Lions win big but lose LB Anzalone for 6-8 weeks
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Eric Woodyard, ESPN
DETROIT — Amid their big victory, the Detroit Lions suffered another huge loss at Ford Field on Sunday.
Linebacker Alex Anzalone, a team captain, will sit out the next six to eight weeks after breaking his forearm in the first half of Detroit’s 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, coach Dan Campbell announced.
The left forearm of Anzalone was tangled up on a play when teammate Brian Branch pushed Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. out of bounds late in the second quarter.
Anzalone was officially ruled out at the start of the second half, but the defense didn’t give up a point in the third and fourth quarters as the offense produced a franchise-best 645 yards of total offense.
“Thank you everyone for the well wishes! As an athlete, a lot of times you think “Why did this have to happen?” But I like to think about all the countless reps something bad didn’t happen. I’m beyond blessed! I’ll be back in no time, fresh legs and all,” Anzalone posted to X after the game.
The Lions, meanwhile, handed the Jaguars their largest loss in franchise history.
“The reality was that they’re a team who has less wins than us and we could have played down to our competition in some ways, and — not to disrespect them, they’re a hell of a squad — but, we wanted to play to our standard — nameless, faceless opponent,” said Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who became the first QB in NFL history to have multiple games with a perfect passer rating (158.3) and 400 passing yards. “That’s not just them, that’s every week.
“I think we wanted to come out and stay on the gas the whole game, no matter what happened. If it had been a closer game, we still would have stayed on the gas.”
Anzalone joins Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (tibia and fibula), linebacker Derrick Barnes (knee), linebacker/special teams ace Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck), defensive linemen Marcus Davenport (triceps) and John Cominsky (torn MCL) as key members of the defense who have been sidelined by injury.
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The Lions have now scored 50-plus points in multiple games in a season for the first time in franchise history and at 9-1, are off to their best start since 1934.
During Sunday’s win, the Lions also set franchise marks in margin of victory (46 points), total first downs (38) and scoring a touchdown on seven consecutive offensive drives.
Over the past 45 seasons, the only team to score a touchdown on more consecutive offensive drives within a game than Detroit versus Jacksonville was the 1980 Chicago Bears, who scored a touchdown on eight straight drives on Dec. 7, 1980, against the Green Bay Packers in a 61-7 victory.
It’s the latest example of why Campbell says that at its best, this season’s Lions offense is as good as some of the best offenses in NFL history, such as the St. Louis Rams’ “The Greatest Show on Turf” squads from 1999 to 2001.
“I think we have that ability. I really do. I think we have that ability,” Campbell said. “To me, we have everything that we need to be potent, and like I say, I feel like we’re well-rounded.”
Goff was the conductor of the offense, as he finished 24-of-29 for 412 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions for a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a bounce-back game.
He, too, says this team has the capability to become one of the greatest offenses in league history after setting multiple records. Goff said it was something the team discussed over the summer.
“Yeah, we’ve got that capability, certainly. We’ve got to do it for another — I don’t know how many games are left in the year now — eight, nine, regular season. Yeah, we got some work to do still, but we’ve certainly got that capability,” Goff said. “I think that’s kind of been something we talked about in the offseason is history and how great we can be.”
