Thursday Night Football is back for us, and we are ready to start betting on yet another week of the NFL. Week 1 went okay, and as we get more information, we should get even better and bigger plays to put our money on. Over the years, Thursday night games have been better matchups. Before, they used to be ones that you’d barely care about because they were between bad teams. This has the makings of a great matchup between the Lions and Bills.
The Detroit Lions like to make things difficult for themselves, don’t they? Despite the odd victory in Week 1, they still are 1-0, which is better than half of the teams in the league. The Lions were ahead in the third quarter by 21 points, but they let the Saints march all the way back and tie the game. Then the game went into overtime, where Detroit looked great on offense. They had a chance to end the game on a fourth down. It did not work out, as the Saints converted.
Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., on Sept. 13, 2026. (Getty Images)
The Lions’ defense was one of the main problems; they couldn’t get off the field when they needed. However, they did stop the 2-point conversion that would’ve lost them the game. The Saints weren’t even in a hurry-up offense when the Lions were struggling. That’s what makes me the most concerned about the team overall. On offense, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown looked great in the game, both scoring two touchdowns.
LIONS AVOID FRANCHISE-WORST COLLAPSE AS DEFENSE STOPS SAINTS TWO-POINT CONVERSION IN OT
The Buffalo Bills are another team that really doesn’t take the easy way out. It is almost like they look at Josh Allen and say, “Try and beat us, just don’t let this guy get the ball with a chance to win the game.” Sure, sometimes it doesn’t work out, and it never does in the postseason. However, the strategy does seem to get them to double-digit wins each year. The Bills were able to get a solid 36-31 victory over the Texans to open their season.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) throws a pass under pressure from Houston Texans defensive tackle Tommy Togiai (72) in the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
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Houston was expected to have one of the best defenses in the game, and Allen and company carved them up. Allen threw for 334 yards with two touchdowns, and added another two touchdowns on the ground while running for 23 yards. It seems like he liked his new target DJ Moore, who hauled in five receptions for 100 yards and a score. The Bills defense, one of the downfalls, did get the stop needed in this one and held off a late scoring drive.
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Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills passes the ball against Jadeveon Clowney of the Houston Texans during the third quarter at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2026. (Getty Images)
Based on the scoring from the first game, the Bills and Lions should rack up points in this one. The line has already moved higher, but that may be a bit of an overreaction to the first week’s scoring. I think this game goes under the total. Thursday night games tend to be a bit lower scoring. I also am not confident that the new field for the Bills is in great shape after they had to redo it. Finally, I think both teams will make the adjustments on defense more than offense. I’m going to back the under 54.5.
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