Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett highlights the best and worst performances of the Lions’ 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Ford Field.

The Lions (12-2) lost for the first time in exactly three months — when they also lost at home to Tampa Bay, 20-16, in Week 2 on Sept. 15 — and had their franchise-record 11-game win streak snapped. The Lions will have to wait a week to get a second shot at setting the franchise single-season wins record when they visit division rival Chicago Bears in Week 16.

Lions-Bills winners

Bills QB Josh Allen

Allen was phenomenal Sunday, passing for 362 yards and two touchdowns and running for two more scores. He has five rushing and five passing touchdowns with zero turnovers in the Bills’ past two games and made a handful of improbable throws after extending plays with his legs.

With his performance, Allen cemented his place as this year’s probable MVP.

“Josh Allen just doing Josh Allen things, man,” Lions cornerback Amik Robertson said. “I don’t think they got any standout dog rec(eiver). They didn’t do nothing — for me they didn’t do nothing special, we just didn’t play Lions football today, man, but we’re going to be all right”

Lions S Brian Branch

Branch was one of the few bright spots on a defense that gave up its most points since Week 4 of the 2022 season.

The second-year safety had 15 tackles, two for loss, and a pass breakup. He had a TFL on a first-and-10 play in the third quarter that helped force the Bills’ only punt of the game and a pass breakup in the end zone that forced the Bills to settle for a short field goal they missed late in the second quarter.

The Lions defense has been decimated by injury and is hemorrhaging talent in the front seven, but they still have two of the best safeties in football in Branch and Kerby Joseph.

MORE BAD NEWS: Lions RB David Montgomery knee injury update

Lions-Bills losers

Lions OL

The Lions have one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL, but couldn’t run the ball a lick Sunday — 48 yards on 15 carries — and that’s part of why they found themselves in a big early hole. They went 0 yards, 1 yard, minus-2 yards on their first three carries and gave up two sacks in their first six pass attempts.

While the failures were a collective effort, Frank Ragnow (two holding penalties) and Graham Glasgow (a face mask) had especially rough days on the interior trying to block Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (one sack, three QB hits).

The Lions still rallied for 42 points, so the line wasn’t all bad. But one of the league’s best groups hasn’t been its sharpest in a few weeks and that’s not what this team needs heading into the home stretch.

Lions’ Super Bowl 2025 chances

The Lions are still one of the best teams in the NFL, but it’s indisputable their Super Bowl 59 chances took another hit (or four) with injuries Sunday.

Already down defensive starters Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes and Alex Anzalone, the Lions lost two more defensive starters to major injury Sunday in Alim McNeill and Carlton Davis, gunner/cornerback Khalil Dorsey to a broken leg and running back David Montgomery to an MCL injury.

As good as they’ve been, the Lions are starting to run out of capable bodies, especially on defense. They could lose all four of the players who got injured Sunday for the remainder of the season, and good teams like the Bills and good quarterbacks like Allen are more than capable of exploiting their holes.

DAVE BIRKETT: Campbell’s onside kick was fine, the defense was not: 5 final thoughts on Lions-Bills

On Sunday, the Lions’ decimated linebacking corps struggled to get off blocks and cover Buffalo’s running backs and tight ends in the pass game. Anzalone should return soon, but it might not be enough to save the league’s most injury-ravaged defense.

Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

According to Milwaukee Brewers general manager Matt Arnold, new Brewers pitcher Nestor Cortes has a clean bill of health heading into the 2025 season.

From Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy:

Re: Nestor Cortes’ left elbow, which sidelined him from late September until a return in the World Series, he’s had a “fully healthy offseason,” according to Matt Arnold. The Brewers did extensive work on the medicals before making the deal, as the Yankees did on Williams.

Cortes was acquired last week in the blockbuster deal that sent All-Star closer Devin Williams to the Yankees and will immediately slot in the Brewers rotation in 2025. The 30-year-old lefty is one of the most unique pitchers in the game, complete with an array of different motions and arm angles, and should help keep the Brewers competitive in the National League Central.

He made 30 starts for the Yankees this past season, going 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA as they advanced to the World Series. He struck out 162 batters in 174.1 innings, pitching to a 1.15 WHIP as well.

Lifetime, Cortes has appeared in parts of seven different seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and Yankees. He won a career-high 12 games in 2022 with the Yankees, a year in which he also made the All-Star team in the American League.

Lifetime, he’s 33-21 with a 3.80 ERA. The Brewers also have Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Civale, DL Hall and Tobias Myers as candidates to start games.

Milwaukee won the National League Central in 2024.

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