Winning is not always aesthetically pleasing, though the Detroit Lions might make people forget that with the way they've orchestrated three blowout wins this season. Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts was one of those days.
The Lions were efficient more than explosive offensively, as Jared Goff was pressured a ton and sacked three times as he threw for 269 yards and went 26-for-36 through the air. Led by Jahmyr Gibbs (21 carries for 90 yards, two touchdowns), Detroit had 142 yards on the ground via 33 attempts. The Lions went 9-for-15 on third down, scored touchdowns three times in four trips to the red zone.
The defense came to play, holding the Colts to six points (zero in the second half). Indianapolis had multiple big gains wiped out by penalties (97 combined yards at one point, by the count of Detroit Football Network's Justin Rogers), with some other near-misses and mistakes. But Aaron Glenn's unit got it done, despite being injury-thinned.
In the second half, the Lions possessed the ball for 22:20 as they ran 42 offensive plays. The Colts ran 20 plays in the sand had the ball for just 7:40. That effectively eliminated any idea the Colts could make any headway after trailing 14-6 halftime.
Injuries cloud Lions' win over the Colts
For a stretch in the second half on Sunday, it seemed like a Lions player was coming off the field injured after every play.
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond suffered what was revealed to be a foot injury on a punt return. He was carted to the locker room, came back to the sideline briefly, then he was carted off again and ruled out.
Left tackle Taylor Decker suffered knee and ankle injuries when Goff was pushed into the back of his legs. He returned to the game fairly quickly though.
Running back David Montgomery left the sideline without his helmet and pads at one point. He came back to the sideline, back in uniform, but he did not return to the game.
Cornerback Carlton Davis suffered what appeared to be a left knee injury, and he did not return.
After the game, with a short week coming before playing the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day, head coach Dan Campbell had updates on all four players. As expected, Raymond's injury is considered more serious than the others at the moment.
"You know so much of this, you know, I'm not going to know. The four, you know, obviously, Leaf and David Montgomery. Decker was able to come back out, but then we pulled him again late. Carlton, I don't know. I feel okay about three of those guys. Leaf could be a little bit more serious. But even with that, that doesn't mean any of those guys are gonna be ready for Thursday, so I just don't know."
Reporters in the locker room had mostly positive injury news.
Mostly positive injury updates from the Lions locker room. David Montgomery and Taylor Decker said they’ll be good to go Thursday, Carlton Davis said he’ll know more after imaging tomorrow. Kalif Raymond the biggest concern.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) November 24, 2024
#Lions’ David Montgomery says he will be ready to go on Thursday. Said it was a smart decision to rest him after the injury today.
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) November 24, 2024
Another week, another win for the Lions to put them to 10-1 on the season. They swept the AFC South this season, beating three teams they were supposed to beat and coming back to beat the other.