| Detroit Free Press
Debating Detroit Lions at midseason; what’s on line vs. Washington?
Debating the Detroit Lions’ good and bad at midseason, and what’s on the line vs. Washington this week? Filmed Nov. 12, 2020.
T.J. Hockenson returned to practice on a limited basis Friday, and while the Detroit Lions are hopeful he can play Sunday against Washington, the team has mounting injury concerns on the offensive line.
Both Halapoulivaati Vaitai (foot) and Joe Dahl (back) worked sparingly during the open portion of practice Friday and are questionable to play Sunday.
If neither Vaitai nor Dahl can play, Oday Aboushi would start at right guard against a Washington team that has five former first-round picks on its defensive line and one of the best pass rushes in the NFL.
Dahl sat out last week’s loss to the Minnesota VIkings, and missed three games earlier this season with a groin injury. Vaitai has been in and out of the lineup all season because of a foot injury.
Washington (2-6) leads the NFL in pass defense and ranks second in sack rate, sacking opposing quarterbacks on 11.7% of their pass attempts. Washington has 14 sacks in its two wins, and 13 in its six losses.
“I think one of the things you don’t want to do (against that defense) is get off track,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said. “If you get into bad down-and-distance situations, I think that’s really where you run into a lot of trouble. … (Once you get) to the point where you maybe start to try to push the ball downfield, you do have to hold it, that’s where you just see that really dominant rush come forward and take advantage of those situations. That would be a big key for us.”
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The Lions (3-5) officially ruled wide receiver Kenny Golladay out for a second straight game because of a hip injury he suffered Nov. 1. They’re 0-3 without Golladay this season.
Hockenson returned to practice Friday after sitting out Thursday because of a toe injury, and is one six players, along with Vaitai and Dahl, listed as questionable.
Jamal Agnew (ribs), Jarrad Davis (knee) and Nick Williams (shoulder) also are questionable. Williams did not practice Friday.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.