Lions throwing Jared Goff into perilous Week 16 situation with inactive list

The Detroit Lions knew they'd be facing down a lengthy inactive report as they trip into Week 16 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but one key area of their offense that's bungled that might be getting overlooked is their offensive line.

Injuries to any weapon on the Lions' offense, which continues to be the top scoring offense in the NFL with just three weeks left of games to play, are going to be felt. That's why Kayode Awosika and Graham Glasgow's absences could be felt if the return of Christian Mahogany to action doesn't pan out well.

Having to return to the Lions during such a critical stretch of games is already a testy game plan for head coach Dan Campbell and Jared Goff, but now, they're without a solid backup in Awosika if Mahogany's return doesn't go well. They're also completely without solid starting center play with Glasgow out for the contest, leaving Goff in a very tough spot in terms of pass protection.

We could be in for a long afternoon with Kingsley Eguakun likely to get the spot start over Glasgow, and as Mahogany eases back into action for the first time since returning from a broken bone in his leg.

Lions' inactive report for Week 16 is more of the same with injury bug

The injury bug has been nagging the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Lions' Week 16 opponent, as well. They'll be without their star pass rusher in T.J. Watt for this game, which takes some pressure off of what sounds like will be a real rag-tag offensive line pieced together for this game from Detroit.

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Pittsburgh is fighting to stay in the race for the AFC North against the Baltimore Ravens right now, so a win today could help them with that cause. Pittsburgh is already in the postseason if the season ended today, but wins help to separate them as they head into a huge Week 18 game against the Ravens.

The Lions are in a similar boat. They just saw the Chicago Bears win in a dramatic overtime contest against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, which means if they lose, they're eliminated from the postseason outright. The odds of making the postseason can rise back up to 41 percent if they win against the Steelers, but drop to just six percent with a loss - almost a statistical improbability.