Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions in Game of the Season Contender and Possible Super Bowl Preview | NFL News

Super Bowl preview and game of the year contender await on Sunday as the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions, led by MVP-contending quarterbacks, strike as an early teaser of how ' the January playoffs could shape up.

There is both mutual respect and pain between two of only 12 teams to never win a Super Bowl, the famous Bills losing four straight from 1990-1993 and the Lions who never reached the NFL playoff final.

Buffalo is 10-3 after Josh Allen's six-hitter to beat the Los Angeles Rams in the highest-scoring game of the season last week , while the Lions are riding a franchise-high 11-game winning streak at 12-1 as the class of the NFC after ousting the Green Bay Packers last time out.

If you sent the NFL to someone who had just touched down on the world, a matchup between the Bills and the Lions would be the perfect advertisement.

“I feel it will be a special game for Josh Allen,” said Sky Sports NFL presenter Neil Reynolds.

Allen somehow built his case as the MVP favorite in a losing position last weekend when he threw for three touchdowns and rushed for three touchdowns as the Bills went beat 44-42 by Rams inspired by Puka Nacua and Matthew Stafford.

No quarterback in the league continues to elevate their team quite like Allen, who has thrown for 3,033 yards and 23 touchdowns to just five interceptions while rushing for 416 yards. and nine scores as the last game foul code under the middle.

“He's big, he's strong, he's fast, he's very explosive and he's competitive,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of Allen. “He's got all those attributes, physical attributes, but then, that's what's inside him, man, he's the main competitor.

“That's what separates him from a lot of guys. He's fearless and that's why these guys play the way they do for him because he doesn't give up.”

His story has been one of meteoric development from a rookie year marred by turnovers and accuracy issues, Allen this year significantly cutting down on interceptions while entering Sunday with the second-highest passer rating of his career, all with the same aggressiveness.

“He's a freak,” Lions linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard said this week. “Josh Allen is a stupid man.”

Goff, meanwhile, has revived his career in Detroit to enter this year's MVP conversation as he ranks second in the league in completion percentage behind Tua Tagovailoa, after threw for 3,265 yards and 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

He has been a largely impregnable pilot against Ben Johnson's all-singing, all-dancing offense, turning down a rare five-over game against the Houston Texans in November to throw nine touchdowns and just one pick in the last four rounds.

His performances have earned him MVP support from Lions teammates, including cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Jameson Williams, the latter of whom said he preferred Goff to win the award over Allen .

“I like my quarterback better,'' Williams said. “Just look at the stats. It is there. Team 12-1. I don't know how many yards he got, 25-plus touchdowns in three (consecutive years), I just think he's a good player. It's more than the why. we win games, because he just takes control of the game.”

While Goff has starred, the running back tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs continues to prove a special cog for Johnson's offense.

The pair, who adopted the nickname 'Sonic and Knuckles' this season, have combined for 2,409 yards and 24 total touchdowns from scrimmage as they prepare to face off in the middle of the road. run defense allowing nearly five yards per carry.

“The Bills defense has only twice allowed teams to score more than 28 points and you look at the Lions, my main concern for Buffalo is they have one of the worst run defenses and you ' going up against two of the best backs in the race. league,” said Sky Sports NFL's Phoebe Schecter.

“I think they'll try to get Goff to throw the ball, we want to see this Goff and Josh Allen shoot out like we did with Matthew Stafford which was so fun.

“Because of the look they're building there, the backs attack you in different ways. If you need six yards they'll get you that, not many teams have they have the ability to give you that freedom and that's why they're on the fourth down so much.

“If you make Goff go straight in without a play and go back, now you can play that game a lot differently.”

Detroit enters as the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 32.1 points per game, followed closely by the Bills at 30.5 points per game.

Amon-Ra St. Brown leads the Lions with 81 catches for 863 yards and nine touchdowns, aided by Williams' 39 catches for 710 yards and four scores at 18.2 yards per catch. Meanwhile, Khalil Shakir proved to be Allen's most reliable target with 65 receptions for 735 yards and three scores, with James Cook continuing to shine out of the backfield with 157 carries for 723 yards and 11 scores.

The Bills are expected to be boosted by the return of rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman, and could still see tight end Dalton Kincaid after a knee injury that has kept him out since Nov. 10.

It has all the makings of a non-stop chase and perhaps a chance to throw the first punch in a fight that could resume in New Orleans on February 9.

“There's nowhere you'd rather be than playing this kind of football, this kind of team, in December,” said Lions head coach Campbell.

Watch the Miami Dolphins vs Houston Texans at 6pm on Sunday, live on Sky Sports NFL, followed by the Buffalo Bills vs the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers vs the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday Night Football. Stream with NOW.