Lions snap losing streak vs. Panthers, but Kerryon Johnson injury looms
Dave Birkett
They needed a win in the worst way.
With their fans bailing on them, their quarterback and head coach in droves, the Detroit Lions needed a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from an ugly three-game losing streak.
But no one wanted it to come like this — with an injury to running back Kerryon Johnson, the rookie who has been arguably the Lions’ best and most important player through the first 10 games of his career.
The Lions got a go-ahead touchdown catch from Kenny Golladay late in the fourth quarter and a fortunate stop on a two-point conversion with 1:07 to play to beat the Carolina Panthers at Ford Field, 20-19, for their first win in nearly a month.
But concerns about Johnson’s health overshadowed the victory Sunday, as the rookie left in the third quarter with a potentially serious left knee injury that reportedly had him in tears.
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Lions coach Matt Patricia offered no real update on Johnson’s knee after the game, and Johnson was not in the locker room, but reports (and speculation from trained professional) ranged from a possible anterior cruciate ligament tear (suggested by former San Diego Chargers team doctor David Chao) to a posterior cruciate ligament injury (suggested by ex-Kansas City Chiefs team doctor Mark Adickes) to a sprained knee (as reported by NFL Network).
Asked if he feared Johnson was lost for the season, Patricia said he wanted to wait for “the appropriate people that understand that stuff better than I do (to) give me the information.”
“I’m not going to comment anything on that,” Patricia said. “I think when we miss anybody that’s not out there that plays for us regularly whether it’s guys on offense, defense or special teams, you got to just keep going. We don’t really have any choices. We can’t do anything about it, so whatever it is we’ll figure it out.”
Whatever the injury, Johnson was anguished as team doctors examined his knee on the sideline with about four minutes to play in the third quarter. When he got off the exam table behind the Lions bench, Johnson limped under his own power to the locker room and never returned.
Johnson, a second-round pick out of Auburn who has finally brought balance to a one-dimensional offense, was the Lions’ catalyst for most of the first three quarters, running for 87 yards on 15 carries, and adding 10 yards receiving.
At the time of his injury, he had accounted for 97 of the Lions’ 223 yards from scrimmage.
“He’s just obviously a great runner when you hand it to him,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “Does a nice job out of the backfield when you throw it to him. Had a nice play on screen here today. But he’s got some big-play ability, obviously. You see it. Some 20-plus (yard) runs. I’ve got the best view in the house. I’m right behind it sometimes and splits a guy, splits a seam and he’s out. He’s done a nice job for us and it was more the same today.”
The Lions scored their final 10 points with Johnson in the locker room, and that was enough to hold off a late Panthers rally.
Matt Prater made a 32-yard field goal two plays after Johnson’s injury to give the Lions a six-point lead, and Golladay put the Lions ahead 20-13 with 5:13 to play, when he beat a jam by James Bradberry at the line of scrimmage then laid out to catch a 19-yard pass from Stafford.
“He just gave me a nice, pretty, high ball,” Golladay said. “I like balls like that for me to just use my size, hands, athletic ability to go up there and make the catch and that’s what I did.”
The Panthers and Lions traded three-and-outs after Golladay’s touchdown, before Cam Newton led a six-play, 75-yard drive that decided the game.
Newton, who completed 25 of 37 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns, hit D.J. Moore for an 8-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone with 1:07 to play, but rather than try the tying extra point — kicker Graham Gano missed an extra point and 34-yard field goal earlier in the second half — Panthers coach Ron Rivera ordered a two-point conversion attempt.
Newton stood in the pocket for 5 seconds as the Lions dropped seven players into coverage, but when Jarius Wright finally came open in the middle of the end zone, Newton sailed a pass over his head.
Rivera said Gano’s rough day played into his thought process with the two-point try — “That’s all part of it,” he said — and that going for two on the road was the right decision.
“I’ve got to make that play,” Newton said. “That’s what it comes down to. Jarius did a good job with kind of improvising, I just got to make the play.”
Moore had a game-high 157 yards receiving on seven catches for the Panthers (6-4), and running back Christian McCaffrey added 110 yards from scrimmage, including 53 rushing.
Stafford completed 23 of 37 passes for 220 yards, and Golladay had eight catches and 113 yards receiving for the Lions, who remain in a virtual must-win situation heading into this week’s Thanksgiving game against the Chicago Bears if they want to make the playoffs.
The Lions, at 4-6, remain in last place in the NFC North.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had a string of not-so-great performances,” Lions left tackle Taylor Decker said. “We know that we don’t have much room for error, basically. We know we have to go out there and perform week to week. This was a huge one to hopefully get things back on track.”
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Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.