The Detroit Lions just can’t seem to catch a break in the secondary this season. The latest injury to a member of the Lions pass defense came late in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams, when cornerback Amik Robertson exited the game with a hand injury.
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell gave a hopeful update on Robertson’s status during a press conference on Monday.
“We’ll see where it’s at; I’m hopeful that he’ll be able to go [against Pittsburgh], very hopeful,” Campbell said. “We’ll know more probably in the next couple of days.”
Robertson underwent an MRI on Monday, the results of which haven’t yet been released. Campbell is hopeful that it’s a minor injury that will allow Robertson to remain on the field through the pain.
“It’s something that can affect him a little bit, but I think we’d like to believe he’s going to have a chance to play [this weekend],” Campbell said. “But until we get through practice, we won’t entirely know.”
Injuries Catching Up To Lions’ Secondary
Detroit has allowed each of their last four opponents to score 30 or more points against them. Granted, three of those four teams have featured elite quarterbacks and the fourth was Jameis Winston: we all know he is the definition of boom or bust.
But the Lions secondary, which is down six players right now, hasn’t played well amidst this streak of high scoring games.
Campbell talked about ways he and the coaching staff can help the Lions’ cornerbacks moving forward.
“There are some things we can do to help, and we try to get to some of that later in the game. There’s some give and take with that, where you try to reduce stress, now you’re putting it somewhere else. We tried to get to where some of it was stopping the run in a lighter box to try to help a little bit.”
Whatever adjustments the Lions’ staff has made don’t seem to be working. They’ll have an easier couple of tests against Pittsburgh and Minnesota in the next two weeks before taking on a very good passing offense in Chicago in week 18.
Lions Need a Win Over Steelers to Push For a Playoff Spot
A few disappointing losses this season have put the Lions in a sketchy spot with three games left to play. With a record of 8-6, they currently sit a game and a half behind the Packers for the final wild card berth into the playoffs.
As of Dec. 16, Detroit has just a 27 percent chance to make the playoffs, though they are still in contention for both the final wild card spot and the NFC North title. It currently looks like two of the three teams in contention in the NFC North will make it, though the Lions have the toughest path to earning that spot between the three.
Wins in each of the final three games would give Detroit a 96 percent chance to make the playoffs, with the most important game coming against Chicago in week 18.
Three wins and a Green Bay win over Chicago this week would clinch the playoff spot over the Bears, as they would have the tiebreaker over Chicago with a season sweep.
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