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Dan Campbell: 'Not buying' injuries as an excuse for Lions' defensive meltdown vs. Bills
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- Dan Campbell: 'Not buying' injuries as an excuse for Lions' defensive meltdown vs. Bills
The Detroit Lions ' injury-riddled defense took two more hits Sunday as starters Alim McNeill and Carlton Davis III suffered likely season-ending injuries , but Lions coach Dan Campbell refused to blame his team's poor defensive performance in a 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills on depth issues on that side of the ball.
"I'm not buying it," Campbell said. "I'm not. I don't buy it. We can be better. We should've been better. We know how good they are, but that team was more urgent than us today, overall."
Khalil Dorsey is carted off the field with an ankle injury during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.
Davis, the Lions' No. 1 cornerback, suffered a jaw injury in the first half and did not return, while McNeill, the team's best defensive tackle, injured his knee in the third quarter and wore a brace on his right leg and carried crutches with him in the locker room after the game.
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Campbell said McNeill will undergo more testing Monday, but declined to speculate if he tore his ACL.
"I don't feel good about either one of those guys," Campbell said.
Asked if that meant he didn't feel good about either returning for the season, Campbell said, "Normally if I'm like saying, 'I don't feel good,' that means not good for the rest of the year, so don't feel good about it."
LIONS GRADES: Dan Campbell took blame for loss but this was a defensive meltdown
The Lions entered Sunday's game with four defensive starters – Aidan Hutchinson , Marcus Davenport , Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes – plus a host of key defensive backups on injured reserve.
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Anzalone is expected to return either after Christmas or for the start of the playoffs, but Hutchinson, Davenport and Barnes will likely miss the rest of the year.
The Bills scored touchdowns on their first two possessions Sunday to open a 14-0 lead and never trailed. Josh Allen threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 68 yards and two more scores, and the Lions gave up their most points since a 48-45 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4 of the 2022 season.
Along with Davis and McNeill, who declined comment to reporters after the game, backup cornerback and special teams standout Khalil Dorsey suffered a season-ending ankle injury Sunday when he collided with teammate Ezekiel Turner on a red-zone play in the second quarter.
Doctors immobilized Dorsey's leg on the field, and Dorsey was loaded onto a medical cart while surrounded by teammates. CBS reported he was taken to a local hospital.
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"It's a tough injury," Campbell said. "Really got similar to Hutch ."
Free Press sports writers Jared Ramsey and Jeff Seidel contributed to this report.
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell: 'Not buying' injuries as excuse for Lions' defense
