The Buffalo Bills defeat the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, ending the hosts’ vague hopes of a playoff appearance. It’s back-and-forth in the final minutes.

Munich/Detroit – The Buffalo Bills blew their Thanksgiving to Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Detroit Lions, arguably ending their vague playoff hopes.

The AFC East favourite prevailed 28-25 (17-14) at Ford Field in the first of three NFL Thanksgiving games – New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys from 10:20pm and New England Patriots at Minnesota Vikings from 2:05pm.

St. Brown scored his fourth touchdown of the season in the Lions’ seventh loss. The wide receiver with a German mother also rushed for 122 yards. Jamaal Williams contributed the second Lions touchdown to make it 7:7. It was the running back’s 13th touchdown – a season’s best among self-starters.

The final phase was dramatic. After Stefon Diggs had given the Bills the lead, Detroit equalised with a field goal with 23 seconds left and Tyler Bass ended Detroit’s hopes with 2 seconds left.

With a record of 4-7, Detroit’s playoff prospects are now only theoretical. Head coach Dan Campbell’s squad is already two wins behind the final wild-card spot and has lost three more games.

Buffalo Bills back in first place in AFC East

For the Bills, quarterback Josh Allen once again stood out. The MVP candidate scored two passing and one running touchdown. However, Allen also threw an interception.

With now 8 wins out of 11 games, the Bills take over the top spot in the AFC East from the Miami Dolphins, who will meet the Houston Texans on Sunday. With a win, the South Florida outfit would move back past Buffalo on the basis of the match-up