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The Detroit Lions beat the New York Jets on Sunday, but they emerged from the game dealing with several injuries. This has basically been the case all season, and Sunday was unfortunately no different.
Let's start with the most notable injured player: Calvin Johnson. The Lions wide receiver was active on Sunday despite dealing with an ankle injury, but his playing time was quite limited. He only caught two passes for 12 yards, and those were his only two targets all day. He was mainly a decoy when he was on the field, and he made it clear after the game that he's not really close to 100 percent healthy right now.
Calvin Johnson said he wasn't even 90% today, but he expects to play next week. #Lions
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) September 28, 2014
The good news is that the Lions' passing game was quite good despite Johnson being so limited. Their running game, on the other hand, really struggled at times in the fourth quarter once Joique Bell left the game with what appears to be a concussion. The Lions also lost running back Theo Riddick to a hamstring injury, and fullback Montell Owens, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury of his own, was unable to finish the game. It may be time to promote George Winn from the practice squad.
In other injury news, Matthew Stafford apparently looked pretty beat up after Sunday's game.
Just watched Matt Stafford walk to the team bus. Noticeably limping. And has that right wrist wrapped
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) September 28, 2014
Stafford's wrist was likely wrapped because he suffered a pretty nasty turf burn. As for the limp, that's likely a result of him being hit seven times on Sunday. He was sacked four times, continuing the trend of the offensive line not giving him enough protection. It doesn't appear that any of Stafford's ailments are serious, but the Lions can't have him taking a beating like this week in and week out. All of those hits will eventually catch up to him if the Lions aren't careful.