NFL Player News

You’ll take it, but this was a rough game for Collins as even his touchdown catches were clearly off-script. Houston’s quagmire offense hasn’t sunk Collins yet — he’s simply too good — but this game proves a lower floor does exist ahead of Week 16’s game against the Chiefs. Collins remains a no-doubter WR1.

The Lions threw the ball 60 times in this game while playing the whole thing from behind, so that certainly worked in Sam LaPorta’s favor. The Bills also seemed content to let the Lions gain chunk plays over the middle of the field as long as they didn’t hit any big plays deep, which meant plenty of work for LaPorta in the intermediate areas. The passing volume may not be as high next week against the Bears, but LaPorta remains a TE1.

The Lions currently have seven defensive linemen on injured reserve and McNeill will evidently be the eighth. The talented three-down player ranks second on the team in both NFL sacks (3.5) and quarterback pressures (44) and fourth in tackles for loss or no gain (four). This is a significant loss for the Super Bowl-hopeful Lions. The 24-year-old defensive lineman is under contract through 2028.

Gibson continued to play a change-of-pace role in this contest, seeing nine touches compared to 14 for Stevenson. The role suits him well as he averaged 7.1 yards per touch versus the Cardinals on the back of a 20-yard reception. He is up to 5.7 on the year. Gibson isn’t going to usurp Stevenson as the starter anytime soon, relegating him to the RB5 ranks for his Week 16 date with Buffalo.

The Bills were without three of their four starters in the secondary, and also took an early lead which forced the Lions to throw the ball almost 60 times. That set up a perfect game environment for St.-Brown. He routinely got open over the middle of the field and showed his underrated speed on a 66-yard touchdown catch where he eluding the Bills’ two back-up safeties. ARSB is a target magnet for Jared Goff and is clearly a WR1 against the Bears next week.

It was an afternoon to forget for Montgomery. The Bills took a big lead early, which forced the Lions to essentially abandon the run. Montgomery was also banged up in the second quarter and had to be checked out by trainers on the sideline before later returning to the game. He made a few nice catches and ran over some defenders with the ball in his hands, but this was simply a game that favored Gibbs’ receiving chops. Next week against the Bears should be a better game for Montgomery, and he can be considered an RB2 for that one.

Stevenson only out-carried Antonio Gibson 13-7 and caught one fewer pass than his backup. Both backs were explosive on a per-touch basis. Stevenson averaged 6.1 yards per touch while Gibson finished the day at 7.1. A committee approach is likely what’s best for both backs and should be the expectation for Week 16. Stevenson is on the RB2/3 border for his upcoming matchup with Buffalo.

The Lions were down multiple scores early, so they all but abandoned the run game early on. They were also only able to gain 3.2 yards per carry on the ground against the Bills, and Gibbs’ touchdown came after he was stood-up at the goaline but pushed in by one of his offensive linemen. However, Gibbs was able to feast in the passing game, including a nice 11-yard touchdown catch where he made two defenders miss and brought the Lions to within 10 points with 12 minutes to go. Gibbs can beat defenses all over the field and should be locked into fantasy lineups every week.

Bourne has at least three catches in five straight games but has only topped 44 yards once in that stretch. He is running plenty of routes but rarely commands enough targets to crack the WR4 ranks. He is stuck farther down in the WR5/6 range for his Week 16 date with Buffalo.

The box score may show you more impressive stats from Ty Johnson, but Davis remains the clear back-up to James Cook when it comes to running back duties. Johnson is used almost exclusively in the passing game, and this shootout against the Lions set up better for Johnson than Davis. Davis still looks good on his touches, running hard and making defenders miss. He should be in for better gamescripts with the Jets and Patriots (twice) on tap to end the season.

This is a brutal blow for the Lions’ secondary. Davis currently ties for a team-high 10 forced incompletions and ranks third on the team in interceptions (two). The 28-year-old veteran is a free agent after this season.