Sunday’s 48-42 loss to the visiting Buffalo Bills was costly in more ways than one for the Detroit Lions. Not only are they now tied with Philadelphia Eagles for the top seed in the NFC, but they also sit just 1 game clear of the 11-2 Vikings who have a Monday nighter against the Chicago Bears for top spot in the ultra-competitive NFC North.
But perhaps more concerning for Lions fans who have Super Bowl aspirations is the number of injuries the team sustained to an already depleted roster. Running back David Montgomery suffered a season ending MCL sprain in the loss, which will require surgery. It’s believed that he suffered the injury during the 2nd quarter of the game, but continued to play well into the 4th quarter as his team attempted to mount a comeback.
“David’s so tough, man,” head coach Dan Campbell said on Monday. “He continued to play through and then got it checked out today and realized that’s what it was. He’s just the ultimate teammate, the ultimate competitor. We’re gonna miss him, man. He’s another one of these guys that got us to this position, helped get us to where we’re at. The rest of us, we owe him to keep going and make sure that wasn’t in vain.”
Defensive tackle Alim McNeill sustained a torn ACL which will end his season, and CB Carlton Davis III fractured his jaw which will require a multi-week absence and surgery as well. Making matters worse, Khalil Dorsey, a depth CB who was expected to take on a bigger role in Davis’ absence, went down with a season ending ankle injury against the Bills as well.
Campbell’s squad already had 13 defensive players on the injured reserve entering Sunday’s contest to begin with, meaning that an already thin unit, became that much more maligned. It’s also a key reason why the team has now given up a combined 79 points across their last 2 games.
For the moment, Detroit holds the tie-breaker over Philadelphia for the 1 seed in the NFC based on their winning percentage in conference games. However, with 3 games to go, Detroit will need to weather the storm against the Bears, 49ers and Vikings, while Philadelphia will enjoy a much easier schedule against Washington, Dallas, and the New York Giants.
Photo: Michael Barera. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.