Lions' Darius Slay survives injury scare in first quarter

Detroit — It didn’t take long for the Detroit Lions to face their first injury scare of the regular season.

During Monday night’s season opener against the New York Jets at Ford Field, All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay briefly exited the game after taking an inadvertent shot to the head and neck area by defensive end Ziggy Ansah in the first quarter.

The play occurred on a second-and-10 at the Lions’ 17 during New York’s third drive of the game. Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold threw a short pass to receiver Quincy Enunwa and Slay came down to make the tackle. But that led to a collision with Ansah’s hip hitting the right side of Slay’s helmet.

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Slay laid down on the field for a few minutes before getting up and walking off under his own power with 5:36 left in the first. Slay went straight to the locker room and was replaced by Teez Tabor at corner.

The Jets scored two plays later on a 6-yard run by Isaiah Crowell to tie it at 7 with 4:26 left in the first. 

The Lions announced Slay was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return, which he did on the next series.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

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