The last thing Lions head coach Jim Schwartz wanted to see Saturday night in Oakland was his starting quarterback, starting running back and both of his starting cornerbacks on the bench being attended to by trainers.The goal of the preseason for starters is to fine-tune their game before the start of the regular season, but it’s also to make it through the four-game preseason schedule in one piece.
The Lions didn’t play particularly well in a 31-20 loss to the Raiders, but the bigger concern immediately following the game was the injury report and not the box score.
The Lions got some good news on that front.
Quarterback
Stafford immediately looked at his left hand on the ground and started shaking it before grabbing it while he jogged to the sideline.
Detroit held it’s collective breath while trainers worked on Stafford, but he said after the game that it looked worse than it was.
“Probably what would have happened in a regular season game was I would have run up for x-rays and when they were negative I would have come back into the game,” Stafford said after the game.
He said the injury scared him more than anything because it looked like a broken blood vessel and he watched his hand swell by the minute.
He was 8-of-10 passing for 68 yards before the injury.
The good news is that the injury is to Stafford’s non-throwing hand and it doesn’t appear he’ll miss any time.
The bad news is that Stafford wasn't the only starter to suffer injury.
The Lions also lost running back
Smith injured his left ankle after no gain on a second-and-4 play early in the third quarter. He hobbled off the field and slammed his fist on the bench in disgust while trainers worked on his ankle.
He said after the game it wasn’t serious, though.
“It’s just a minor tweak that I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get rid of and stay out of the training room,” he said after the game.
Smith played through a high ankle sprain most of last year after the team signed him midseason.
Bentley, who started the game at right cornerback, got his arm caught under a receiver while making a tackle early in the game and suffered a shoulder injury. He did not return.
Houston injured his left ankle in the second quarter and also didn't return.
“The other two guys we’ll just wait and see,” said Schwartz. “We’ll get them evaluated tonight and probably get them evaluated tomorrow and then get them on the track to get back as quick as they can.”
Saturday also featured the NFL debut of
“I’m definitely not where I need to be but it felt good to get my feet wet a little bit and get a couple carries,” Leshoure said.
The Lions struggled to run the ball all evening, finishing with just 65 yards on the ground.
“We didn't run the ball well at all but I thought Leshoure did some good things for his first time,” Schwartz said.
They did get a good performance out of their first-team defense, though. In 12 series this preseason, the starters on defense have allowed three field goals, just one touchdown and have three takeaways.
Two of those takeaways came Saturday night on interceptions from defensive end
The one touchdown also came Saturday, on a fourth-and-1 play that Raiders running back Darren McFadden was able to punch in.
The Lions offense had a chance at their own fourth-down conversion at the goal line in the second quarter, but quarterback
“We had a fourth-down-and-goal that we misfired on and they had a fourth-and-goal that they scored on,” Schwartz said. “Flip those plays and we feel a lot better about the first half.”
The Lions did get a 7-yard touchdown reception by tight end
