When Detroit’s Rashean Mathis intercepted Kyle Orton’s pass early in the second quarter of Sunday’s Buffalo Bills’ clash with the Lions in Detroit, returning it for a touchdown to give his team a 14-0 lead, it looked like Bills’ coach Doug Marrone’s decision to bench EJ Manuel in favor of the veteran Orton wasn’t going to work out very well. Detroit’s formidable defense had shut down the Bills’ offense to that point, and it appeared this game could descend into a blowout. Just as Houston’s J.J. Watt had tormented Buffalo’s offensive line the previous week, Detroit’s All Pro defensive tackle, Ndamukong Suh did the same in this game. The Bills’ rushing attack had its’ worst showing of the season, with Suh and his defensive linemates stuffing the Buffalo backs all day. With Orton showing rust from not having seen any live game action since last season, it looked like the Bills were in for a long day. Luckily, Orton shook off the rust just enough to rebound and lead his team to a stirring 17-14 comeback win, highlighted by a 58 yard game-winning field goal by the reliable Dan Carpenter in the dying seconds. While Orton found his bearings and guided Buffalo to the win, hitting some timely passes on the four scoring drives he needed to secure the final result, it was the Bills’ defense that was the headliner of the day, for the fifth straight week this year. With Kyle Williams out with a knee injury, Marcell Dareus lifted his game and delivered his best effort of the season, dominating the Lions’ offensive line and recording 3 of the Bills’ 6 sacks of Lion QB Matthew Stafford. The efforts of the defense are the main reason the Bills have a winning 3-2 record so far this year, and Sunday’s game was especially sweet in that it came against defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s former team. Now the Bills return home for a divisional game against rival New England, and the hope is that the defense can put together another consistent effort against Tom Brady while Orton continues to improve and gain more familiarity with his offensive teammates.
NFL – Bills’ Game Review
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