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Lions: Alim McNeill’s 4-week absence opens door for others to step up

Onwuzurike, Buggs, Martin and Bohanna could see more action

ALLEN PARK — Lions coach Dan Campbell admits that losing defensive tackle Alim McNeill for four weeks is going to be tough, but the train moves on.

McNeill was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Tuesday. He is expected to return to the active roster in time for the playoffs.

The Lions have depth at the position, but not the experience or talent that McNeill brings to the field. He’s second to Aidan Hutchinson (5.5) in sacks with five and tied with Alex Anzalone with nine quarterback hits. Hutchinson has 16.

Levi Onwuzurike, Isaiah Buggs, rookie Brodric Martin and Quinton Bohanna are candidates to see more playing time.

“It’s a great opportunity for those guys, that’s all you can ask for. If you’re one of them you’re excited,’’ Campbell said on Wednesday. “(Mac) has been a reliable, steady, productive player for us, he’s really come into his own this year. He’s grown every year but this year he was big, he was a force for us. The guys have a lot of respect for him.’’

Campbell said it hurts but it’s the nature of the game to lose key players.

Onwuzurike has played in six games, but has been inactive for six including Sunday at New Orleans. Still Campbell said they are not disappointed in him. He missed the 2022 season with a back injury that required surgery, after playing all 16 games as a rookie in 2021.

“It’s been reps, some of these come down to the position itself between the bigs in the middle to OLB to hybrid. (John) Cominsky is kind of a hybrid. Romeo (Okwara) is a little bit in that nature. So we can’t overload in one position or another,’’ Campbell said.

“(Levi has) been the odd guy out, but he works his rear off and it’s really time on task. The more reps he gets the better he’s going to be. And he continues to grow. We’re not disappointed with him. We’re excited that he’s healthy and able to work and he is growing, he is getting better,’’ Campbell said.

Buggs, who has played in six games this season, is another who could step up. Campbell said he needs to be reliable, dependable, do his job and be consistent. He’s been inactive for three straight contests.

Quinton Bohanna has started the last two games and could see his snap counts increase.

Martin, a third-round draft pick, has played in just one game so far.

Veteran Ndamukong Suh remains unsigned, but it doesn’t appear he’s headed back to Detroit.

“Listen Brad (Holmes) has looked at all of it. We haven’t overlooked anybody. We’ve looked at everybody,’’ Campbell said. “At this moment we made the decision we felt was best for us.’’

The Lions signed 36-year-old nose tackle Tyson Alualu to the practice squad on Tuesday, but the coach said it will take a few weeks to see if he can contribute.

UP NEXT: Lions (9-3) at Bears (4-8), 1 p.m. on Sunday on Fox. The Lions beat the Bears, 31-26, in their first meeting, but Detroit had to make a huge fourth-quarter comeback to grab the W.

Lions rookie TE Sam LaPorta continues to impress and shatter records

Campbell was an NFL TE, but won’t compare himself to LaPorta

ALLEN PARK — Lions coach Dan Campbell was an NFL tight end for 10 seasons so he has a little insight into Sam LaPorta’s world, but apparently not too much.

Campbell is first to admit he didn’t have near the impact as LaPorta has shown through 12 games of his rookie season.

“First of all I don’t know what that’s like, I know what the run game part of it is like. I have no idea what it’s like to go out there, get open, run routes and catch some balls. I was never even close to that,’’ Campbell said on Monday.

Sure enough in Campbell’s rookie season with the Giants he played in a dozen games with one start and had zero receptions. In his 10-year career he had 91 catches and 11 touchdowns.

It’s fair to say that LaPorta, who was drafted 34th overall, is a different animal. In fact it’s scary to think how good he can become.

LaPorta received the game ball after his nine catches for 140 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 33-28 win at New Orleans. He became the first tight end in NFL history to produce at least 60 receptions, 600 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns through the first 12 games of a player’s career.

Not bad. And, as Campbell said, it’s not all about the stats, he is a complete player.

“It is not easy to play this position as a rookie and to do all we’re asking him to do because he does it all, it’s in the run game, it’s protection and then you see the pass production. That’s what everybody sees, the numbers, the separation,’’ Campbell said. “But nobody has any true idea of all the other stuff he does for us. That’s what a tight end does. I’m glad he’s ours.’’

Campbell said LaPorta just keeps growing.

“He doesn’t say a word, he just goes to work, he’s hard on himself but he never gets down, he never feels sorry for himself when he makes a mistake, it drives him,’’ Campbell said. “I know this, in critical times of the game he always shows up. It’s not easy but he’s making it look easy, I know that.’’

In a solid four-year college career at Iowa, LaPorta had just five touchdown catches. He’s surpassed that mark and the Lions have five regular season games remaining.

Here’s a few other crazy stats from Sunday’s win:

— He became the sixth rookie tight end in NFL history, and first since 1995, to produce a game with 140 receiving yards and a touchdown.

— He recorded his sixth touchdown reception of the season, passing TE David Hill (five in 1976) for the second-most a Lions rookie has produced.

— LaPorta has produced seven five-catch games this season. This ties for the second-most by a rookie tight end in NFL history and for the second-most by a tight end in franchise history.

— His 64 receptions are the second-most a Lions rookie has had in a season, regardless of position. The team record is 90 catches, set by WR Amon-Ra St. Brown in 2021.

INJURY UPDATE: Center Frank Ragnow, who injured his knee Sunday, got good news from tests on Monday but Campbell says that doesn’t mean he will play Sunday … LB Alex Anzalone (hand) could have a chance to play this week after sitting Sunday. … DL Alim MacNeil, who was injured Sunday, could miss this week’s game.

UP NEXT: Lions (9-2) at Chicago Bears (4-8), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10. The Lions beat the Bears, 31-26, in their first meeting.

Lions bounce back and edge Saints in a nail-biter; 5 reasons they held on to win

After taking what seemed like a commanding 21-0 lead midway through the first quarter, the Detroit Lions opened the door and let the Saints back in.

It was edge-of-the-seat time late in the fourth quarter, before the Lions held on for a 33-28 win at the Superdome when Jared Goff connected with Josh Reynolds for 12 yards to convert on third-and-9 with 1:09 left.

The Lions jump to 9-3 and remain atop the NFC North. They were coming off a tough Thanksgiving loss to the Packers and once again showed their resilience. They have not had back-to-back losses in 13 months.

“I think the teams that are able to respond after you lose a tough one, to me, it’s not easy to gain confidence in losses, but I think you have to be able to do that. You understand your own errors, you understand what you have to clean up and then you don’t want to lose that way again or like that again or from that again,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We bounced back, I’m not surprised knowing the guys we have, the coaches in that locker room, the players we have. I’m not surprised.’’

That 21-0 lead in the first quarter set the pace early.

“We had some things that we wanted to do particularly offensively and defensively for that matter, and we had a good feel of it, they made some adjustments which we thought they would. Then it comes down to one player here, one player there, we’re an inch away from breaking another one. It was a chess game going on …

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. A strong start was huge – a touchdown on the first drive on a 2-yard run by David Montgomery, then an interception by Brian Branch led to a Sam LaPorta touchdown and then a third TD, a 25-yard catch by Amon-Ra St. Brown. The 21-point lead with 7 minutes left in the first quarter was huge especially because the Saints defense was stingy after that quarter. “We had some things that we wanted to do particularly offensively and defensively for that matter, and we had a good feel of it. They made some adjustments which we thought they would,’’ Campbell said. “Then it comes down to one player here, one player there, we’re an inch away from breaking another one. It was a chess game going on.’’ The coach said they ran the ball intentionally on the first five snaps to re-establish confidence on the offensive line which was coming off a shaky game.

2. All week, and actually for two weeks, the Lions have wanted to cut down on turnovers and have the defense create them. Bingo. Derek Carr was intercepted by Branch on his first snap. And then later Tracy Walker recovered a snap fumble. The Lions have work to do but Jared Goff did not throw an interception and the offense did not give the ball away.

3. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta had a career day with nine catches (on nine targets) for 140 yards and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, on the Lions final drive, he caught the ball on a third-and-7 to keep the drive going and the ball away from the Saints who were just down 5 points. He became the first tight end in NFL history to produce 55 receptions, 550 yards and 6 touchdowns through 12-career games.

4. Goff controlled the game and made timely plays. He wasn’t perfect and he has certainly played better but when the Saints were breathing down their throats he remained poised and in control. On the final drive, when they had to hold onto the ball, Goff converted a third-and-7 with a pass to LaPorta and then a third-and-9 with a pass to Josh Reynolds. “That’s our guy, that’s what he does, the line was protecting well today,’’ Campbell said. “LaPorta, to be honest I feel like we were getting separation. LaPorta was showing up and Reynolds made a heck of a catch in the critical moments our offense finished it out for us.’’Goff finished 16 of 25 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions set a single-season record by producing 325-plus total net yards for the 12th-straight game and Goff obviously has played a major role in that.

5. The defense made a few key plays, but they have plenty of work to do after giving up too many explosive plays. Defensive lineman Bruce Irvin in his first game with the Lions had a big-time sack. Romeo Okwara had another. They looked tough early in the game but faded and let the Saints back in. It was a win and that’s all good, but much work to do especially on defense.

BONUS: Wide receiver Jameson Williams had a highlight touchdown on a reverse end-around early in the fourth quarter. His speed was on full display and he dove into the end zone for a nice flourish. “It’s something that’s been in the laboratory cooking for a while, it felt like it was the right time to call it up,’’ Campbell said. “He executed it great, the thing was well blacked, he did a great job keeping his eyes on it, the rest was up to him. It was pure gasoline around the edge, it was a heck of a play.’’

INJURY UPDATE: Center Frank Ragnow left in the second quarter with a knee injury and didn’t return. Campbell said he won’t have more information until Monday.

NEXT UP: Lions (9-3) at Chicago Bears (4-8), 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. The Bears will be coming off a bye. The Lions won their first matchup 31-16 on Nov. 19.