NFL Suspends Lions-Falcons Game Due to Major Player Injury

Friday’s preseason matchup between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons was shaping up to potentially have an exciting finish, but disaster struck early in the fourth quarter that saw the game suspended by the NFL.

After trailing 10-7 at halftime, the Lions stormed back to take a 17-10 lead after a Jake Bates 57-yard field goal and Kyle Allen touchdown pass in the third quarter to set up what could have been an intriguing fourth quarter.

But on the Falcons’ final drive of the game, Lions cornerback Morice Norris went down with a scary injury that led to him leaving the stadium in an ambulance. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later confirmed Norris had suffered head and neck injury.

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“We have a slight update — Morice Norris was just lifted up into the ambulance and Dan Campbell brought his team together and is now addressing his team,” announcer Justin Kutcher said on the broadcast, via On3. “We have not seen any movement out of Morice Norris and our cameras really couldn’t get much of a view as they had so many personnel around him trying to take the best care possible.

“But there was kind of a chilling moment – it gave you goosebumps – where as they got Morice Norris up (on the backboard), his entire team began to run out onto the field and make like a semi-circle. … Because all these guys want is to see something from their teammate to know he’s OK.”

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According to The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy, Lions and Falcons players joined hands on the field near the 50-yard line and let the game clock wind down. Eventually both teams agreed to suspend the game with 6:19 left, giving the Lions the win.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris explained why both teams made the decision not to resume the game.

“It was tough to watch, it was tough for the other team to see, getting a teammate hurt that way,” Morris said, via On3. “It was the right thing to do for (lions head coach) Dan (Campbell) and his team, and everything they had going on. I thought it was the right thing (to do)… It was just common ground, common courtesy. Just didn’t like the look of it.”

Hours after the game ended, Bleacher Report’s James Palmer gave an update on Norris’ condition.

“UPDATED STATEMENT FROM THE DETROIT LIONS: Morice Norris is in stable condition and has feeling and movement in all his extremities,” Palmer posted on X. “He will remain at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta overnight for observation.”

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