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Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Bills beat Lions: JOSH ALLEN LIGHTS IT UP, defense bounces back & WHERE Buffalo stands NOW
00:24:03
Mike Catalana and Jenna Cottrell talk the Bills 48-42 win over the Lions in Detroit. We dive into Josh Allen's MVP day, what worked for the defense and why this win was so important for Buffalo.
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- [00:00]
A
Last two weeks, he's had 10 touchdowns, no turnovers, over 800 yards. Like it has been ridiculous to see what he's doing. I said to you before we started this video, it feels like we are watching history in real time. Just what Josh Allen has been able to do.
- [00:25]
B
This the Buffalo plus podcast brought to you by Connors and Ferris.
- [00:30]
A
All right, welcome Back to the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel, presented by Connors and Ferris. He's Mike Catalana. I am Jenna Cottrell. Please be sure to like, comment, subscribe and share. The Bills beating the Lions 48 to 42 at Ford Field. Josh Allen, four total touchdowns in the day. Another MVP like performance. We're going to talk about him, we're going to talk about this team, we're going to talk about the entire offense, we're going to talk about the defense, we're going to break it all down. But Mike, your initial thoughts after this.
- [00:57]
B
Win we saw last week in LA, and you're thinking, okay, 44, 42. Like, how often do you see a game like that? Yeah, we waited a whole week here in Detroit and this was more about the Bills offense, I think, than last week was about the failures of the defense. Because this defense came in so beaten up, got off to a good start. We're going to talk about that. But what helped this defense was their core quarterback was unreal. He got help. You mentioned it. A lot of guys stepped up. Either big plays big whole games, offensive line, all those things. The defense was held together out there on the field. But man, 17 was good. And can we just stop with the competition for mvp?
- [01:41]
A
It's over.
- [01:43]
B
I mean, honestly, I think if you ask, you know, like, Barkley's had a great year and Goff here has had a great year and Lamar keeps pushing, piling up the numbers. But come on, Josh Allen is the most valuable player in the league. All the voters know it. These games, national TV for a few weeks now. He's unreal.
- [02:04]
A
He has been so fun to watch, so incredibly clutch, always making the right play. Last two weeks he's had 10 touchdowns, no turnovers over 800 yards. Like, it has been ridiculous to see what he's doing. I said to you before we started this video, it feels like we are watching history in real time. Just what Josh Allen has been able to do and the fun he's having. And you talk about those other guys for MVP and you think about the supporting cast that they have. And we even talked about going into the season, I don't know if Josh will have the weapons. I don't know if this Bills team has enough talent that they'll be able to win games. And as many as they have, they just won their 11th today.
- [02:46]
B
Yeah. You know, when I think about who makes players better. Right. A lot of times somebody will say that. And with Josh Allen, I think it's not like taking a good player and making them a superstar. It's just when he needs that help, he can pull that out of a player. Ty Johnson's a really good football player. He was phenomenal in this game. James Cook always comes through. How about what Dawson Knox did for him?
- [03:09]
A
Yes. Dawson Knox is having his best season.
- [03:13]
B
Yeah, I think you're right.
- [03:14]
A
I think absolutely. The clutch plays. We talk about clutch. So some huge catches, some really tough, contested catches. He's been able to come down with the ball. I've been. I really loved what I've seen this season from Dawson Knox. But let's go back to Josh.
- [03:28]
B
Yes. So the way he's playing now, honestly, I don't think defenses have any idea what they can do to stop him.
- [03:35]
A
Well, I think of just how many. The one to Keon. Oh, my God. I just pointed.
- [03:40]
B
But was impressive, though.
- [03:42]
A
It was diabolical. We were on the sidelines, and it's like, you can't guard that. You just cannot guard that.
- [03:50]
B
You saw what he did. So Josh, you've seen rolls out, right? And he had two guys somewhat open underneath. I think it was. Shakir was one, and maybe Matt Collins. And he's pointing. Josh is pointing.
- [04:02]
A
See, I can point.
- [04:04]
B
You can point. You point because Josh points, not because I point. And he points. Like, go. And then he throws it up and Keon comes down with it.
- [04:11]
A
You know, when you see Josh Allen pointing, some absolute wild stuff is about to go down.
- [04:17]
B
I was thinking about how he always keeps his eye open for those plays. Like he's running to the sidelines, but he's thinking. And his arm and his ability allows him to sometimes throw back across his body a little bit, throw all the way to the end zone, because he's thinking, I could go out of bounds. I could throw it out of bounds. And in the years ago, I don't think he was as aware. And he had physical gifts to sometimes make the play. I would say, Janet, when he's in that spot, he rarely now makes a bad play.
- [04:48]
A
And I think what it is, is when Josh came into the league, Trent Dilfer had the analogy of a quarterback can be a butcher or a surgeon. They use a. A one uses a hatchet one uses a scalpel. And the damage that they can do can be massive in both ways. But I think you've seen the evolution of Josh and the touch. I think early on in his career, he just didn't have the touch for some of the plays. Like you talked about. When things broke down, he could heave up the ball and some incredible plays could happen. But now you see that added element of the finesse that he can have. And I think that's just what has separated him from being really, really good to now this expert level that we have seen. And also, there's guys on the other side of the ball making the plays, coming down with those catches. But I really do feel like everyone has wanted to step up their game because of the level that Josh Allen is playing.
- [05:37]
B
You know, I was thinking watching him, and they used to talk about the sugar high Josh. Right. He'd get in certain spots and it would speed up, and he might make a great play. Might make an incredibly bad play. Honestly, Jenna, the game has slowed way down for him. Yeah, he is. He processes his mind. He sees it, and he's so calm. Now, before he makes one of those plays like that just makes me laugh now. Two plays. That one and then the one he threw, the little shovel pass, the push pass, the chess pass that got taken away. I know, which kind of stinks. And then the Keon one ended up being where they didn't score. That was the only, I would say, poor offensive execution. They got down the goal line. I would have liked to seen him just push it in. They took a penalty, but Bass missed that short field goal. Yeah, it didn't end up hurting him as much because the Lions came right back against a field goal. But it's kind of funny, you know, Josh knew what that play was because he did it. And then he ran off with the hand up and all excited. That was the moment of the game. And then the ref, with no sense of drama, throws a flag.
- [06:41]
A
How dare that.
- [06:42]
B
I know.
- [06:42]
A
It was something Lions fans were losing their mind because I think the frustration of, like, how do we stop this guy? How do we slow down Josh Allen? And even when it felt like, all right, the Lions did a good job. It's third and long. It's whatever. There would go Josh Allen just, again, I know it sounds silly, like, oh, it. History is what. What all of the past is, but it just feels so different this season. And we've talked about it, maybe off camera, maybe not as much on camera, but, like, it just feels different. And Then when you see the level where Josh is playing, it's just, it's fantastic to watch.
- [07:21]
B
Well, I mean, you say everything's a history when you're watching these plays and these moments. You know, other players have a great moment or a great game. Yeah, huge. Josh has so many of them. And the. And the really interesting thing about this year is it wasn't supposed to happen like this. Yes, I'm watching this game. Amari Cooper, very good player. Non factor, basically, Khalil Shakir a little bit. Made a few nice plays, had a touchdown, but it wasn't huge. Josh Allen threw for 362 yards. I mean, Ty Johnson is an outstanding receiver. And what did he run, Jenna? What route did he run?
- [07:55]
A
A wheel.
- [07:55]
B
I love the wheel route.
- [07:57]
A
Yes, you do.
- [07:58]
B
I love it. Ty Johnson can run it.
- [07:59]
A
I actually thought of you when I saw that. I was like, oh, Mike's going to be very happy.
- [08:03]
B
I wrote down in the notebook that you have in your hand, I wrote down a note. I wrote, I love the wheel route. And he ran it. But how about McDermott on that play? I thought Sean had two fourth down decisions. I think he made the right one on both cases because he doesn't always make the right one. The fourth down, he went for it. Josh very calmly put it right in Ty Johnson's hands. Huge play. And then later when he punted and he punted him down deep because, you know, we're up 14. Like, I know they were moving, but he needed them to go another 40 yards if they were going to get there. I thought that was the right call, but that throw to Ty Johnson just was elite. And then we talked about the one to Dawson Knox. I asked Dawson about that. It was a third down play. They were only up 10 at that point.
- [08:46]
A
Yeah.
- [08:46]
B
Which was wild because they were scoring. It felt like every time.
- [08:49]
A
Yeah.
- [08:50]
B
I said to Dawson, what were you thinking? And he was like, well, I was thinking, I better get going because that's got a little air to it. And he tracked it down. Outstanding catch. And that is a quiet, massive play in this game.
- [09:05]
A
Yes.
- [09:05]
B
Because right then if you don't make that play, you're punting it back to them up 10. And that didn't happen in the game. So it was huge.
- [09:12]
A
And this place gets loud. Like, that was definitely a factor. I think too. What says a lot is, like after the game, you went into the locker room and the way Josh's teammates talk about him is they sound like me.
- [09:26]
B
Yeah, well, Deion says that, you know, Dawson Says I'm a fan. Yeah, Like, I'm a fan. In fact, here, let's hear from those two players after the victory by the Bills. And Josh Allen. I'm his biggest fan. I told him that mid game. I said, josh, I'm your biggest fan, bro. I'm honored to be his left tackle.
- [09:48]
C
The dude's incredible. There's no. It's hard to describe what he does on a consistent basis every single Sunday. I've talked about it before, but sometimes you just turn into a fan. I mean, he threw a chest pass touchdown to Dalton, got called back, but he's flipping the ball to guys making plays with his foot.
- [10:05]
B
Feet.
- [10:05]
C
I'm yelling in my head to slide, but he's running guys over. It's so much fun to play with that dude.
- [10:12]
B
It's just funny. And even the defensive guys just talking about it because they knew what a struggle it was. Let's pivot a little bit to the defense, though, because they did get off to a great start. Urgency and Ed Oliver, two things we talked a lot about this week. And Ed came to play right from the beginning.
- [10:30]
A
You know, I think the players always talk like, we don't hear anything. We keep our heads down. You hear that? And I think Sean McDermott was asked in the post game what he saw out of his defense, specifically the run defense, and he said, it starts with attitude. It's attitude. It's fundamentals, it's focus, but it starts with attitude. And I think you saw the Bills defense and what do we say all week leading into this game, the Bills defense played like crap. Yeah, they were not happy with how it was in la. They were excited to get back onto the field, especially against a test that is the Detroit Lions. And they showed that. They showed that urgency that I think a lot of people were waiting for. Earlier on against the Rams, they went.
- [11:15]
B
Out on the field with backup safeties and a backup corner.
- [11:20]
A
I mean, we picked the games obviously before and.
- [11:24]
B
Oh, wait a minute. Go ahead.
- [11:25]
A
Well, no, no, you see that Demar Hamlin's out. You see that Taylor Rapp's out. And I was like, I might look like an ass. Like, I might, like look silly because.
- [11:33]
B
Oh, instead you look like a genius.
- [11:35]
A
Thank you.
- [11:36]
B
By the way, just so everybody knows, in our year long competition, Jenna is in first, Dan is in second, the old man is in third.
- [11:44]
A
Get ready for Pilates. Pilates. I may make it hot. Pilates.
- [11:48]
B
Oh, my God.
- [11:49]
A
My God, the room is like 98 degrees.
- [11:51]
B
I know. I need it because we're Gonna eat probably bad food now when we go back to the hotel.
- [11:55]
A
I haven't had anything since breakfast, so.
- [11:57]
B
We'Ll get you something to eat. But defensively. So let's talk a little bit about. So in the time it takes you to actually board a flight from Group.
- [12:05]
A
8, now boarding Premier Altitude Elite Club members.
- [12:08]
B
You could have bought a Hyundai on Amazon. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Limited availability pickup through participating Hyundai dealer in select markets. You're back out there with the safeties like Cole Bishop had to play.
- [12:20]
A
Yeah.
- [12:21]
B
Last time we saw Cole Bishop in a prominent role was in Houston. He gave up the big play.
- [12:24]
A
Yes.
- [12:26]
B
You know, and Cam Lewis was the other safety.
- [12:29]
A
Right.
- [12:30]
B
So, hey, Micah, beef up a little bit.
- [12:34]
A
Join us for dinner.
- [12:35]
B
Because you gotta get him on the field, I think, at some point, if they need be. But those guys played tough. They played hard. And I want to apologize to Kyrie Elam because we thought. Because jamarcus Ingram had gone in, but the reality was Kair wasn't dressed. So he's had those games.
- [12:52]
A
He's played in big moments.
- [12:53]
B
Kair stepped up today. Perfect. No, I mean, they gave up 42 points, but when you watch the game, it was more of just trying to almost run the clock out with the Lions because the Lions needed to just keep scoring to keep up with the Bills. But Kyer made some nice plays defensively. But I was thinking about Taron Johnson. Two things. One, he fielded that onside kick. Onside kicks make me so nervous.
- [13:17]
A
Oh, yeah.
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B
And he was like, yeah, a lot of stuff goes on down in that pile. He said, I had it the whole time. Bless you, Taren. If you really had it, because it was ugly at the bottom there. It looked like Bernard maybe pushed the ball down there. It's funny, it's those two together at the end because Taron's got to be out there going, who's playing next to me? Who's behind me?
- [13:39]
A
Yeah. When he was on the field for.
- [13:41]
B
Defense, because, you know, you look.
- [13:43]
A
And Benford, Baylon Spector was in there.
- [13:46]
B
So for the linebackers, like Milano went out.
- [13:48]
A
Yeah.
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B
And Dorian Williams went out.
- [13:50]
A
Did he come back?
- [13:51]
B
He came back at the end, I think, because they were like, we got Malin out there in pass coverage.
- [13:57]
A
Not ideal.
- [13:58]
B
Yeah. And so, you know, you had. And then Cole Bishop left the game.
- [14:03]
A
Joey Grieson was out there at some point.
- [14:09]
B
Veteran safety Kareem Jackson. Jackson ended up out there. I mean, this is who was out there against the Lions. So this wasn't like the number one guys. And that's where Taren was like. You know, I think they felt actually pretty good about the way they played, even though they gave up all those points because it was just that kind.
- [14:25]
A
Of game, I think. So I think you had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup and specifically out of the lineup that you're used to seeing. And so for, for that team, for guys like Cole Bishop and and Kyrie Lum to play the way they did, for the defense to look, I mean, the Lions obviously scored a lot of points, but they, it was that bend, don't break in the greater sense for this Bills defense where the Bills were always in the lead of this game.
- [14:48]
B
Yep, absolutely, they were. So it's a massive win for them.
- [14:52]
A
I, I, I feel like we have to say we talked a little bit about the run defense, but you took the Lions script away from them. They want to run the ball. That sets up everything for them. And the Bills did a great job of limiting the Lions and having to make them play from behind, not be able to run the ball as much, having to use their passing attack, which obviously they, they were effective. But you took away their fastball today. And I think that was the thing that a lot of Bills fans were concerned about because, hey, you know, the Lions, they can run all over you. The Bills got out and up fast and that helped make and minimize what the Lions could do on offense.
- [15:30]
B
No question about it. If you're just box score scouting and you look and you see Jared Goff had all these yards passing and all this stuff, they got Goff off of his game too. He missed some throws that could have really helped them. And the Bills made, they made just enough plays defensively in order to win the game. You know, the Lions just, they would hold on to the ball and they kept driving. And the Bills again, like trying to run the clock there a little bit. I would say this is probably, it's a, it's a rare time for a Sean McDermott and now Bobby Babich defense to give up 40 plus in two games. But this was a very good effort and yeah, actually pretty good result because these games can go, it's like a high scoring basketball game. It's like everybody just keeps going. You just got to figure out a way to win. They made them work and work and work to get.
- [16:22]
A
You know what I kept thinking, thinking of the image that popped into my head is if you have siblings, you probably know this one but you know, when you have your sibling, you're, like, holding them back, and they're trying really hard to fight you and, like, run at you, and you're just like, nope. Like, you just stand your ground. Like, there were some moments where there was some bending, but it was like, all right, the Bills did enough. And the defense was obviously a piece of that, because at one point I was like, there's nine minutes left in this game. Like, it. It was. Oh, my God.
- [16:51]
B
It wouldn't end.
- [16:51]
A
It would not end.
- [16:52]
B
I'm going to ask you about the crowd. These people are loud. Listen, Bill's fans show up, but, man, in this place, there was some. And they were loud. The Bills fans who were here, but the Lions fans, they are enjoying a phenomenal season. And this place is super loud. But there were times it got super quiet.
- [17:12]
A
Oh, absolutely. Like this. I mean, this. This home crowd was the largest in terms of the ratio of. Of. Of home team fans to Bills fans. Like, without a doubt, there was a massive majority of Lions fans, but when they were loud, they were really loud. And when they were quiet, you could hear a pin drop at moments.
- [17:32]
B
Give the Bills credit. Rarely did the noise cause them a problem. They called Deion on that one false start. I just thought it was a little bit of a BS Call there. It was. If it was, it was a whisker. Yeah, that was the one that took them back. But, you know, this. You know, this environment, like, it was pretty easy.
- [17:52]
A
That's why, actually, I was happy that Tyler Bass got some. I'm not excusing the miss earlier, but, like, some big kicks late in the game. Crowd really into it, a tough environment. I'm like, okay, it's nice to see now, look, weather obviously not a factor. We're in a dome. But I think that's important experience down the stretch for him. And to help with some of his.
- [18:14]
B
Confidence, I think making the 50 was more important than the missing of the short field goal. The missing of the short field goal, yeah, was just a. I mean, he. He. He's going to make that the majority. Vast majority of the time. It was just. He pushed it gone. I think that's very easily correctable. You were right. I was thinking in that moment. I. I said it was his second biggest kick of the year, the 61 yarder that won a game. The biggest. But this one was, you know, you're like, okay, we need this one.
- [18:44]
A
Go back up.
- [18:45]
B
I think 13 at the time. And he drilled it 50 yards, which was huge. So that was a plus, too, coming out of this.
- [18:51]
A
Yeah, definitely. I thought for him, that's important. And that to see that one go through, that's huge for him. It was very important in this game because it felt like the Bills constantly had to keep scoring points because of what the Lions can do and how explosive they can be.
- [19:06]
B
Yeah. Now when you look at it, massive win for the Bills. It keeps them in the running for the one seed. And I know the Chiefs won again. Mahomes went out. It's an injury. They're saying week to week.
- [19:18]
A
Well, he. I was gonna say. I don't know if I believe that he did that.
- [19:22]
B
You know, he does. He's tough. He does come back. He does play hurt.
- [19:26]
A
There's no doubt about it.
- [19:27]
B
But if they're saying week to week and they've got some games now, they beat Cleveland.
- [19:30]
A
I think they have the Texans.
- [19:32]
B
They have the Texans, the Steelers, and then they have the. At the Broncos to end the year. So we'll see what that is in terms of the Bills being. And the Steelers lost very big for.
- [19:44]
A
The Bills, who beat them.
- [19:47]
B
Go Birds.
- [19:48]
A
Go Birds.
- [19:48]
B
Eagles did. Pittsburgh played tough without Pickens, which hurt them. They'll probably get him back, which is. Which is good for the Bills maybe, you know, when they end up playing the Chiefs. But all still in the running. And, you know, they did say, potential super bowl preview. I would say, outside of their own teams, America would love to see this rematch in the Super Bowl.
- [20:09]
A
A thousand percent. I mean, I. I feel like going to this game, so many people were like, we always root for the Lions if. If we're not watching the Bills. And, like, honestly, vice versa of, like, it's a similar background in terms of obviously, the failures and the frustrations that go into it. So. And this team, this Lions team, is fun to watch. They got a ton of weapons. Dan Campbell is wild. Two onside kicks. Like, I mean, they were the first one.
- [20:37]
B
Dan, what are you doing?
- [20:39]
A
I was like. I. I'm not gonna lie. I just was like, wait, what?
- [20:43]
B
Well, you got to announce it.
- [20:44]
A
Yeah.
- [20:45]
B
And it's like, okay, we're going to kick this on site.
- [20:47]
A
Did they announce the second one?
- [20:48]
B
Yes.
- [20:48]
A
Okay.
- [20:49]
B
Oh, no, wait a minute. Because I. I think maybe they did. I'm just trying to think at that point of the game. I don't think they have to announce it because they're. But anyhow, they announced. Yeah, they have to call it because they move up. They do that first one, I'm like, you got it down to 10 points. And now you're kicking an onside kick.
- [21:04]
A
Yeah. I thought.
- [21:05]
B
I don't know, Mack. I think he just wanted Josh to get another touchdown.
- [21:09]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [21:10]
B
And he did.
- [21:10]
A
Yeah. That was a big play.
- [21:12]
B
Yeah, it was a huge play. Dan Campbell's aggressive, but I think I would have kicked it deep, put the Bills under pressure. He didn't. And later he did. Then he took downside kick. So regardless of how it ended up being, your quarterback's going to be the MVP and your team got a huge win.
- [21:26]
A
And Sean McDermott was asked after the game, is this the best you've seen Josh play? He was like, it is. Whenever Josh puts his mind to a goal, McDermott was saying, I'm not surprised. And I think coming into the season, it was, I need to limit the turnovers. I need to be more patient. I need to be more, you know, protectful of the ball. And you're seeing the results.
- [21:54]
B
He did. I don't know if you mentioned it here. He mentioned it before. He did go in for X rays.
- [21:58]
A
Yes.
- [21:59]
B
It was on his shoulder.
- [22:00]
A
Yes.
- [22:00]
B
That was negative.
- [22:01]
A
He said it was, quote, for peace of mind and everything's good.
- [22:06]
B
He did. It was. They did see a break. He broke the Internet with some of his touchdowns where people are like, what is happening?
- [22:16]
A
I really wish that, like, chest shovel. Like, I not shovel, but, like, the chess pass was.
- [22:21]
B
Oh, he just loved.
- [22:23]
A
He wanted it. So. He is one behind Thurman Thomas for most. Most rushing touchdowns in franchise.
- [22:29]
B
The guy with the gold jacket is a running back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's going to beat them all. He's. He's got one receiving. He's got two receiving touchdowns now. He'll go after Andre Reed next. He's got Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, just go after.
- [22:42]
A
And I took that personally.
- [22:44]
B
You want to point at anything else or are we good?
- [22:45]
A
No, I'm.
- [22:46]
B
We gotta go get you something to eat.
- [22:47]
A
Yeah, if you don't mind. That'd be good. No, Detroit, it was a fun trip. We're excited. Dan Fates will be coming back, so we love him and we're excited. And honestly, we got a lot of. Lot of fun games ahead. Division stuff. New England, the Jets, New England, some home games, some. Yeah, maybe we'll see some weather. I don't know.
- [23:07]
B
We'll see. We'll see how it goes.
- [23:09]
A
Yeah.
- [23:09]
B
Nice to be in the dome.
- [23:10]
A
All right. Yes. Seriously. All right. Please be sure to, like, comment, subscribe and share. The Bills now 11 and three after their 48, 42 win over the Lions in Detroit. Hell of a game. Josh Allen's the mvp. Let us know how you're feeling after the win, what your thoughts are on Josh Allen's performance and what you make of this team and where they're at. All right. For Mike Catalana, I'm Jenna Cottrell. For Dan, who will be back later on this week, thank you so much for joining us here on the Buffalo plus channel. We'll catch you next time. I was so close to finishing strong.
- [23:45]
B
You did all right. This is the Buffalo plus podcast, brought to you by Connors and Ferris.