The Detroit Lions' chances of reaching the 2025 Super Bowl are diminishing as injury concerns mount

Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett highlights the best and worst performances from the Lions’ 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Ford Field.

The Lions (12-2) lost for the first time in exactly three months – when they also lost at home to Tampa Bay 20-16 in Week 2 on Sept. 15 – and had their franchise-record 11-game winning streak snapped. The Lions will have to wait a week to get a second chance to set the franchise record for wins in a season when they visit the division rival Chicago Bears in Week 16.

Lions-Bills winner

Bills QB Josh Allen

Allen was phenomenal on Sunday, passing for 362 yards and two touchdowns and running for two more scores. In the Bills’ last two games, he scored five rushing and five passing touchdowns with no turnovers and made a handful of improbable throws after extending plays with his legs.

With his performance, Allen cemented his place as the likely MVP of this year.

“Josh Allen just does Josh Allen things, man,” Lions cornerback Amik Robertson said. “I don’t think they had an outstanding dog holiday. They didn’t do anything – to me they didn’t do anything special, we just didn’t play Lions football today, man, but we’ll be okay.”

Lions S Brian Branch

Branch has been one of the few bright spots on a defense that has given up the most points since Week 4 of the 2022 season.

The second-year safety had 15 tackles, two for loss and a pass breakup. He had a TFL on a first-and-10 play in the third quarter that helped force the Bills’ only punt of the game, and a pass breakup in the end zone that forced the Bills to face a short Field goal they missed late in the second quarter.

The Lions’ defense has been severely weakened by injuries and is losing talent on the front seven lines, but they still have two of the best safeties in football in Branch and Kerby Joseph.

MORE BAD NEWS:Update on Lions RB David Montgomery’s knee injury

Lions-Bills losers

Lions OL

The Lions have one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL, but they barely ran the ball on Sunday – 48 yards on 15 carries – and that’s one of the reasons they found themselves in a big hole early on. They managed 0 yards, 1 yard, minus 2 yards on their first three carries and gave up two sacks on their first six pass attempts.

While the misses were a collective effort, Frank Ragnow (two holding penalties) and Graham Glasgow (one face mask) had particularly tough days in interior defense trying to block Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (one sack, three QB hits).

The Lions still scored 42 points, so the score wasn’t entirely bad. But one of the best groups in the league hasn’t been the best in a few weeks, and that’s not what this team needs heading into the home stretch.

Lions 2025 Super Bowl Odds

The Lions are still one of the best teams in the NFL, but there’s no denying that their chances of reaching Super Bowl 59 on Sunday were hurt again (or four) due to injuries.

Already without defensive starters Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes and Alex Anzalone, the Lions lost two more defensive starters to serious injuries on Sunday: Alim McNeill and Carlton Davis, gunner/cornerback Khalil Dorsey to a broken leg and running back David Montgomery to a broken MCL -Injury.

As good as they were, the Lions are starting to run out of capable players, especially on defense. They could lose all four players who were injured on Sunday for the rest of the season, and good teams like the Bills and good quarterbacks like Allen are fully capable of exploiting their holes.

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The Detroit Lions’ chances of reaching the 2025 Super Bowl are diminishing as injury concerns mount

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