It will be another shorthanded week for quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions' offense today for their Annual Thanksgiving Day Game at Ford Field vs. Houston.
The team ruled out wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola Wednesday, but listed rookie running back D’Andre Swift as questionable as he continued to work through the concussion protocol. Unfortunately, Swift hasn't advanced enough through the return-to-play protocol to play today. He is inactive. It's the second straight contest Swift will sit out after racking up 149 scrimmage yards and a touchdown Nov. 15 in the win over Washington in his first career start.
Detroit will once again rely on Adrian Peterson and Kerryon Johnson to carry the load on the ground against a Texans defense that ranks 32nd in the NFL against the run (159.3 yards per game) coming into today. Peterson and Johnson combined for just 35 yards on the ground in the shutout loss to Carolina last Sunday.
Detroit also has to shuffle things around upfront along their offensive line with offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai (foot) being placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Vaitai's been dealing with the injury all season, and it's limited some of his effectiveness. Veteran Oday Aboushi and Joe Dahl are available to step in at right guard today for Vaitai.
Detroit's defense will also be undermanned with defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand (groin), cornerback Jeff Okudah (shoulder), defensive end Austin Bryant (thigh) and cornerback Mike Ford (concussion) all ruled out on Wednesday's injury report.
Linebacker Reggie Ragland (ankle) and cornerback Amani Oruwariye (back), both of whom were listed as questionable coming in, are active today. That's a positive for Detroit's defense as they try to contain one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league right now in Deshaun Watson, who has at least two touchdown passes and a rating of 100-or-higher in seven of his past eight games.
So to recap, inactive for the Lions today are: Golladay, Swift, Amendola, Okudah, Hand, Bryant and Ford.
