Looking ahead to Lions' next opponent: Buffalo Bills

Next up for the Detroit Lions is a home game against the Buffalo Bills. Here's an early look at the Bills:

Buffalo Bills (2-2)

Schedule so far

Week 1 - at Bears - won, 23-20 (OT)
Week 2 - vs. Dolphins - won, 29-10
Week 3 - vs. Chargers - lost, 22-10
Week 4 - at Texans - lost, 23-17

Reason for optimism

The Bills are toward the bottom of the NFL in passing yards, and they're toward the bottom of the NFL in passing yards allowed as well. That's good news for the Lions considering they are in the top 10 in passing yards and are near the very top of the league in passing yards allowed. On paper, the passing-game matchup seems to favor the Lions quite heavily on both sides of the ball.

Reason for pessimism

Statistically speaking, the Bills' best attribute is stopping the run. They are third in the NFL in that category, and the Lions are 25th when it comes to running the ball. This is a similar matchup to what the Lions faced against the New York Jets last week, and although it didn't prevent the Lions from winning, it could be tough for them to get much going on the ground against Buffalo, especially if Joique Bell and Theo Riddick are still banged up.

(One other reason to be pessimistic: The Bills went on the road in Week 1 and knocked off the Chicago Bears in overtime, so they have already shown that they can win away from home against an NFC North opponent.)

Storyline to watch

There's no doubt about the main storyline this week: Jim Schwartz returns to Detroit. After being fired by the Lions following the 2013 season, Schwartz landed in Buffalo as the defensive coordinator of the Bills. He already went up against his former team in the preseason, but this will be his first game against the Lions in Detroit, and you can bet that will be a big storyline throughout the week and especially on Sunday.

Additional info

For more on the Bills, check out Buffalo Rumblings.