Getty Amani Oruwariye defends a pass against the Vikings in 2021.
Injuries have told the tale of the Detroit Lions’ 2021 season thus far, and once again, the team has seen a bad case arise heading into Week 6.
The Lions got back on the practice field after their heartbreaker in Week 5, and perhaps more heartbreaking than that result was taking a fresh look at the injury report. It shows seven high-level contributors who are nicked-up again, and the team’s injury bug is looking like it is not close to slowing down.
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On Wednesday, October 13, the Lions revealed their injury report, and the team was down top cornerback Amani Oruwariye. If Oruwariye could not go, it would mean that the Lions would be down both of their starting cornerbacks from opening day, and likely forced to play yet another rookie backup.
As for the rest of the injury report this week, here’s a look at how things start off for Wednesday.
Lions Week 6 Injury Report vs. Bengals
Once again, this represents a very troubling injury report for the Lions. Detroit can ill-afford to lose Oruwariye, who has been their best cornerback thus far this season with 20 tackles and 2 interceptions thus far already. Losing Hockenson and Flowers would also be a concern given the relative lack of depth for the team at those spots on the roster on offense and defense. The team will also have to hope Jackson makes a quick recovery given how banged up the offensive line has been. Injuries at running back have been routine this year, so it seems like both Swift and Williams will be alright even as they continually show up on the report. Obviously, though, Oruwariye remains the key figure to watch given Detroit’s injury trouble in the secondary.
Lions-Bengals Primer
The Lions and Bengals come into the game two teams heading in opposite directions. Cincinnati is 3-2 and showing signs of being a solid team given a few early wins and a great compete level in a Week 5 loss to Green Bay. Detroit, meanwhile, is just searching for their first win of the season. As bad as the Bengals have been historically, the Lions haven’t beaten them since 1992, which is a long losing streak. Cincinnati’s offense with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase is good, and their defense has been decent as well so far this season. The injury-riddled Lions will have their hands full, even if this game is at Ford Field, which could provide a potential advantage.
Any advantage that could be gleaned from that, however, could go out the window with a few of these injury cases in Week 6.
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