NEW ORLEANS – Lions Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow injured his knee in Detroit's 33-28 win over the New Orleans Saints Sunday, and the team won't know the extent of that injury until tomorrow at the earliest.
Ragnow left the game in the second quarter on a play where he got piled up on during a three-yard David Montgomery run. Ragnow was down for a bit and needed help from trainers getting off the field. He went straight to a cart and was taken to the locker room and did not return.
"We won't know until tomorrow," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after the game. "At first coming off it sounded like one thing and then after the fact it sounded like something maybe a little bit different. One was not as good, and one sounds more positive."
Campbell said the more positive news was the second one he got.
Losing Ragnow for any amount of time would be a big blow up front for the Lions. He's having another Pro Bowl caliber season as the leader of that unit. He's been great in the run game and hasn't given up a sack all year and just two quarterback hits.
The Lions shifted right guard Graham Glasgow to center after Ragnow left the game. Rookie Colby Sorsdal came in at right guard with mixed results.
IRVIN IMPACT
At 36 years and 32 days old, Lions defensive lineman Bruce Irvin is the second oldest player in franchise history to produce a sack. The oldest is cornerback Otis Smith, who recorded a sack at 38 years and 67 days old in 2003.
Irvin made his Lions debut Sunday and had one of Detroit's two sacks on the afternoon, a third-down sack that ended the Saints' third drive of the game and forced a punt.
"I felt like he was able to pressure the quarterback," Campbell said of Irvin. "He was able to get an edge a couple of times. Certainly, there's something there. He's got something. He's been working and he's gotten in better shape over the last three weeks. I'm anxious to watch the whole thing (on tape). I saw from afar kind of what you guys saw. It's encouraging, I know that."
The Lions entered Sunday ranked 26th in the NFL in sacks.
WILLIAMS TOUCHDOWN
Jared Goff said they've been working on the Jameson Williams double-reverse play that resulted in a critical 19-yard touchdown Sunday for a couple weeks now and have been making some tweaks here and there to it. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson called it at the perfect moment this week and it was executed to perfection with Goff even getting in on the blocking.
Williams got the ball coming from left to right, saw a lane, and we got to see just how fast he can be when he gets it going. The Superman dive into the end zone was a good exclamation point.
"Obviously great call by Ben," Campbell said. "Something that's been in the laboratory cooking for a while. Felt like it was the right time to call it up. Listen, he executed it great, man. Thing was well blocked. Great job keeping his eyes on it. The rest was up to him. He's pure gasoline around the edge. Heck of a play."
The Lions are continuing to find creative ways to get Williams the football and he continues to grow and build faith from the coaching staff.
EXTRA POINT
For the first time since 1936 (Dutch Clark and Ace Gutowsky), the Lions have two players with 600-plus rushing yards and five-plus rushing touchdowns in the same season in Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.
