BUFFALO — Quarterback Kyle Orton did exactly what head coach Doug Marrone hoped he would do when he decided to send young EJ Manuel to the bench in favor of the 10-year NFL veteran: Orton gave the Bills competent and experienced play at the most vital position, and that was a major reason why the Bills were able to rally for a 17-14 victory in Detroit.

Orton completed 30 of 43 passes for 308 yards with a touchdown that was offset by a pick-six. But what really stood out was the way Orton never flinched when the Bills fell behind 14-0 in the second quarter after veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis returned his awful pass in the left flat 41 yards for a score. In the fourth quarter, with Buffalo down 14-6, Orton completed 12 of 15 passes for 141 yards.

“That’s part of being a quarterback, you know,” Orton said. “You have to lead the offense, make the plays when you’re called to make them, and I was excited for the chance to do that.”

He became the first Bills quarterback in 28 games to top 300 yards passing, and he led Buffalo’s first comeback from a 10-point-or-more deficit in 11 tries under Marrone. Also, he became just the third Bill to top 300 yards in his Buffalo debut (Dennis Shaw in 1970, Vince Ferragamo in 1985).

“You could just tell the experience really paid off,” said running back C.J. Spiller, who did not help Orton as he had a terrible game running the ball. “He was into the game. He made plays for us when we needed it. I’m not saying EJ was panicking or anything like that, but he just kept the confidence in the guys and kept telling us to keep pushing.”

Marrone made the switch to Orton following last week’s loss in Houston because he knew it had to be done. Manuel was regressing, and Marrone could not afford to let things get away from the Bills, not with the AFC East ripe for the taking.

Plus, he might have had a mutiny on his hands in the locker room because the veterans had grown tired of Manuel spinning his wheels and going nowhere. Marrone knew Orton gave the Bills their best chance to win, and sure enough, at least for one week, he was right.

“You make that decision, and every decision you make, you have to be able to go look in the mirror and say ‘I made those decisions for us to win,'” Marrone said. “Once you make decisions on anything else, you’re going down a slippery path, you really are.”

So, for one week at least, Marrone looks pretty smart. We’ll find out a lot more about Orton this week with the rival New England Patriots coming to Buffalo for a first-place showdown. If the Bills are ever going to end their playoff drought, this is the team they have to beat, and ultimately finish ahead of, in the AFC East.

If Orton can continue to make progress with the offense — he’s only been with the Bills about six weeks — the Bills will have a chance to stay in the playoff chase, especially with their defense playing as well as it has to this point.

“He’s a leader, and throughout the whole time he was going through adversity, he’s in the huddle going crazy and being Kyle,” said rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who caught seven passes for 87 yards, none bigger than the 20-yarder in the final seconds that gave Dan Carpenter the chance to be the hero with his game-winning 58-yard field goal. “He led this team. You didn’t see any worry in his eyes.”

NOTES, QUOTES

— The Bills are struggling to run the ball, and one of the key reasons has been the lack of production from C.J. Spiller. Spiller is a dynamic talent when he’s on, but when he’s not, he’s been a detriment to the offense. Against the Lions he had nine carries for seven yards. “I’ve got to go back and look at the film to see what I could’ve done differently to make sure that we’re not in that position again,” Spiller said.

One way to help Spiller is for offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to scrap the two-tight end sets, as well as the fullback leads in the I-formation, because it’s clear Spiller doesn’t operate well in those situations.

This season, Spiller is averaging 1.5 yards on runs up the middle. When the Bills have only two wide receivers on the field, meaning fullback Frank Summers is on the field, or there are two tight ends on the field, Spiller has carried 20 times for an average of two yards.

When the Bills spread it out with three or four receivers and Spiller is the lone back, he’s carried 30 times for an average of 6.7 yards per attempt.

–The Bills had to ask NFL security to investigate a couple of incidents at Ford Field involving a fan using a laser pointer to distract the players. Quarterback Kyle Orton spoke to the officials about it during the game, as did kicker Dan Carpenter. “When I noticed it, they were shining it on Colton (Schmidt, the place-kick holder) on the 50-yard attempt,” said Carpenter, who missed that kick in the third quarter. “It was shining on Colton on the hold. As far as that goes I guess I understand that the NFL security is looking into it to see if they can figure anything out.” Orton described his experience this way. “Early on I felt it a couple of times right after I got the ball, so I communicated with the refs and with coach Marrone and let him handle that.” A fan bragged on Twitter that he was the culprit, but he quickly deleted his Twitter and Facebook accounts. If security does track him down, he will likely be punished in some way, perhaps a ban from NFL stadiums.

–Defensive back Ron Brooks endured a scary moment in the second quarter while covering a punt. He was flipped upside down and landed squarely on his head, injuring his neck. Brooks lay prone on the field for several minutes as medical personnel including local EMS attended to him, and he was carted off the field while strapped to a backboard. As he left, though, he was able to lift his arm and give a thumbs up, indicating he was not paralyzed. He was later transported to a Detroit hospital where he spent Sunday night.

“In talking to our training staff they did do some C-T scans and they were all negative,” said running back Fred Jackson during his weekly radio appearance on WGR 550-AM in Buffalo Monday. “It all looks good right now, but you just never know. As a team we’re praying for him and hoping for the best. I think we’ll find out more when we have our team meetings and they’ll give us an update. Hopefully he continues to progress well and he’s out of there later today.”

Brooks, indeed, walk out of the hospital on Monday. But the team did not release any other information.

Bills fans might remember a similar incident involving wide receiver Don Beebe in the 1989 playoff game loss to Cleveland at old Municipal Stadium. Beebe was flipped over, landed on his head, and he resembled a pogo stick. Incredibly, Beebe was able to get up almost immediately and played on in the game.

REPORT CARD VS. LIONS

PASSING OFFENSE: A-minus — Even though the offensive line was getting pounded on pretty good, Kyle Orton managed to throw for 308 yards and a TD, though he also had a pick-six. Orton was sacked only twice, but that was more a product of him getting rid of the ball under duress. WR Sammy Watkins made a couple big plays among his seven catches for 87 yards, and little-used WR Marquise Goodwin (42-yard catch) and TE Chris Gragg (2-yard TD) contributed big plays.

RUSHING OFFENSE: D-plus — Fred Jackson pounded out 50 tough yards on 11 carries and scored on a two-point conversion, but C.J. Spiller was terrible. He gained seven yards on nine attempts, and the Bills finished with just 49 yards rushing. They are struggling because the line can’t get any push up front, especially against Lions DTs Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley.

PASS DEFENSE: B — For the first time this season, the Bills looked like the sack machine they were last season when they set a team record with 57. They had six on Matthew Stafford, including a career-high three for DT Marcell Dareus. CB Stephon Gilmore got beat for the lone Lions offensive TD, but otherwise played well. Nickel CB Nickell Robey was having a good game until he let Golden Tate escape for a near-disastrous 55-yard play late in the game.

RUSH DEFENSE: A — Under former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz, now the Bills defensive coordinator, the Bills made it a point of emphasis to be better against the run this season, and they are. The Lions managed only 69 yards on 20 attempts. The Bills turned Reggie Bush into a nonfactor before he got hurt. LB Brandon Spikes had six tackles. DT Stefan Charles did a nice job in place of injured DT Kyle Williams.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A — K Dan Carpenter made the longest game-winning field goal in Bills history, a 58-yarder with four seconds left. He also made 25- and 45-yarders, and missed a 50-yarder off the upright. Kick-off specialist Jordan Gay went 5-for-5 on touchbacks, and punter Colton Schmidt had three punts downed inside the 20. The punt coverage team gave up a 28-yarder to Jeremy Ross.

COACHING: B — Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett didn’t seem to want to take advantage of Kyle Orton’s experience early, but he used it later in the game and it paid off. Hackett has to find a way to get the running game going, particularly Spiller. As for Schwartz, he had his defense ready to play, though it was certainly helped when Calvin Johnson and Bush left with injuries. The Lions had only 13 first downs, and were 1-for-11 on third downs. Give Doug Marrone his props for making the QB switch. After one week, it looks pretty good.