The Detroit Lions were unable to follow up their impressive Week 1 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs as they fell in their home opener in overtime to the Seattle Seahawks.
Jared Goff had an excellent outing as he threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns, though his costly interception in the fourth quarter gave the Seahawks a 10-point lead.
Detroit managed to rally back and tie things up at 31 apiece and force the game into overtime, though Geno Smith ultimately found Tyler Lockett for their second touchdown of the afternoon to take the victory.
It was a valiant effort from the Lions who managed to go toe-to-toe with the Seahawks, but the defense couldn’t quite get the stops the team needed.
The defense took a hit when CJ Gardner-Johnson hurt what looked like his shoulder on the opening drive of the game, though he was able to return.
However, Gardner-Johnson’s injury is reportedly worse than initially anticipated as he could be out for the remainder of the 2023 NFL season, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
#Lions DB CJ Gardner-Johnson is feared to have suffered a a torn pec in Sunday’s game, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. The playmaker had been a big part of Detroit’s defense. Now out indefinitely, potentially for the season. pic.twitter.com/lpWTKG7rUY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 19, 2023
Losing Gardner-Johnson for the remainder of the year would be a huge blow to Detroit’s secondary as he brought experience and ball-hawking coverage to the unit.
The veteran surprisingly signed a one-year deal with the Lions in free agency after leading the league in interceptions during the 2022 NFL campaign.
He quickly established himself as one of the leaders of the young Detroit roster, but without him on the field the defense could struggle to contain opposing quarterbacks.
