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

Detroitactually lost three defensemen in Week 15, including starters Carlton Davis and Alim McNeil.

Davis went out early in the second quarter with a jaw injury and did not return. Meanwhile, McNeill left the third quarter with a serious leg injury. Him, just like Davisfailed to return.

Additionally, reserve cornerback Khalil Dorsey suffered an apparent fractured tibia and fibula 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 gurney and then transferred to a local hospital.

After the match, the leader of the Lions Dan Campbell confirmed that the backup defensive back will miss the remainder of the season. Additionally, he told reporters that injuries to Davis and McNeill could also be “season-ending.”

that of Detroit The already exhausted defensive unit became even thinner. And, with DavisWith McNeill and Dorsey each succumbing to injuries, Campbell’s team is now down a staggering 15 defensive players – including important contributors like EDGE Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker. Alex Anzalone – since the opening week of this season.

And at LionsAdmittedly, they’ve done a considerable amount of damage by absorbing injury after injury and seemingly overcoming each one without much trouble.

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

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

He faced little to no pressure and basically did what he wanted throughout the game, as did Buffalo’s offense as a whole. James Cook (14 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns) and former Lions running back Ty Johnson (five catches for 114 yards) each also had big games and helped the Bills rack up 559 total yards of offense and 8, 2 yards per play.

It was a lamentable spectacle of Detroit defensively, and despite the injury status of Glenn’s unit, Campbell had no time to apologize and took responsibility for the loss after the game.

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

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

“We just lost, man. That’s it. It happens in this league,” Reader said. “Damn, we’ve been kicking everyone’s ass for 12 weeks, and this week it happened to us. Nobody won, no. championships today. We have weeks left in the season and we have the playoffs next week we will be back.

I like the fact that Campbell and Drive refuse to let the Lions wallow in self-pity after being pummeled by Allen and the Bills.

They’re also right, because even after the ugly loss, Detroit is still just a two-loss team (12-2) that sits atop the standings. NFC North and has the No. 1 seed in the conference. And there’s still a ton to be excited about Jared Goff and the Lions’ high-octane offense, which produced 42 points and 521 total yards on Sunday.

Still, this loss still hurts a lot, and not just because it happened against one of the AFC’s best teams in Buffalo. Instead, it’s also because it came at the cost of losing more key contributors on the defensive side of the ball.

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

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

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

As hard and relentless as Campbell & Co. are, even if they are not equipped to resist the large number of physical ills that have accumulated.

And I’m sorry to say, Lions fans, but those injuries put a major damper on the organization’s Super Bowl hopes.