DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Lions losing to the Buffalo Bills by one score is nothing to be ashamed of. They’re one of the Super Bowl favorites and have the presumptive league MVP.
But when you lose even more players for the season along the way, it sure is a tough pill to swallow.
"We acknowledge the fact that, man, we’ve lost players, we’ve lost really good players, but nobody cares. I mean, nobody cares and nobody’s going to give us a pass or put an asterisk next to your record. So, what it means is some guys are going to have an unbelievable opportunity," head coach Dan Campbell said.
We now know running back David Montgomery requires surgery that will sideline him for the rest of year, but the hits also keep coming for the defensive side of the ball.
Cornerback Khalil Dorsey and defensive tackle Alim McNeil are done for the year and cornerback Carlton Davis will miss an extended period of time with a broken jaw. Now the challenge for this coaching staff is to somehow complete the puzzle with pieces that don’t necessarily fit cleanly.
"Branch, he’s somebody we’ve got to talk about. What do we do with Branch? Do we keep him where he’s at? Do we move him? We’ve got (Lions CB) Amik (Robertson). Does Amik stay inside? Does he go outside? (Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu) Iffy, start his clock this week? Maybe, potentially, we’ve just got to see. And because of that, we’re going to need to practice a little bit to see where some of these guys that haven’t practiced in a while are at," Campbell said.
But the injuries aren’t the only reason the Lions didn’t walk away with the win on Sunday. The running game never got off the ground, as they averaged only 3.2 yards per carry. That’s an area Campbell wants to correct.
"We’re taking turns a little bit on some things right now. But I’m telling you, it’s all correctable. It’s all correctable and we will get it corrected, and absolutely, it’s going to help the defense. It’s going to help us offensively be more efficient, and then it’s going to help the defense because we can stay on the field, we can convert and then we’ve got to turn them into seven, not three," Campbell said.
