Getty Devon Kennard takes on the Cowboys.
The Detroit Lions are playing for little else other than draft positioning as they head west to take on the Denver Broncos in Week 16 of the NFL season.
Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles to the Lions winning a game to finish 2019 is the fact that they remain one of the most dinged up teams in the league. The Lions already ruled out a few players against Denver on Friday, and they continue to be bitten by the injury bug coming into the game.
Which players are on the report this week for the team? Here’s a look at who will not be suiting up on the field for the second to last time this season.
Lions Inactives
T Rick Wagner
DT A’Shawn Robinson
CB Mike Ford
RB Wes Hills
CB Michael Jackson
DT Jamie Meder
G Caleb Benenoch
Lions Inactives Analysis
Detroit won’t be helped being without A’Shawn Robinson and Rick Wagner in this game. The Lions have been the most injured team in the NFL in recent weeks, and the fact that the team is putting second and third stringers on the field won’t help them again this week. Kerryon Johnson coming back might help the Detroit run attack in a big way, but the team still has numerous injuries at running back and across the defense. Obviously, the Lions will be missing both Robinson and Wagner for this game the most considering their absence for this week along the lines. Devon Kennard and Bo Scarbrough will both be active in spite of having injuries in practice this week.
From the Denver perspective, the Broncos will be down some key names already like defensive end Derek Wolfe. For this matchup, the team won’t be too dinged up minus a few players along their offensive front. They will be missing Ja’Wuan James and Ron Leary up front. Noah Fant will be active for the team at tight end, which will help the Broncos have another big weapon to use.
Lions vs. Broncos Primer
The Lions and Broncos will play at 4:05 p.m. EST on CBS. The game will be broadcast by Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon. Detroit will be trying to end an elongated losing streak, but if they don’t, they will only stand to gain in the standings for the 2020 NFL Draft order. The Lions will have to make sure that they control Von Miller the most, and will also have to make sure that they don’t let Drew Lock, a rookie quarterback, shred them too much. At the very least, the Lions will be dealing with a referee who they don’t have much of a negative history with. Detroit came into the game as a significant underdog, which is to be understood given how poorly the team has played this season and how hurt they are, especially down the stretch.
With the reveal of these inactives, it’s almost time to kick off Lions vs. Broncos in one of the final games of the 2019 regular season.
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