No team looks more Super Bowl-ready than the Detroit Lions. In Week 11, the Lions picked up a huge 52-6 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars to improve to 9-1 on the year. Yes, the Jaguars are a two-win team, but the Lions went for the juggular. The offense scored a touchdown on their first seven drives on offense. The offense also outgained the Jaguars by 476 yards. Detroit’s defense forced Jacksonville’s offense to go 2-for-10 on third downs and held them to just 170 yards.
The Lions have to be feeling great about their chances. However, they were dealt some bad news in what was a positive day overall.
After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell revealed that linebacker Alex Anzalone suffered a broken forearm and will now miss between six-to-eight weeks.
Lions LB Alex Anzalone suffers broken forearm in Week 11
The injury took place in the second quarter as he was chasing Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. As Anzalone was reaching for Etienne, Lions safety Brian Branch swarmed in to make the tackle. In the process, Anzalone’s arm was trapped between the two players, and the fracture happened.
The last thing the Lions needed was an injury on defense. Let’s not forget that in Week 6, star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson suffered a fractured tibia and fibula in their game against the Dallas Cowboys. Hutchinson is on track, at the earliest, to return for Super Bowl 59. The Lions decided to fill the void left by Hutchinson by trading for Za’Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns.
Since the trade deadline has come and gone, the Lions will have to fill Anzalone’s absence in-house. With that, expect to see a bit more of Ben Niemann or Trevor Nowaske. But, the good news is that Anzalone is on track to return just in time for the playoffs.
Entering Week 11, Anzalone recorded 51 combined tackles (37 solo, 14 assisted), six tackles, four quarterback hits, four passes defended, and one sacks in eight games.