The Detroit Lions have been plagued by injuries all season, and while December football always means a lot of players will be out, no matter the team, it’s just more dramatic with the Lions. For the team’s game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, December 15, they were down four starting linebackers at kick off.
Now, the injuries keep piling up, and the latest one is extra concerning.
Detroit Lions Lose More Key Players to Injury
Heading out of their loss to the Bills, 48-42, the Lions got hit with even more injuries. One of those injuries has turned out more serious than expected.
During the first half of Sunday’s game, running back David Montgomery injured his right knee, but he played through the pain. Montgomery had testing Monday that revealed an MCL injury, and speaking to press on Monday, December 16, head coach Dan Campbell said he’s probably out for the season, including any potential Super Bowl run.
“Looks like he’s going to require surgery that’ll put him out for the rest of the year,” Campbell said. “He had gotten it at some point yesterday in that game. I mean, David’s so tough, man. He continued to play through and then got it checked out today and realized that’s what it was.”
Campbell added that Montgomery is “the ultimate teammate, ultimate competitor. We’re going to miss him, man.”
“He’s another one of these guys that got us to this position,” Campbell added, and “helped get us to where we’re at and the rest of us. We owe him to keep going and make sure that wasn’t in vain.”
Losing Montgomery is a massive loss to Detroit’s offense. Now, much of the run game will fall on Jahmyr Gibbs. The good news is that Gibbs is having a remarkable season, rushing for 1,047 yards, 11 touchdowns and 5.6 yards per carry. The Lions will also likely rely on Craig Reynolds and rookie Sione Vaki to help Gibbs.
Other players injured during the Bills game included Carlton Davis III, Alim McNeill and Khalil Dorsey, and all of those injuries also appear to be serious. The earliest Davis is likely to return is for the NFC championship game, if the Lions make it, per the NFL Network. McNeill tore his ACL and will undergo season-ending surgery.
Dan Campbell Doesn’t Use Injuries as an Excuse
Campbell doesn’t see the injuries as an excuse to lose games. Speaking with reporters in a postgame conference, he was asked if the injuries have caught up to Detroit.
“I’m not buying it. I’m not. I don’t buy it,” Campbell said. “We can be better. We should’ve been better. We know how good they are, but that team was more urgent than us today, overall.”
Campbell also took responsibility for the Lions losing to the Bills, stating, “I didn’t have those guys ready to go, not like that.”
“Not when you’re playing a team like that. That’s with me,” Campbell said. “We had a number of guys that have played a lot better than that, just overall, and so that tells me that’s (on) me. I didn’t have these guys completely ready to roll.”
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