Lions postgame report after season finale win over Bears
A healthy win to start 2026
With the Lions deciding not to rest anybody for the season finale, I (along with most Lions fans) had all my fingers crossed the entire game hoping for safe passage into 2026.
Upon hearing that Chris Hubbard was starting at RT in place of Penei Sewell, I then had to cross all my toes for Jared Goff’s life having never heard the name Chris Hubbard before.
Fortunately, the New Year did bring good tidings as the Lions emerged from the game healthy and beat the Bears. While there were minimal injuries, there were quite a few interesting tidbits (included below).
Christian Mahogany (1q 12:20) - Left hand
Mahogany appears to get the backside of his hand banged on a block. He came off and missed 3 plays, but returned to finish the game.
I’m suspecting a simple contusion, but he’ll surely have imaging to rule out a fracture. Aggravating a pre-existing injury is also possible here. Regardless, there is minimal long-term concern.
Tom Kennedy - Ribs
Kennedy was reported by the team with a rib injury in the 4th quarter. I didn’t find anything of note on video. He did have a kickoff return in the early 4th quarter that looked benign.
TIDBITS
Amon-Ra St. Brown
I was concerned about ARSB playing on an injured knee and ankle, but he got through the game without issue and put up a massive statline of 11 receptions for 139 yards.
Mekhi Wingo
This 2nd-year player was active for the 1st time since the Week 2 win over the Bears (apparently he is only allowed to play against the Bears). He looked sprightly all game which included an impressively quick win for an interior pressure in the 3rd quarter.
For a Lions team that desperately needed interior pass rush all season, it makes you wonder why Wingo was a gameday inactive for 14 games. Maybe he was still having residual knee issues from his 2024 meniscus injury, but there was no sign of a problem vs the Bears.
Aidan Hutchinson
Thankfully, Hutch switched up his sack dance to one that is much less cool… but poses much less risk to his ACL’s. Worth it.
Taylor Decker
Decker’s postgame locker room interview revealed many of the treatments he has been using during the season:
corticosteroid injections
PRP injections
gel injections
red light therapy
acupuncture
hyperbaric O2
stim machine
I’ll have more thoughts on all his injury issues soon in a separate article.
Dan Skipper
Like Decker, Skipper stated postgame that he was considering retirement. A potentially chronic back problem would make it tough to play at age 31, much less run precise routes like this…