The Detroit Lions will head into Thursday Night Football without two starting offensive linemen.

And there could be another significant problem waiting in the secondary.

Detroit released its final Week 2 injury report Wednesday, officially ruling out starting left guard Christian Mahogany and starting right tackle Blake Miller for Thursday night’s matchup against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

As if replacing 40 percent of the offensive line on three days of preparation was not enough, starting cornerback D.J. Reed is questionable with a foot injury after being added to the report Tuesday.

That is not the ideal collection of news before walking into Buffalo’s new Highmark Stadium.

The good news? Center Juice Scruggs progressed to a full estimated participant Wednesday, while defensive back Christian Izien was listed as full for the third consecutive day. Neither received a game-status designation on the Lions’ official final injury report.

Detroit Lions Final Week 2 Injury Report

NP: Did Not Participate
LP: Limited Participation
FP: Full Participation

*The Lions conducted walkthroughs Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Participation designations for all three days were estimates.

Lions Will Be Missing Two Starting Offensive Linemen

This went from something to monitor Monday to a legitimate problem Wednesday.

Mahogany and Miller never progressed beyond non-participant status during Detroit’s abbreviated week. Now both are officially out.

Mahogany suffered the injury during the first quarter of Detroit’s 31-30 overtime victory over New Orleans. The Lions initially announced it as a knee injury before eventually listing him with a hip issue.

Dan Campbell had already warned that Thursday could arrive too quickly for Mahogany, even though the organization received encouraging news from his initial testing.

“I don’t think this is something serious long term, but it could be tough to get him ready for Thursday.”

We covered Campbell’s initial Mahogany outlook earlier this week. The long-term prognosis may still be positive.

That does Detroit absolutely no good Thursday night.

Ben Bartch replaced Mahogany after the injury against New Orleans and played the remainder of the game, making him one obvious option at left guard. On the right side, veteran Larry Borom is listed behind Miller on Detroit’s current unofficial depth chart.

Blake Miller Absence Creates Another Major Problem

Miller’s situation might be even more frustrating.

Campbell said earlier this week that Miller appeared to have a better chance of playing Thursday than Mahogany. Instead, the rookie remained a non-participant all three days and has now been ruled out.

Miller won Detroit’s right tackle job after competing with Borom throughout the offseason. The Lions invested a first-round pick in Miller with the expectation that he would help stabilize an offensive line already undergoing major changes.

Now Detroit has to replace him in Game 2.

After being drafted by the Lions, Miller talked about not missing games:

“I honestly don’t know that I’ve missed a game,” Mahogany said. “Definitely not in high school or college. I don’t think in middle school, either.”

Borom does at least bring considerable starting experience. He competed directly with Miller during camp, and Detroit signed him precisely because the roster needed legitimate tackle depth. The Lions had Borom and Miller splitting first-team opportunities throughout much of the offseason.

Still, there is a difference between having depth and wanting to use it against Buffalo.

Detroit’s initial injury report already suggested trouble when three offensive linemen appeared on Monday’s list.

Two of them will not make it to kickoff.

D.J. Reed Status Could Become Enormous

Then there is Reed.

His foot injury appeared out of nowhere Tuesday after he was not listed Monday. Reed remained limited Wednesday and will carry a questionable designation into Thursday night.

Maybe he plays.

Detroit certainly needs him.

The Lions allowed Saints quarterback Tyler Shough to throw for 410 yards and three touchdowns Sunday. Now they get Allen, who opened the season by throwing for 334 yards and two touchdowns while adding two more scores on the ground against Houston.

Losing Reed on top of Detroit’s existing secondary issues would qualify as spectacularly bad timing.

We noted the concern when Reed first appeared on Tuesday’s injury report. Wednesday did not provide the clean bill of health Detroit would have preferred.

Reed remains very much a game-day situation.

Detroit Does Get Two Pieces of Good News

It is not all bad.

Scruggs moved from limited Monday and Tuesday to full participation Wednesday. With Mahogany and Miller already out, having Detroit’s starting center available becomes even more important.

Izien also appears positioned to make his Lions debut after missing Week 1 with a groin injury.

He was listed as a full participant all three days and received no game designation. That matches the optimistic comments surrounding him earlier this week, when Izien said he expected to play Thursday.

We looked at how Izien could give Detroit badly needed secondary help against Buffalo.

If Reed cannot go, that return becomes considerably more important.

Detroit knew Thursday night would be difficult.

The Lions are facing Allen, an explosive Buffalo offense and a Bills defense capable of creating pressure, all on a four-day turnaround.

Now they will do it without two starting offensive linemen.

And they may have to do it without one of their starting cornerbacks.

Welcome to the short week.