Detroit Lions Beat Chicago Bears, Matthew Stafford Injured

Injury Report: Stafford injures finger, Ansah leaves and returns

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Matthew Stafford suffered a PIP joint dislocation and torn ligaments in his finger and will need to wear a glove for the rest of the season after hitting his throwing hand on linebacker Leonard Floyd‘s hand in the first quarter. After the game, Stafford confirmed that he would have x-rays on the middle finger of his throwing hand.

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After suffering the injury, Stafford put on the glove, which he wore for the remainder of the game. The glove appeared to affect his throwing ability to some extent, as his passes were visibly less accurate at times and sometimes lacked zip. However, he seemed to acclimate himself by the fourth quarter and looked sharp down the stretch despite the glove.

Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, who has been battling injuries all season, left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and his return was called questionable. Ansah was visibly upset on the sideline, slamming his helmet to the ground. He was checked out by trainers and went to the locker room before returning to the game later in the second half.

Levy sees limited action in return

DeAndre Levy returned from his knee injury on Sunday, playing in his first game action since week one. He started as an outside linebacker in the Lions’ base 4-3 defense and picked up three tackles in five first-half snaps. He saw more playing time in Detroit’s nickel package in the second half and ended up with four total tackles.

Bears plagued by crucial penalties

The Bears committed 11 penalties, a few of which came at critical moments which helped swing the game in the Lions’ favor. A 38-yard pass interference penalty and a third-down illegal contact penalty kept the Lions’ first touchdown drive going, a 13-yard pass interference penalty helped the Lions on their go=ahead touchdown drive and two holding penalties negated big gains on the Bears’ final drive of the game as they attempted to tie the score or take the lead.

Anquan Boldin moves into top ten on all-time receptions list

Anquan Boldin passed Andre Johnson for tenth place on the NFL’s all-time receptions list on Sunday with his 1,063rd career reception, a 16-yard touchdown reception to give the Lions the lead late in the first half. He added one more catch later in the game, finishing with three catches, 49 yards and a touchdown in the game.

With three games left in the regular season, it is not unlikely that Boldin could continue to advance a few more spots on the list before season’s end.