The hits just keep coming. Fortunately for the Lions, so do the wins.
Detroit's injury-ravaged defense took three more blows in Thursday's win over the Bears, including a potentially big one to a depleted linebacker corps.
Malcolm Rodriguez, who's been starting in place of Alex Anzalone since the Lions co-captain broke his forearm two weeks ago, injured his knee and could be out for a while.
"Look, I’ll be honest with you, I think Rodrigo is the one that could be the worst," Dan Campbell said after Detroit's 23-20 victory. "I don’t know how significant it’ll be just yet, but he’s the one I fear a little bit, could be down."
That would leave just one of the Lions' top four linebackers standing entering the stretch run of the season in Jack Campbell. Derrick Barnes has been out since Week 3 with a knee injury of his own. The Lions used a rotating cast of linebackers against the Bears, featuring Trevor Nowaske, Ezekiel Turner, David Long Jr. and Ben Niemann.
Detroit also suffered two more losses on a battered defensive line in Josh Paschal (knee) and Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring). Both players have taken on bigger roles up front in the wake of significant injuries to Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, John Cominsky and Kyle Peko.
Per Campbell, the outlook on Paschal and Onwuzurike is a little brighter than it is on Rodriguez: “I feel like it’ll be okay. They could be down for a little bit."
Al-Quadin Muhammad played a bigger role on the edge in Paschal's absence, and rose to the occasion with a sack and a pass break-up on the Bears' final drive. Rookie Mekhi Wingo saw some more action on the interior, though he later suffered a knee injury himself.
Campbell won't let the Lions feel sorry for themselves. Asked about the wave of injuries on defense, he said, "Let me ask you this, does it really matter? Like, who cares?"
"That’s the thing, that’s what I go back to," Campbell said. "It doesn’t matter. Either it is or it isn’t, we get a guy back or we don’t get a guy back. Worrying about it and moaning about it and bitching about it, it's like (a missed) call. I could sit there and throw a fit about it. What does it matter? It’s called, it’s done.
"I know this: whoever we have available, we’re going to get them ready to play, and we expect them to hold the line, period," Campbell said. "You have to do your job, and everybody around you is looking for you to do your job. We'll put you in the best position to have success, and we’ll go."
Despite all the attrition, the Lions entered Thursday's game with the second-ranked scoring defense in the NFL. And they left it with the best record in the league at 11-1.