The Detroit Lions have already taken a pair of massive hits to their secondary before the season began, and suffered another scare in a grueling Week 1 win.
Defensive back Avonte Maddox was knocked out of Sunday’s win over the New Orleans Saints with an apparent arm injury. While he was able to return after being evaluated by the team’s medical staff, the Lions have just four days before returning to the field to take on quarterback Josh Allen and the high-scoring Buffalo Bills and it’s not yet clear whether the injury could limit Maddox this week.
Lions Already Shorthanded in the Secondary
Maddox was already pressed into starting duties when the Lions lost a pair of safeties to long-term injuries. The team started the season with Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch on the Reserve/PUP list, keeping each of them out for at least four weeks.
The Lions will give more information on Maddox soon, but any missed practice time or injury designation for the upcoming game could be critical, especially given the short week and the team’s other injuries.
Dan Campbell Not Worried About Secondary Issues
The Lions appeared ready to cruise to a victory on Sunday after taking a 21-0 lead in the second half, but the Saints surged back behind quarterback Tyler Shough.
Shough went 35-for-56 passing for 410 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, leading the Saints to 24 second-half points. He led the team on another touchdown drive after the Lions scored a touchdown in overtime, but the Saints came up short on what would have been the game-winning 2-point conversion and the Lions held on for a 31-30 win.
After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell admitted that the Lions needed to make some adjustments, but said he wasn’t overly concerned.
“Well, no, I’m not concerned. I don’t know if concern is the right word,” Campbell said, via SI.com. “I know there are some things that we got to tighten up on. There are things we need to tighten up on mentally. We know the responsibility. We got to get there a little bit quicker and a little cleaner and know where your help’s at on some of these. But we also know by what we were doing, we’re going to get strung out a little bit, you know, that can happen at times.”
Lions Defensive Back Faces Injury Scare Before Test Against Bills QB Josh Allen