Detroit Lions can't afford for TE Sam LaPorta to miss time in the playoffs
Free Press columnist Carlos Monarrez tackles three tough questions after the Detroit Lions’ 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday:
How big is Sam LaPorta's injury?
Soon after all the starters took the field, I asked my colleague Dave Birkett who the Lions could least afford to lose to injury, not including Jared Goff. We agreed it was Amon-Ra St. Brown, hands down. After that, it's Aidan Hutchinson and then, of course, Sam LaPorta, based on the dropoff between them and their backups.
I agreed with the Lions’ decision to play their starters, even with only a slim chance of moving up to the NFC’s No. 2 seed. But LaPorta’s injury underscores the uncertainty and the gamble inherent in this decision. It’s a terrible irony that LaPorta suffered a knee injury in the same game he set the NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end. But if he’s out for the playoffs, the Lions’ offense will be severely compromised and could hinder this kind of gamble in the future.
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Why didn’t Dan Campbell take his starters out sooner?
You can blame Aaron Glenn’s defense for that. The Lions wanted to win this game and probably needed to be up three scores in the fourth quarter before it would make sense to pull the starters. The Vikings were without star tight end T.J. Hockenson and were down to quarterback Nick Mullens, the backup’s backup’s backup. But Mullens still connected with Justin Jefferson on a 38-yard touchdown, followed by a 42-yard touchdown to Jordan Addison, to cut the Lions’ lead to 27-20 with 1:23 left in the third quarter. St. Brown came off the field holding his side late in the third quarter but stayed in and scored on a wonderful 70-yard catch and run that extended the Lions’ lead to 27-13 before the Vikings cut it to seven points. The Lions never quite got enough of a lead to pull important starters such as Goff, Hutchinson and some of the offensive linemen.
THE GAME: Lions hold off Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, but suffer multiple key injuries
What did you think of the new NFC North title banner?
It looks great and the Lions did a nice job shortly before the game started with a video showing Campbell emphasizing to players early in the season how long it had been since the team’s last division title, playoff win and championship. I would have done things a little differently — I would have had owner Sheila Hamp say a few words, either in person or in a recorded message congratulating the team and thanking fans for supporting the team. I like that Hamp stays almost entirely out of the spotlight. To her credit, she has accepted responsibility for the team’s struggles and offered her support during tough times. But she needs to learn how to lean in to the significant accomplishments as part of building a better rapport with fans and associating herself with this winning era.
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions’ offense will feel it if Sam LaPorta misses time
