Lions win big but lose LB Alex Anzalone (forearm) for 6-8 weeks

DETROIT — In the midst of their big win, the Detroit Lions suffered another big loss at Ford Field on Sunday.

Linebacker Alex Anzalone, a team captain, will sit out the next six to eight weeks after breaking his forearm in the first half of Detroit’s 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, coach Dan Campbell announced.

Anzalone’s left forearm got tangled up on a play when teammate Brian Branch pushed Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. off the field late in the second quarter.

Anzalone was officially ejected at the start of the second half, but the defense did not give up a point in the third and fourth quarters as the offense produced a franchise-best 645 yards of total offense.

“Thank you all for the well wishes! As an athlete, many times you think “Why did this happen?” But I like to think about all the countless repetitions that nothing bad happened. I’m overwhelmed I’m back on no time, fresh legs and all,” Anzalone sent to X after the match.

The Lions, meanwhile, handed the Jaguars their biggest loss in franchise history.

“The reality was they’re a team with less wins than us and we could have played down to our competition in some ways and – no disrespect to them, they’re a hell of a team – but we wanted to play our standard — nameless, faceless opponent,” said Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who became the first QB in NFL history to have multiple games with a perfect passer rating (158.3) and 400 passing yards. “It’s not just them, it’s every week.

“I think we wanted to come out and stay on the gas the whole game, no matter what happened. If it had been a closer game, we still would have stayed on the gas.”

Anzalone joins Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (shin and fibula), linebacker Derrick Barnes (knee), linebacker/special teams ace Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck), defensive linemen Marcus Davenport (triceps) and John Cominsky (torn MCL) as key members of the defense who have been sidelined by injury.

The Lions have now scored 50-plus points in multiple games in a season for the first time in franchise history and are off to their best start since 1934 at 9-1.

During Sunday’s victory, the Lions also set franchise marks in margin of victory (46 points), totaled first downs (38) and scored a touchdown on seven consecutive offensive drives.

Over the last 45 seasons, the only team to score a touchdown on more consecutive offensive drives in a game than Detroit versus Jacksonville was the 1980 Chicago Bears, who scored a touchdown on eight straight drives on December 7, 1980 vs. Green Bay. Packers in a 61-7 victory.

It’s the latest example of why Campbell says this season’s Lions offense, at its best, is as good as some of the best offenses in NFL history, such as the St. Louis Rams’ “The Greatest Show on Turf” team from 1999 to 2001.

“I think we have that ability. I really do. I think we have that ability,” Campbell said. “To me, we have everything we need to be potent, and like I say, I feel like we’re well-rounded.”

Goff was the conductor of the offense as he finished 24-of-29 for 412 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions for a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a bounce-back game.

He also says this team has the ability to become one of the greatest offenses in league history after setting multiple records. Goff said it was something the team discussed during the summer.

“Yeah, we’ve got that ability, definitely. We’ve got to make it another — I don’t know how many games left in the year now — eight, nine, regular season. Yeah, we got some work to do still, but we definitely have that ability,” Goff said. “I think that’s kind of been something we talked about in the offseason is history and how big we can be.”