The Buffalo Bills opened their 2021 preaseaon Friday night with a 16-15 win over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, thanks to a late go-ahead field goal from kicker Tyler Bass with 15 seconds remaining in the game.
Bass got the Bills on the board first with a 50-yard field goal just under five minutes into the game to make the score, 3-0. Detroit replied immediately with a field goal of their own from Randy Bullock from 28 yards out.
Mitchell Trubisky played for the entirety of the quarter for the Bills, going 1-for-2 for 10 yards. His only completion on the day went to tight end Dawson Knox, which came at the end of the first quarter.
Bills 2021 first round pick Greg Rousseau made his presence known early, as he recorded a sack that ended the Lions' first drive of the game.
For the Lions, newly acquired quarterback Jared Goff played through the first quarter, going 7-of-9 for 56 yards. He was relieved by Tim Boyle at the start of the second quarter.
Davis Webb came in at quarterback for the Bills shortly into the second quarter. Tight end Tommy Sweeney also saw game action on Friday after missing significant time last season with complications from COVID-19.
Webb would lead Buffalo on a 15-play drive into the end zone to put the Bills up by a 10-3 score late in the second quarter. The fifth-year quarterback threw a six-yard touchdown pass to running back Devin Singletary with 2:38 left in the half.
After halting a 4th-and-1 attempt by the Lions with 1:17 remaining in the half, Webb took the Bills down the field again to add to their lead. This time, Bass put up three more points on the board with a 37-yard field goal with seven seconds to go in the second quarter.
The third quarter came and went with only four possessions between both teams with the last Lions drive extending into the four quarter. Detroit's last drive of the third would end with a 27-yard field goal from Bullock with 12:48 remaining in the fourth quarter to close the gap to one possession.
Lions quarterback David Blough, with assistance from 29 yards in defensive penalties from the Bills, was able to engineer a six-play drive in just 3:15 of the fourth quarter to get Detroit within a point of Buffalo. It was running back Craig Reynolds who capped off the scoring drive with a 24-yard touchdown run. However, Blough would miss on a throw during the two-point conversion, keeping the score 13-12 in favor of the Bills.
Detroit took its first lead of the game, 15-13, with 1:41 left in the game after a 28-yard field goal from Bullock capped off a 75-yard drive in 2:20.
The Bills got the ball back with Jake Fromm now under center, and he made a clutch play on fourth down to find Marquez Stevenson for a 42-yard completion to the Lions' 38-yard line. The Bills worked down the field a bit more before getting the game-winning 44-yard field goal from Bass with 19 seconds remaining.
The Bills only had one injury concern from their first preseason game on Friday.
Isaiah Hodgins left the game in the third quarter with, what looked like, a knee injury. Hodgins was seen walking off the field toward the locker room at the end of the game.
"I still haven't met with our trainer yet," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said in his postgame press conference.
----------
GAME SUMMARY:
First quarter:
- 3-0 BILLS (10:48) - Tyler Bass' 50-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 7 plays, 18 yards, 2:43
- 3-3 TIE (0:54) - Randy Bullock's 28-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 18 plays, 70 yards, 9:54
Second quarter:
- 10-3 BILLS (2:37) - Davis Webb throws a six-yard touchdown pass to Devin Singletary (Tyler Bass' extra-point attempt is good).
Drive info: 15 plays, 83 yards, 9:10
- 13-3 BILLS (0:07) - Tyler Bass' 37-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 7 plays, 17 yards, 1:06
Third quarter:
- NO SCORING
Fourth quarter:
- 13-6 BILLS (12:58) - Randy Bullock's 27-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 16 plays, 80 yards, 8:27
- 13-12 BILLS (7:36) - Craig Reynolds runs 27 yards for a touchdown (Detroit's two-point conversion attempt fails).
Drive info: 6 plays, 74 yards, 3:15
- 15-13 LIONS (1:38) - Randy Bullock's 28-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:20
- 16-15 BILLS (0:19) - Tyler Bass' 44-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 11 plays, 55 yards, 1:23
----------
----------
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Bills will travel to Chicago for preseason game No. 2 on Saturday, Aug. 21 to take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET, and you can hear all the action on WGR Sports Radio 550 with John Murphy, Eric Wood and Sal Capaccio on the call.