DETROIT – Matthew Stafford hobbled onto the field, his right ankle beaten up, the Detroit Lions having a chance to tie late in the fourth quarter. Stafford had been here so many times before in his career. But he hadn’t really been here with an injured leg before.
And while the Lions managed to come back to keep themselves in Thursday's game after falling behind by double digits in the first quarter for the third straight contest, a comeback was not going to happen. Not with an injured quarterback against one of the NFL’s best defenses.
That’s left the Lions in a tough position before November ends after a 30-23 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, a spot that is going to be really tricky for Detroit over the final month of the season.