The Lions lost Pro Bowl wide receiver Kenny Golladay to a hip injury in the third quarter in their 41-21 loss to the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, and the fourth-year veteran did not return to the game. The severity of the injury is unknown.
Golladay entered the contest as Detroit's leading receiver on the year with 338 receiving yards, despite missing the first two games of the season with a hamstring injury. Golladay was looking for his third straight game with 100 receiving yards Sunday, but Indianapolis did a nice job early on containing him, and he was held without a catch on four targets before the injury.
The injury put the Lions a bit shorthanded at receiver with rookie Quintez Cephus being a healthy scratch. Veteran Marvin Hall was forced into extra duty and finished with 113 yards on four receptions, including a 73 yarder in the fourth quarter to set up Detroit's last touchdown. It was a nice job of stepping up when needed for Hall.
But missing Golladay for any extended period of time will be a big blow for Detroit's offense. His 16.9 yards per reception coming into Sunday was third best among the league's receivers. He's Detroit's best deep threat.
Lions head coach Matt Patricia didn't have any updates on the Golladay injury after the game, or for the injuries suffered by receiver/returner Jamal Agnew (ribs) and right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai (foot), who both left the game in the second half and did not return.
JONES JR. SHOWS OUT
One of the few bright spots for the Lions Sunday was the play of veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., who stepped up in the wake of the Golladay injury and caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Matthew Stafford.
"I go out there and do my job and just do what I do," Jones said after the game.
Sunday's performance was on the heels of Jones' five-catch, 80-yard performance last week in Atlanta. He's put two good weeks together after a bit of a slow start to the year.
If the Golladay injury forces him to miss any time, the Lions will likely rely on Jones to make plays in the passing game.
STEP BACK FOR RUSHING OFFENSE
The Colts' defense came into this game allowing just 88.0 rushing yards per game, the third best mark in the NFL, so Detroit knew they had their hands full trying to run the ball against the Colts Sunday.
Detroit's 29 rushing yards on 13 carries was by far their lowest mark of the season. Running backs Adrian Peterson and D’Andre Swift combined for just eight yards on 11 carries. The Colts had nine tackles for loss in the contest.
Detroit's two best runs of the game were an 11-yard end around by Agnew and a 10-yard Stafford scramble.
Detroit's inability to run the football with any consistency put them in some bad down-and-distance situations, and it allowed the Colts to pin their ears back in the pass rush. Indy ended up sacking Stafford five times, hitting him seven times, and forcing two Stafford turnovers.
View photos from Detroit Lions vs. Indianapolis Colts Week 8 game at Ford Field on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit
Detroit Lions cornerback Justin Coleman (27) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay (19) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. (11) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions wide receiver Danny Amendola (80) Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. (11) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah (30) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions running back Adrian Peterson (28) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater (5) Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox (3) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand (93) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand (93) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions running back Adrian Peterson (28) Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. (11) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson (33) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions defensive back Tracy Walker (21) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions defensive end Romeo Okwara (95) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Ragland (59) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox (3) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker (68) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions safety Duron Harmon (26) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions cornerback Justin Coleman (27) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions safety Jayron Kearse (42) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Hall (17) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP).
THIRD AND LONG
The Lions put themselves in way too many third-and-long situations Sunday against a very good Colts defense. That's not a recipe for success.
Detroit found themselves in 3rd and 8 or longer 10 times in the game. Those are hard situations to convert against any defense, let along one as talented as the Colts. Detroit converted on just three of those situations.
"Too many third-and-longs," Stafford said after the game. "Obviously, didn't sustain drives well enough in the first half or the second half to be honest. Didn't run the ball as well as we can, obviously, and then just didn't play well enough in the passing game to overcome that.
"We scored early which was great, but we weren't able to be consistent on drives and our defense was out there for a long period of time, which isn't good."
