How injuries have derailed the Detroit Lions’ season
By Max Gerber
The Detroit Lions‘ 2018 season has not gone as planned, and injuries to some key players are part of the reason for the team’s struggles.
After the Week 1 loss to the New York Jets, a tone was set for the Detroit Lions‘ 2018 season. This year was going to be an uphill battle. With a revamped roster and a new head coach, things were going to be a lot different for the team coming off two consecutive 9-7 seasons.
There was a lot of potential for this team. They started the season off with one of the best receiving corps in the league. They had a pair of new running backs and a healthy offensive line. And of course, they had franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Even on defense, though they had considerably fewer playmakers and depth than the offense, there was supposed to be a dramatic change in their play with defensive-minded head coach Matt Patricia coming to Detroit.
The Lions now only have four wins on the season and twice as many losses. Most of these losses throughout the season can be attributed in some way to injuries to key players on this team.
In the Week 5 victory over the Green Bay Packers, cornerback, and return specialist Jamal Agnew went down with a knee injury near the end of the game. Agnew was the starting slot defensive back for the Lions up until he was placed on injured reserve following that game. Because of this, there was a big change-up at the cornerback position.
Agnew’s absence caused Detroit to have to use second-year cornerback Teez Tabor in the starting lineup. This lead to the team using an underwhelming rotation at the position made up of Tabor and fellow cornerbacks Nevin Lawson, DeShawn Shead, Cre’Von LeBlanc, and Mike Ford.
To make matters worse, starting cornerback Darius Slay was injured prior to the Week 10 game against the Chicago Bears, meaning that the team had to roll with even more backups in the starting lineup. As a trio, Lawson, Tabor, and Shead only made six tackles. The three cornerbacks also did not record an interception or even a single pass defense. Bears Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky ended up throwing for 355 yards and three touchdowns against Detroit’s ailing secondary.
Throughout the season, Lawson and Shead have both taken a considerable number of reps in the slot. Tabor took a bulk of snaps opposite of Slay but was ultimately benched for Ford, an undrafted rookie, in Week 11. LeBlanc only lasted a mere 29 snaps on defense in Detroit before being released.
Having to use former backup players in the starting role is never good, especially when those backups are consistently allowing completed passes against them and not being able to make a play on the ball. Aside from Slay, none of the Lions’ cornerbacks have recorded an interception this season.
With no clear starter in the slot or at the second cornerback position, it’s clear that the Lions have suffered from Agnew’s injury. If he didn’t get hurt, Detroit’s cornerback group would have been Slay and Lawson on the outside and Agnew in the slot. While this group wouldn’t have been the most ideal lineup, it would certainly be more formidable than what the team is rolling with now.
The defense took a major hit due to this one injury, but their issues are nothing compared to the offense’s struggles due to injuries of their own.