overall record.
In the NFC race, the Lions have already built a huge lead over the Eagles on the strength of wins, but Philadelphia has a chance to close the gap with wins over the Steelers and Commanders. The NFC East games are hurting the Eagles here.
