The Detroit Lions won their Thursday Night Football contest against the Dallas Cowboys, but they lost star safety Brian Branch midway through the contest. Now 8-5 and sitting in third place in the NFC North, the Lions must continue their playoff push without their star safety. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Branch suffered an Achilles injury and will not return this season.
Brian Branch Injury Update: Lions Star Safety Tears Achilles, Out For Season
This is a devastating blow for the Detroit Lions, as Brian Branch was one of the team’s best defenders before this injury. Selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Alabama product quickly became a key piece of the Lions secondary and earned a Pro Bowl birth in 2024. He was on pace to do it again in 2025, recording 2.5 sacks, 75 tackles, five tackles-for-loss, five quarterback hits, and a 77.5 PFF grade, the eighth-best mark in the league, entering Thursday Night Football.
With Brian Branch out for the season with his Achilles injury, the Detroit Lions already-susceptible defense becomes that much weaker. While the offense has performed well since head coach Dan Campbell took over playcalling duties, the defense remains questionable. As of this posting, the unit ranks 15th in defensive EPA/play allowed and 16th in EPA/pass allowed. These numbers probably won’t improve with their best member of the secondary sidelined.
With their win, Detroit currently owns the unofficial eighth seed in the playoff race and would be out of the postseason if the season began tomorrow. Fortunately, it doesn’t, and NFL.com gives the Lions a 54% chance of making the playoffs. As of this posting, they’re a game behind the 9-4 San Francisco 49ers for the seventh seed, who have a bye in Week 14.
Main Photo: Junfu Han – Imagn Images
