John Niyo: Lions aren't moaning about injuries decimating defense: 'We gotta step up'

DETROIT— Alim McNeill will admit it. In the moment, he’s thinking the same thing you’re thinking as a fan: Oh, man, another one?

But it’s just a fleeting thought. Because there’s another down to play, and a game to finish, no matter how many injuries are piling up around him.

“It’s wild for everybody,” said McNeill, the Lions’ dominant defensive tackle. “But it’s part of this sport sometimes. … I do wish a speedy recovery for everybody, but when it happens, it’s just part of the game. It sucks, though.”

Thursday’s hard-fought 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears was just the latest painful reminder of that, as the Lions’ injury-ravaged defense took a few more serious body blows yet refused to buckle in the end.

A final defensive stand — aided by some inexplicable clock management from the Bears — allowed the Lions to end their Thanksgiving losing streak and escape with their 10th consecutive win this season, tying a franchise record. But this one came at another personnel cost, as two more starters and another key rotational player left the game with injuries.

Head coach Dan Campbell wasn’t sure what the exact prognosis was for defensive linemen Josh Paschal (knee) and Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring), saying of both, “I feel like it’ll be OK,” but adding, “they could be down for a bit.” It sounded like the knee injury linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez suffered was the larger long-term concern, though.

“I’ll be honest with you, I think Rodrigo’s the one that could be the worst,” Campbell said, “and I don’t know how significant it’ll be just yet. But he’s the one I fear a little bit.”

Injuries grow

That’s a tough pill to swallow for a defensive unit that was already down a handful of starters before kickoff Thursday, including a few in the front seven (Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes) that appear to be season-ending injuries. Linebacker Alex Anzalone is out for another month, at least, with a fractured forearm, and starting cornerback Carlton Davis III missed Thursday’s game with a knee injury.

Beyond that, there’s an even longer list of key contributors and would-be starters on injured reserve, including John Cominsky and Kyle Peko up front, Jalen Reeves-Maybin at linebacker, and Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the secondary.

Somehow, the Lions have managed to overcome all that, and as they headed to the locker room at halftime Thursday, they’d just completed a 12th straight quarter without allowing a touchdown. The Lions dominated time of possession and owned the line of scrimmage in the first half, racking up 279 yards and 18 first downs while Chicago managed just 53 yards and a pair of first downs on a last-minute drive right before the break.

But the second half was a different story, as the injuries took a toll and the Bears finally gained some traction. Veteran defensive tackle D.J. Reader said, “we let up a little bit as a team,” and that’s probably true as well.

So what could’ve — and probably should’ve — been another fourth-quarter runaway instead became a nailbiter. And the Bears’ final drive, which started at their own 1-yard line, became another test of the Lions’ will.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams moved the ball downfield and had Chicago at the Detroit 25 with 46 seconds left after a questionable fourth-down pass interference call on Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor. A pass to Keenan Allen at the 13-yard line two plays later was negated by an illegal hands to the face penalty on the Bears’ Teven Jenkins. And then on the next play, defensive end Za'Darius Smith, who’d limped off earlier in the drive with leg cramps, hauled down Williams for a 6-yard loss on a sack.

Mass confusion ensued as the Bears’ sideline opted not to use its final timeout, and Williams’ final third-down deep pass attempt fell incomplete as the clock ran out.

“When I saw the clock at zero, man, I didn't know what happened, actually,” McNeill said, laughing. “I had no clue what happened. And then I realized the game was over.”

'Dawgs' step up

So was the drama that no one really expected, or wanted, for that matter. But given the circumstances, and all the replacement parts on defense that ultimately got the job done, the Lions will make no apologies for this one.

“It says a lot about us,” McNeill said. “Because that just shows we're a team, No. 1. Anybody who's coming in, who's stepping up, we expect everybody to be at the same standard and play with the same energy level.”

And whether that was Al-Quadin Muhammad, called up from the practice squad few weeks ago, coming up with a critical sack on the final drive, or a vet like Reader leaving Thursday’s game with a shoulder issue and then returning to record a pair of sacks in a grueling fourth-quarter effort, that’s the bottom line for now.

“We got a bunch of dawgs in there, man,” Reader said. “We know what happens when one guy goes down: We gotta step up. And we do a good job of that in the trenches.”

Still, all this trench warfare does take a toll. And it remains to be seen how much more attrition this Lions defense can handle. It’s one thing to put away losing teams with young quarterbacks (the Colts’ Anthony Richardson and the Bears’ Williams) or fill-in backups (the Titans’ Mason Rudolph and the Jaguars’ Mac Jones). But it’ll be Green Bay’s Jordan Love here at Ford Field next Thursday, and then Buffalo’s Josh Allen after that.

Just don’t bother asking Campbell to grab that wishbone right now. Not with his team relishing its first Thanksgiving win here during his tenure. And not with the Lions still sitting atop the NFC standings with an 11-1 record, which is merely the best start in Lions history.

Injury woes? Whoa, enough. Not now, please.

“That’s what I go back to: It doesn’t matter,” Campbell said at the end of his postgame press conference. “Either it is or it isn’t, and we get a guy back or we don’t get a guy back. Worrying about it, and moaning about it, and bitching about it, it’s like the (officiating) calls, right? … What does it matter?

“So I know this: Whoever we have available, we’re gonna get ‘em ready to play and we expect them to hold the line. Period. You’ve got to do your job, and everybody around is looking for you to do your job.”

And after they’d done their job Thursday, it was time to relax. Not to worry.