Although the Lions won in Week 10, they had to dig out of a 16-point halftime hole. Left tackle Taylor Decker, who missed the game due to a shoulder injury, took his absence and the team’s performance without him hard.
“I felt personally responsible for the first half of that game, and I am not saying that jokingly,” Decker said Wednesday, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Like I felt really bad, even though I know it was in my best interest and the team’s best interest to sit that one out. Just when you’re not out there with your guys, especially when it’s guys that you’ve played with as much as I’ve played with some of these guys on offense, yeah, it’s a guilty feeling. It really is.”
Decker said he’s been dealing with a few minor injuries in recent weeks. The rotator cuff injury happened during practice last week, and it knocked him out of action against the Texans.
He hopes to keep his absences to a minimum, even if the smarter play might be to sit out and be healthy for the stretch run.
“[U]ltimately if you leave it up to the player, I mean nine times out of 10 they’re going to play even if they shouldn’t,” Decker said. “And every game’s important to me. I mean, we only get to play 17 and all things are pointing to us being in the playoffs of course.”
Indeed they are. Coach Dan Campbell already has counted the remaining games at 11 — eight in the regular season, two in the NFC playoffs, and the Super Bowl. And Decker will obviously do all he can to avoid missing another one.