The Detroit Lions came out of last week's game in Arizona with a win, but also with a lengthy list of players who suffered injuries.
"We're going through the whole injury process right now," head coach Matt Patricia said Monday. "We have a couple guys we're kind of evaluating and talking to the doctors and trainers and all that. We'll let you know as soon as we have any information there."
On Tuesday the team announced that they placed defensive end Ziggy Ansah (shoulder) and tight end Michael Roberts (shoulder) on Reserve-Injured.
"Ziggy has been great for me," Patricia said Wednesday, when asked about Ansah’s future with the club. "This year we worked really well together. It's unfortunate, but injuries happen as far as that's concerned. Right now our focus is just trying to get on to the Bills and get ready to go and make sure we're doing everything we can to win this weekend. It's really just short-term picture."
In addition to the guys placed on IR, five other players missed practice all week, and all five have already been ruled out for Sunday's game in Buffalo, including starting right tackle Rick Wagner.
When Wagner left last week's game with a concussion, rookie lineman Tyrell Crosby filled in for him. It's likely Crosby gets the chance to start in Wagner's place this week, but that hasn't changed his mindset or preparation.
"He's a really steady-minded guy," offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said of Crosby. "He doesn't get too up. He doesn't get too down. Just sort of handles his business.
"It wasn't perfect (in Arizona), didn't grade out 100 percent, wasn't a perfect game for him, had a little up here and down there, but the guy just keeps playing and keeps grinding and we appreciate that about him. We're going to keep him getting better and if the reps continue to go his way, we look for him to improve along with those reps."
For the full Lions-Bills injury report and game designations, click here.
SLAY NAMED NFC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After recording his first career pick-six in Arizona last weekend, cornerback Darius Slay was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
"Fast, it was a good play by him," Patricia said of the play, which happened right in front of him along the visiting sideline.
"I think he did a really good job of coming out of the break, he read the receiver really well. Obviously, Slay is a great player and kind of read the receiver coming up and he was able to kind of get his weight down and break in front of it and be able to come up with the interception. It was a hard catch for him and great job by him staying in bounds. I thought he would kind of drift out, but he did a great job. He's athletic and fast and then he ran by me."
While the touchdown was Slay's first, the interception was his 17th, which moved him into sixth place in franchise history for cornerbacks, passing Ray Crockett.
"To have a guy like that where everybody has so much confidence in him and he's making plays," Lions defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni said. "It helps the defense, but I think it helps the whole team. I just think it helps the whole operation. It really does."
BRING ON THE BILLS
The Lions will be facing their fourth rookie quarterback this year in Buffalo's Josh Allen. Allen currently leads all quarterbacks with 490 yards rushing on the year.
"I've seen a lot of good quarterbacks that can pull it down and run, this guy is really something," Pasqualoni said of Allen. "He's big, he's got really good speed, he's got good vision. He's their leading rusher so he's just very impressive. He's got a strong arm, he can throw the ball. There's plays on that film where the ball is going 70 yards in the air. So, he's a handful, there's no question about that."
When he's not on the run, Allen likes to throw deep, so the Lions' secondary will have to continue to play a high level to defend the deep ball.
"I have a lot of respect for a couple guys in their secondary," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said in a conference call with Detroit media. "One of which is Slay. He's a guy I really liked coming out in the draft and he's backed that up just with the way he's played through the course of his career so far."
For Mike O'Hara's full scouting report on the Bills, click here.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS
- Watch Lions players and students from Detroit Lions Academy build and compete against each other in robot battles.
- Catch up on all the news from Jim Bob Cooter and Paul Pasqualoni's Tuesday media sessions.
- Tim Twentyman takes a look at the remaining schedules for each of the four teams in the NFC North.
