The Detroit Lions are playing out the string in the 2019 season, and things have taken a definite turn toward the negative for the team, especially with injuries in mind.
Detroit comes into a Week 15 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with little to play for other than draft positioning, and they will once again be down several players for the contest. Saturday, Detroit placed Jarrad Davis and Joe Dahl on the IR, and they join plenty of key players who have been sidelined with ailments.
Tampa Bay is dinged up too, but the Lions remain the most pained team in the NFL late season. Here’s a look at the players who are sitting this week as the game prepares to get underway.
Lions Inactives
QB Matthew Stafford
RB Bo Scarbrough
LB Christian Jones
DT A’Shawn Robinson
T Rick Wagner
CB Michael Jackson
G Beau Benzschawel
Analysis
Obviously, the Lions don’t have much left healthy this season given the loss of all these players, but this week, they will be hampered mostly by the loss of Rick Wagner and A’Shawn Robinson. Those two have played a big role up front for the Lions, and not having them will make the team a bit weaker at two spots where they needed to be stronger. Detroit will obviously continue to miss the usual suspects like Matthew Stafford as well as some of the guys on injured reserve, but for these purposes, the guys who cannot play this week that went last week will be the bigger focal points for the team. Detroit will miss a steady linebacker in Jones and a solid running back in Bo Scarbrough this week, too. Bet on Wes Hills getting the looks at running back without Scarbrough in the mix/
For Tampa Bay, Mike Evans will be a loss given all he can do at wide receiver, but the Buccaneers might not be as dinged up as many thought entering into this week given that Jameis Winston will be good to go. That was the key case for Detroit to watch, and with Winston in, the Lions will once again have to deal with a solid quarterback. That gives Tampa Bay the advantage at quarterback in this matchup, where it was looking like things could be closer to a push if Winston was not healthy. Evans is a huge loss, but Winston still has some weapons to get the ball to.
Lions vs. Buccaneers Primer
Detroit and Tampa Bay will kick off at 1 p.m. from Ford Field on Fox. The game will be broadcast by Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth and Jennifer Hale doing sideline duty. From the Detroit perspective, given the losses, the team will have to shut down the Tampa Bay running game which will be a huge challenge. The Lions also have to get a solid game out of Darius Slay against Chris Godwin. A victory might hurt the Lions a ton given they remain upwardly mobile in terms of their NFL Draft status for 2020.
With these inactives revealed, it’s almost time to kick off the Lions battle against the Buccaneers.
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