Detroit

Lions

The worst was confirmed on Friday, just hours after earlier reports said that the Lions feared an Achilles injury for Branch. The third-year safety will now miss the remainder of the season as he looks to undergo surgery and rehab to be ready in time for the start of next season. Branch appeared in 12 games for the Lions this season, totaling 75 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and nine pass breakups. He will enter 2026 in the final year of his rookie contract.

Pelissero didn’t speculate on the severity of Branch’s Achilles injury, but said the star safety “will have further tests this morning.” We tend to know where things go from here, but we’ll let them play out and hope for the best. Branch was injured in the fourth quarter on a play that took place in the end zone and remained down for several minutes while being tended to by the training staff. He eventually made his way to the sideline with help and was later carted to the locker room. Branch has started all 12 games he’s appeared in this season for the Lions, totaling 75 tackles. 2.5 sacks, and nine pass breakups. Veteran Avonte Maddox is in line to replace Branch while for however long he is out.

Bates’ longest field goal on the day came on a 47-yarder late in the second quarter. The field goal came only a few minutes after Bates took a hard hit on a kick return and appeared to briefly get checked out by the medical staff. Bates has attempted seven field goals in his last three games and will remain a high-end fantasy option in Week 15 against the Rams.

Even with Amon-Ra St. Brown in the lineup, Williams managed to tie for the team lead with nine targets and narrowly edged out ARSB in receiving yards. Williams has now totaled 240 yards through the air over the last two weeks. A solid fantasy day could have been made better had Williams managed to score on a seven-yard run that came up a yard short of the end zone. Despite a strong two weeks, Williams remains a volatile play for fantasy managers, but things have been mostly good as of late. He’s gone for 66 or more receiving yards in five of his last six games and scored in four of those games. He’ll be on the WR2/WR3 fantasy radar for Week 15 against the Rams.

A week after having his ankle rolled up on, the Sun God was back on the field against the Cowboys and didn’t appear to miss a beat. St. Brown was targeted on the opening play of the game and hauled in two passes of 25-plus yards to help lead an explosive passing game all night. St. Brown’s biggest play of the game came late in the fourth quarter when he ripped off a 37-yard gain to help set up Jahmyr Gibbs for a 10-yard score on the following play. St. Brown turned in an impressive showing on Thursday night given the circumstances and now has over a week to rest up before Week 15’s game against the Rams.

Were it not for a 35-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, Montgomery’s day would have looked much worse for fantasy managers. Montgomery’s score came on one of the more physical runs you’ll see this season, as the veteran back shed two tacklers before breaking into the secondary before outrunning the Cowboys’ defense on the way to the end zone. Montgomery has now scored in back-to-back weeks, but the yardage total remains a concern. The 60 rushing yards he posted on Thursday were his most since Week 10 against the Commanders. He’ll remain a volatile flex play in Week 15 against the Rams.

All three of Gibbs’ scores came on the ground, but Gibbs was largely bottled up on the ground. Gibbs saw 19 of his 43 rushing yards come on a 19-yard run in the first quarter, but the versatile speedster ripped off 77 yards through the air while hauling in all seven of his targets. Gibbs’ third and final touchdown on the day, which officially put the game out of reach, gave him 47 for his career, tying hall of famers Barry Sanders and Randy Moss for the most touchdowns by a player before they turn 24. Gibbs doesn’t turn 24 until March and is on pace to shatter that record. It’s possible he’ll stand alone in that category next week when he faces the Rams in Week 15, where he will be a high-end RB1.

On a night that saw the Lions score four times on the ground, Goff aired it out for his second 300-yard game of the season while leading three pass-catchers to 75-plus yards on the day. Goff saw five of his receptions go for 25 or more yards on the day, with his longest throw coming on a 37-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown that helped set up a touchdown run by Jahmyr Gibbs on the following play to put the game out of reach. Goff’s lone touchdown pass on the day came in the third quarter on a 12-yard throw to rookie Isaac TeSlaa, who nearly hauled in another touchdown later in the day. It wasn’t the biggest fantasy day for Goff, but he did everything we expected against a porous Cowboys secondary. The Lions continue to fight for their playoff lives and now draw a tough Week 15 matchup against the Rams, where he will profile as a fringe QB1.

St. Brown was unable to practice this week after injuring his ankle last Thursday against the Packers. While he possesses some re-injury risk, he was moving very well during warmups and should be started against the Cowboys this evening. The Lions declared S Kerby Joseph, WR Kalif Raymond, OG Kayode Awosika, TE Hayden Rucci, DL Mekhi Wingo and DL Tyler Lacy inactive for Week 14 against the Cowboys. Lions RT Penei Sewell (shoulder), LT Taylor Decker (shoulder/rest) and C Graham Glasgow (knee) are active.

The Lions will announce the official inactive list shortly, but for now, it appears as though they will have their star slot receiver on the field for their Thursday Night Football game against the Cowboys. St. Brown should be in fantasy lineups if active.