Lions' Injuries Are Dashing Super Bowl Dreams

Lions have finally reached breaking point on injury front.

Dec 15, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey (30) is carted off the field after injuring his right leg during the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images / David Reginek-Imagn Images

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for the Lions on the injury front, they did on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. 

Detroit, in fact, lost a trio of defenders in the Week 15 tilt, most notably starters Carlton Davis and Alim McNeill.

Davis exited early in the second quarter with a jaw injury and did not return. Meanwhile, McNeill left in the third quarter with a significant leg injury. He, just like Davis, failed to return.

In addition, reserve cornerback Khalil Dorsey suffered an apparent tibia and fibula fracture late in the second quarter after colliding with linebacker Ezekiel Turner. It was a brutal injury for Dorsey, who was taken off the field on a cart and later transferred to a local hospital.

After the game, Lions head man Dan Campbell confirmed that the backup defensive back will miss the rest of the season. Plus, he told reporters that the injuries to Davis and McNeill could also be “season-ending.”

Detroit's already depleted defensive unit has now gotten even thinner. And, with Davis, McNeill and Dorsey each succumbing to injuries, Campbell's squad has now lost a staggering 15 defensive players – including significant contributors like EDGE Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker Alex Anzalone – since this season's opening week.

And to the Lions’ credit, they have done a yeoman’s injury of absorbing injury after injury, and seemingly overcoming each one of them without much of an issue. 

That was at least the case until Sunday, when things may have reached a point of no return for Detroit defensively with the team's latest series of physical ailments.

Josh Allen and the Bills’ high-powered offense, which was averaging 30.5 points per game prior to the Week 15 showdown, exposed Aaron Glenn's defense in every way imaginable. Allen looked every bit of the MVP-caliber passer he was publicized to be, and completed 23-of-34 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, the dual-threat signal-caller added another 68 yards and two scores as a runner. 

He faced little-to-no pressure, and basically did as he pleased all game long, as did Buffalo's offense as a whole. James Cook (14 carries for 105 yards and two TDs) and former Lions running back Ty Johnson (five catches for 114 yards) each also had big games, and helped the Bills amass 559 total yards of offense and 8.2 yards per play.

It was a dismal display from Detroit defensively, and despite the injury-plagued state of Glenn's unit, Campbell had no time for excuses and took accountability for the loss after the game. 

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn watches a play against Buffalo Bills during the second half at Ford Field / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“It starts with me, man. I have to do a much better job of getting these guys ready to roll, and be urgent about this type of opponent,” Campbell told reporters. “So, no excuses, it just wasn’t good enough, and that was the bottom line. It’s frustrating, everybody’s frustrated – the guys are frustrated. But, you know what, that’s part of life, man. You lose, and it’s a bad taste in your mouth, and now what are we going to do about it. We’ll sit there and feel sorry for ourselves? We’re going to bounce back and go to Chicago.”

Lions defensive lineman DJ Reader echoed a similar sentiment in the postgame, expressing that he and his teammates have no time to feel sorry for themselves.

"We just lost, man. That's all it is. It happens in this league,” Reader said. “S**t, we’ve been kicking everybody’s ass for 12 weeks, and this week it happened to us. Nobody won no championships today. We got weeks of the season left and we got the playoffs. Next week, we’ll be back.”

I love the fact that Campbell and Reader refuse to let the Lions feel sorry for themselves after getting smacked around by Allen and the Bills. 

They do have a point, too, as even after the ugly defeat, Detroit is still just a two-loss team (12-2) which sits atop the NFC North and owns the No. 1 seed in the conference. And there is still a ton of reason to feel excited about Jared Goff and the Lions’ high-octane offense, which produced 42 points and 521 total yards on Sunday. 

Yet, this loss does still sting heavily, and not just because it occurred against one of the AFC's premier teams in Buffalo. Instead, it's also because of the fact that it came at the cost of losing more key contributors on the defensive side of the ball. 

Just like Hutchinson and Anzalone, Davis, at cornerback, and McNeill, at defensive tackle, are leaders of their respective position groups. Davis has by far been Detroit's best corner in 2024, while McNeill has formed an ultra productive one-two punch with Reader along the interior of the defensive line. They are irreplaceable members of Glenn's defense, as are Hutchinson and Anzalone.

Subsequently, the Lions would take a significant step back if they had to operate without Davis and McNeill for the remainder of the season.

Fifteen weeks into the 2024 campaign, Detroit has finally reached its breaking point on the injury front.

As gritty and relentless as Campbell & Co. are, even they are not equipped to withstand the sheer number of physical ailments that have piled up.

And I'm sorry to say it, Lions fans, but these injuries have put a major dent in the organization's Super Bowl hopes.