Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell spoke to the media Monday following Detroit's 31-30 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Next up for Detroit is a tough matchup on a short week as the Lions travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills to open their new Highmark Stadium.
Here are all the key questions from Campbell's Monday press conference:
What are the latest injury updates along the offensive line?
Rookie right tackle Blake Miller (knee), center Juice Scruggs (knee) and left guard Christian Mahogany (hip) showed up on Monday’s estimated practice report ahead of Thursday's contest. The Lions conducted a walkthrough Monday, so the player participations were estimates, but Miller and Mahogany were listed as non-participants and Scruggs was listed as limited.
Campbell said Miller has a better chance of being ready to play Thursday than Mahogany.
"It is (a concern)," Campbell said of Miller's knee injury. "But it's also because it's a short week. It's really about how fast can we — it's really about the recovery. What does he look like tomorrow? We're going to know a lot more tomorrow. We really will. It's really hard to say."
Campbell said there's a chance Miller can play Thursday, but the Lions won't know for certain until closer to.
If Miller can't go, swing tackle Larry Borom is likely to fill in.
What did Campbell think of Ben Bartch’s performance Sunday?
The plan going into Sunday's game against the Saints was for Mahogany and Bartch to split reps. Bartch ended up playing most of the game after Mahogany left in the first quarter with the hip injury.
Campbell thought it was an up and down performance for Bartch, but he expects Bartch to continue to build on the positives moving forward. Pro Football Focus credited Bartch with allowing one quarterback hit. He was graded fifth-best among Detroit's offensive linemen in run blocking with a 66.7 run-blocking grade behind Penei Sewell (79.1), Scruggs (75.0), Mahogany (72.6) and Miller (69.3).
Bartch had a holding penalty at the one-yard line late in the game that turned out to be costly.
"He's only going to be better as we keep going here," Campbell said of Bartch. "He's played. He's a veteran in this league. The good was really good and I anticipate that's what we're going to see a lot more of moving forward."
Bartch missed most of training camp due to injury and Campbell thought there was still a little rust he's working through early in the season.
What jumps out to Campbell about Thursday's opponent Buffalo?
"I can't say enough about this quarterback," Campbell said of Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in Buffalo's win over Houston Sunday. "He's the catalyst for them."
The last time the Lions played Allen and the Bills back in 2024, Allen threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns in Buffalo's 48-42 win.
Campbell said defensively for the Bills, it all starts with their defensive line led by Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau and Deone Walker. Rousseau (2) and Walker (1) combined for three sacks against the Texans Sunday. It's an active defense, according to Campbell, and he expects his offense to have their hands full.
How much does Campbell like what his tight ends brought to the offense Sunday?
Sam LaPorta was terrific in both the run and pass game. Just watch Gibbs' first touchdown run of the game at the goal line and what LaPorta did to open that hole.
Brock Wright was also very good blocking in the run game against the Saints. Wright does a lot of the dirty work in the run game week-in and week-out.
LaPorta is such a matchup weapon for this offense, and Campbell is ecstatic to have him back in the mix after he missed the second half of last season due to a back injury.
Does Campbell expect the Bills' offense to copy some of what was successful for the Saints against his defense in Sunday's second half?
This is a copycat league. New Orleans had some success getting Detroit's defense out of position on occasion and a little gassed when they went more up-tempo in the second half.
"We anticipate that," Campbell said. "Buffalo does some of that anyway. They've always done some of those things. That showed up a little bit. It's those things you address, which we have. You understand what you're getting ready to face and why wouldn't they test us there. We would do the same thing. We have to be prepared."
Is there any concern with Jahmyr Gibbs being fully recovered for Thursday after his heavy workload Sunday?
Gibbs had a career-high 34 touches against the Saints, finishing with 185 total scrimmage yards and two touchdowns.
"I just told him, 'Make sure you drink plenty of Gatorade.' Normally about the time you're recovered (from a Sunday game) you're into Day 2 of the work week it's like a Thursday, a third down day. Well, we're humming on that day anyway," Campbell said.
"If this is a normal week by Thursday we'd be going full speed in practice. So, they'll be recovered."
Is there an update on running back Isiah Pacheco?
Campbell said Monday that Pacheco had back surgery and will be out 'a significant amount of time.'
National Insider for ESPN and NFL Network Ian Rapoport reported Monday that Pacheco's recovery could be 12 weeks with a return to the field sometime in early December.