On Sunday, the Detroit Lions suffered what may be a fatal blow to their playoffs hopes.
Not only did they lose to the Green Bay Packers, but they also lost starting quarterback Matthew Stafford to an injury.
“Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford left Sunday’s loss to the Packers in the fourth quarter and there wasn’t much of an update about his condition when interim head coach Darrell Bevell spoke to reporters after the game,” wrote Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.
“Bevell said that Stafford was getting X-rays on his ribs and that the team would know more about the situation once those tests and other evaluations are done. He said that the decision to pull Stafford from the game came because the quarterback wasn’t able to do everything he needed to do as a result of the injury.”
Stafford has been having a strong season so far amidst the Lions’ struggles. The team will need him if it will have any real hope of sneaking into the 2020 NFL Playoffs.
The Lions are currently 5-8 and in 10th place in the NFC. They have a challenging schedule remaining, as they will face the Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings in their remaining three games of the regular season.
The Packers, meanwhile, are now 10-3 with the win and have clinched the NFC North title. They’re tied with the New Orleans Saints for the best overall record in the conference, although they hold the tiebreaker by virtue of defeating the Saints head to head earlier this season.
