ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions will be without one of their starting pass rushers for Monday Night Football. But the Baltimore Ravens are working through some things on the defensive line, too.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike would not play against the Lions on Monday night. Madubuike has gotten off to a hot start this season, with two sacks and 10 pressures created in two games.
He’s ranked 19th among all interior defenders, ranking second in pressures created at his position, per Pro Football Focus. The two-time Pro Bowler had 13 sacks with a ridiculous 33 quarterback hits in 2023. Madubuike was a second-team All-Pro and ranked inside the top 10 in defensive player of the year voting that season. And while Madubuike’s stats dropped last year, he still posted 6.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits.
On top of that, Ravens edge rusher Kyle Van Noy has not practiced this week. The former 2014 second-round pick of the Lions has taken his game to even greater heights since landing in Baltimore. Through his first two years with the Ravens, Van Noy has 21.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss.
Former second-round pick and Michigan standout David Ojabo could see an increased role if Van Noy is unable to play.
Harbaugh has not stated unequivocally that Van Noy would miss Monday’s game. But with the 34-year-old not practicing while working through a hamstring injury, it’s not a great sign for his status.
“The update that I probably want to give … just that there’s nothing season-ending or long-term,” Harbaugh said earlier this week of Van Noy. “Everything else is either day-to-day, something might stretch into week-to-week, but there’s really no advantage in us sharing that information today for our opponent. So, probably stay away from it.”
For a Lions offensive line that put everything together last week after a tough opener, it presents a much better matchup. Detroit’s offensive line surrendered 12 pressures against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1.
Last week? They gave up only two, with quarterback Jared Goff not getting sacked once.
On Detroit’s side, left tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder) has missed two practices this week. Decker was a full participant on Friday, and then sat out Saturday’s session back in Allen Park. Decker did not practice at all last week and still managed to play every offensive snap until the game went into blowout mode.
The Lions know they’re heading into another tough, rowdy road environment, so every advantage helps. They are confident that the communication issues that doomed them on the road in the opener are a thing of the past, as well.
“Well, you practice in the noise,” Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said on Friday. “You make it hard, you make it loud. I think that helps. The communication, we’ve got to do it in practice, so we feel good about it. And if there’s anything that’s a problem, we just take it out. But that’s the main thing, we’ve been doing that. That’s what you have to do.
“And these guys, listen, they’ve been on the road. We’ve all been on the road. We’re going to be smart in the things that we do, so we don’t have miscommunication. I think that’s important.”