The Detroit Lions are hoping to finish their 58-year streak of by no means making it to the Super Bowl.
Behind an uber-physical offensive line, an ultra-aggressive coach, and defenses and offenses filled with a number of the league’s most promising gamers, the Lions already clinched a playoff spot by alternately crushing opponents and being extra inventive.
Yet lower than a month earlier than the playoffs start, their Super Bowl ambitions are at risk of being derailed — as a result of one of many league’s finest groups has turn out to be one in every of its most injured.
In all, 13 Lions defenders have been listed on injured reserve coming into Sunday’s potential Super Bowl preview towards Buffalo. Then, the attrition bought worse.
In a 48-42 loss to the Bills that dropped the Lions to 12-2 and ended their 11-game successful streak, beginning defensive sort out Alim McNeill suffered a season-ending torn ACL; cornerback and special-teams standout Khalil Dorsey suffered a season-ending ankle harm; and beginning cornerback Carlton Davis III fractured his jaw, in keeping with studies. The earliest that Davis might return could be the NFC championship sport, NFL Network reported.
The Lions’ league-leading offense additionally wasn’t spared Sunday. Running again David Montgomery, who had scored 12 speeding touchdowns and gained 1,116 yards from scrimmage as a rusher and receiver, sprained his MCL and will miss the remainder of the season. Montgomery was half of the Lions’ harmful ball-carrying tandem, together with Jahmyr Gibbs.
Currently, 22 Lions gamers are both listed on injured reserve or thought-about out, a depth-sapping run that started throughout the first preseason sport when defensive sort out David Bada injured his Achilles tendon. In mid-October, a grotesque damaged leg sidelined star defensive finish Aidan Hutchinson. In mid-November, linebacker Alex Anzalone broke his left forearm in a collision with a teammate. Just a few weeks later, rookie defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo was misplaced for the season with a knee harm.
Of the 11 Lions defensive starters within the Week 1 season-opener, six have since suffered long-term accidents.
On Sunday, quarterback Jared Goff informed reporters, “I’m positive there shall be a ton of stuff written in regards to the sky falling, however no, internally, we’re good.”
Two days later, Lions coach Dan Campbell went on a neighborhood radio station in Detroit and delivered a fiery Lions state of the union that pushed again on the concept that the Lions’ window as a Super Bowl contender this season had closed.
“We can’t let these accidents be in useless,” Campbell mentioned on 97.1 The Ticket. “All of these gamers helped us get to the purpose we’re at. These final 4 (injured gamers) helped us get to 12 wins, and we owe it to them to complete this factor out. And that’s how I view it.
“So, it means there’s one other alternative for different guys. You know what occurs is you win 11 in a row and also you lose, after which the sky falls. I hate to say it, however we’re not going to have the ability to win 11 in a row once more for the remainder of this season. We’re simply not going to have the ability to do it.
“What occurs is you get used to consuming filet — and I’m speaking all of us — and every thing’s good. Life’s good, however you forgot what it’s like once you had nothing and also you ate your [expletive] molded bread, and it was simply advantageous. And it gave you every thing you wanted. Sometimes you’ve bought to get punched within the mouth and bear in mind what it was once like to essentially admire the place you’re, and we’ll try this.”
Though accidents are commonplace within the NFL — Kansas City, one other Super Bowl contender, is awaiting extra readability on whether or not Patrick Mahomes (ankle) can play this week — the sheer variety of Lions accidents is uncommon.
Just don’t inform that to Campbell.
“We’re going to friggin’ lower it unfastened,” he mentioned. “We’re going to play with our particular groups. And I don’t give a crap if we gotta win by 1 level for the remainder of the yr, that’s what we’re going to do.”
