ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Detroit Lions were up on the Buffalo Bills 13-7 at halftime of a back-and-forth NFL battle at New Era Field on Sunday afternoon.
Detroit brought a 5-8 record into the contest while Buffalo came in at 4-9.
Despite those respective records, the Bills entered the game as 2 1/2-point favorites.
After Buffalo received the opening kickoff, the two teams traded possessions through the entire first period and into the second. The Lions eventually jumped out to a 6-0 advantage on a 4-yard pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to Andy Jones at the 10:45 juncture of stanza No. 2. A bad snap then produced no extra-point attempt for Detroit.
But Buffalo came right back with a 3-yard scoring run by quarterback Josh Allen for its first lead at 7-6 with 7:55 until intermission.
The Lions retaliated with Zach Zenner’s 1-yard TD run to go up 13-7 with 3:46 showing on the clock, which stood until the half.
Next up for the Lions will be their home finale against the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday afternoon with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Ford Field.
Meanwhile, the Bills will hit the road to visit the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., next Sunday afternoon.
