The Detroit Lions defeated the Minnesota Vikings 30-20 on Sunday, giving them 12 wins on the season and some momentum heading into the playoffs, but it may have come at a cost.
Late in the second quarter, rookie Pro Bowl tight end Sam LaPorta caught a 5-yard catch for a first down on a 3rd and 4 play, but when Josh Metellus tried to bring him down, LaPorta’s left knee flexed back awkwardly. LaPorta gripped his knee before collapsing. He lay on the pitch for a few moments while trainers examined him before carefully walking off the field and into the injury tent. A trolley arrived to transport him to the locker room. He never returned.
After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell stated that the injury was not as severe as it appeared.
“The best way I can put it is it’s probably not as bad as it looked but it’s not good news,” Campbell went on to say. “We’ll know more tomorrow, but it looked terrible.” It’s not quite that horrible. That doesn’t mean having him for a game looks good in the short term.”
The absence of LaPorta to begin the playoffs would be a significant setback for the Lions. Earlier in the game, LaPorta snagged his 82nd reception of the season, breaking the rookie tight end record for receptions in a season. Keith Jackson established the previous mark of 81 in 1988, which he broke.
Before getting hurt, LaPorta had five receptions for 29 yards and Detroit’s first touchdown of the game. He had 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular season.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff said James Mitchell filled in for LaPorta, but potentially losing LaPorta could hurt early in the playoffs because whoever fills in won’t be able to match the timing and relationship he’s created with LaPorta.
Mitchell performed admirably in blocking strategies and caught one pass for 24 yards.
After receiving a ball for a 9-yard gain and being tackled by defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga, wide receiver and punt returner Kalif Raymond departed the game early in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. With a knee injury, he was shortly ruled out. Before departing the game, he had two catches for 50 yards and four punt returns for 89 yards (22.3 average). Raymond, according to Campbell, is in the same boat as LaPorta.
