Lions lose two key defensive players just as they face tough stretch of games

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions are 2-1 thanks to a defense that has made up for a shaky start from what was expected to be a high-scoring offense.

The Lions are averaging just 18.7 points in regulation and have scored only three points in the fourth quarter. That's why, eight months after their run to the NFC Championship game, they are lucky to have any wins. They needed a late field goal to force overtime in a 26-20 Week 1 victory over Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams.

They lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, then held on for an ugly 20-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Jared Goff threw an apparent pick-6 late in the game, but the officials ruled the two-minute warning came before the snap.

That defense has been crucial, and that's not likely to change with games coming up against Seattle, Dallas and Minnesota.

On Monday, fans found out the Lions will go into those games without two key members of that defense.

Coach Dan Campbell announced that defensive end Marcus Davenport will miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury and linebacker Derrick Barnes will miss a “significant amount of time” with a knee injury.

“We're still getting second opinions on Barnes, and those will be coming in for a while,” Campbell said. “He's going to be down for a little while to heal, but is he going to need surgery?”

Davenport, a free agent signing from the Vikings, has played an important role as the No. 2 defensive end alongside Aidan Hutchinson. His ability to pressure quarterbacks meant offensive coordinators couldn't focus entirely on stopping Hutchinson.

Levi Onwuzurike, who can play defensive tackle and end, will get a lot of reps in Davenport's spot, as will third-year end Josh Pascal.

“This is going to be big for (Paschal),” Campbell said. “He's going to take a load over there. He continues to grow and we're going to need him to step up.”

Barnes has been Detroit's best linebacker, and there's no obvious candidate to replace him on the strong side. Ben Niemann did it on Sunday, but he has spent most of his time at the other linebacker spots.

“We have a lot of depth, and we trust every player,” Campbell said. “It's going to hurt losing Barnes, because he's playing at a high level, but if it has to happen, the linebacker room gives us faith, because all those guys can play.”

That will be important in the tough stretch coming up.

The Lions haven't scored as much as they need to, but the run game has picked up where it left off last season. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs have combined for 438 rushing yards and another 130 receiving. They've scored five of Detroit's seven touchdowns.

NFL teams have been throwing shorter passes this season, thanks to the resurgence of two-deep coverages, but the Lions have taken it too far. Goff has completed 59 passes to his top five receivers — Gibbs, Montgomery, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta — but they have been caught an average of just 4.9 yards past the line of scrimmage.

Jack Fox is averaging 49.5 yards per punt with a long of 68, and has pinned the opposition inside the 20 eight times. He punted five times against the Cardinals at an average of 49.4 yards and Arizona's average starting position was their own 8.

After finally flashing his big-play ability in the first two games of the season, Williams touched the ball twice against the Cardinals for 2 yards. He needs to become a deep threat that opens up St. Brown underneath.

The Lions lost several players on Sunday, although Davenport and Barnes were the most serious injuries. Playmaking safety Brian Branch is in concussion protocol, LaPorta sprained an ankle, defensive tackle Alim McNeill hurt a shoulder and cornerback Terrion Arnold sustained a knee injury. All are listed as day-to-day, and they could benefit from an extra day of rest before Monday night's game against the Seahawks.

3 — The number of consecutive years the Lions have lost to the Seahawks. In a fluke of scheduling, this will be the third straight season the teams play at Ford Field in the first four weeks of the season — Detroit lost 48-45 in Week 4 in 2022 and 37-31 in overtime in last year's Week 2.

Figure out a way to slow down the Seattle offense. The Seahawks have averaged 45.3 points in their three recent victories over Detroit, with Russell Wilson and Geno Smith going a combined 75 of 100 for 884 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions.

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Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) rushes for a first down as Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis III (23) defends during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) is hit by Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (97) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) reacts to his interception of a Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray pass during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch (32) breaks up a pass intended for Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Greg Dortch (4) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Detroit Lions head coach Dave Campbell talks to the media after an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired one of his most senior officials Wednesday as corruption investigators named a deputy head of the presidential office among the suspects in a money-laundering case.

The stunning developments came a day after Ukraine’s recently fired defense minister demanded national elections, despite Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion.

Although Zelenskyy was not implicated in the graft investigation, it threatened to pull him into another political crisis and provide another test of his resilience.

Investigators gave few details of the probe. It has identified a group of people alleged to have laundered 150 million hryvnias ($3.4 million) to pay bail for a defendant in a major graft case last year, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau said.

That case, involving the state-owned nuclear power company, brought the resignations of Ukraine’s justice and energy ministers.

The latest suspects include a former lawmaker, the chairperson of a state bank’s board and the head of the bank’s supervisory board, as well as a deputy head of the presidential office, the agency said.

Zelenskyy made no public comment on the investigation but issued a decree dismissing Iryna Mudra as deputy head of the Office of the President. Investigators have not named her as a suspect.

Investigators searched Mudra’s office Wednesday, said lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko.

Zelenskyy remains dogged by high-level graft investigations, although he has never been named as a suspect even as the probes have engulfed officials close to him. Last year, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak resigned and later was named as a suspect in a major graft probe involving a luxury construction project in the biggest threat to Zelenskyy’s government since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The European Union has identified deep-seated corruption as one of the major hurdles to Ukraine's desired membership in the bloc.

Zelenskyy is already under pressure over his firing last month of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, one of the longest-standing members of his team and a close ally since helping him win the 2019 presidential election.

Zelenskyy, seeking to reconcile tensions between the Defense Ministry's young and tech-savvy innovators and Ukraine's seasoned, Soviet-trained battlefield leaders, risked angering both sides by reshuffling his wartime leadership. He ousted both Fedorov, whose changes to military procurement aimed to stamp out corruption, and commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.

That sparked sustained street protests supporting Fedorov. For Zelenskyy, it was the second time in a year that a move triggered a strong public backlash, after he tried to curb the powers of anti-corruption agencies in 2025.

Fedorov, in an address posted to YouTube late Tuesday, called for elections — appearing to directly confront Zelenskyy, whose term expired in 2024. Ukraine's constitution prohibits such a vote under martial law.

“We must find a legal, safe and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war,” Fedorov said.

He said Ukraine faces a crisis in how it is governed, arguing the current system is oriented toward protecting itself and resisting change. He also condemned corruption among officials without naming anyone, saying it had weakened Ukraine’s ability to fight.

Zelenskyy’s office did not immediately comment on Fedorov’s address. It was not immediately clear whether Fedorov's appeal would resonate with Ukrainians.

Also on Wednesday, lawmakers approved Zelenskyy's candidate, Maj. Gen. Yevhenii Khmara, as the new defense minister, a move that effectively closes the door to Fedorov’s return to the post, which he has sought, anytime soon.

Lawmakers also gave their consent for Andrii Sybiha to stay on as foreign minister after serving in an interim role.

The political disarray follows recent successes for Ukraine in the war. Using innovative drone technology, it has repeatedly hit Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages. It has also shocked the Russian public by striking warehouses of Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer, and stalled front-line advances by Moscow's bigger army.

But Zelenskyy has been unable to get traction in U.S.-led peace efforts, and Ukraine is at the mercy of Russia's ballistic missiles because more U.S.-made Patriot interceptors aren't available due to low international stockpiles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has balked at negotiating a peace deal directly with Zelenskyy.

In its latest attack, a Ukrainian drone hit an oil refinery in Ufa in Russia's Bashkortostan, its Gov. Radiy Khabirov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. There are three oil refineries in Ufa, and all have been attacked.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 453 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions, as well as Russian-held Crimea and the Black Sea.

It said Russian forces on Tuesday hit a bulk carrier in the Black Sea, southeast of Odesa, that was carrying military equipment. On Wednesday, the Russian military struck what it said were fuel and lubricant storage tanks for the Ukrainian armed forces in the southern port of Chornomorsk.

A Russian drone struck a minibus in Kherson in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing four people, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration, adding that four women were wounded. Another Russian drone struck a civilian car in the regional capital, killing a woman, he said.

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine swapped 103 prisoners of war, according to Zelenskyy and the Russian Defense Ministry.

Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A woman reacts as she looks at charred books after a fire at the country's biggest book market, caused by a recent Russian missile attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukrainian FP-1 long-range attack drones are seen moments before launch by the 413th Separate Regiment of Unmanned Systems "Raid" on a deep-strike drone mission to hit Russian targets deep in their territory, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukrainian soldiers smoke and talk to their relatives after returning from captivity after a Prisoners of War (POWs) exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The National Music Academy, right, is reflected on a metro entrance at Independence square where Ukrainian flags and photographs are placed in memory of civilians and soldiers killed during the war with Russia, in central Kyiv, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Ukrainian soldiers speak to their relatives after returning from captivity after a Prisoners of War (POWs) exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People sing and hold up their cell phone flashlights during a rally to protest the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine's Defense Minister in Kyiv, late Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People stand still for a minute of silence during a rally to protest against the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine's Defense Minister in Kyiv, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People march during a rally to protest the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine's Defense Minister in Kyiv, late Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

FILE - Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov speaks to journalists during a joint press conference with Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, file)