(Sports Network) - Football is a violent sport that can lead to frustration, injuries and sometimes worse. The Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions can attest to that as they limp into Sunday's matchup from Ford Field.
Both teams are not expected to have their starting quarterbacks in this one, as the continuation of the Kevin Kolb era in Philadelphia will be put on hold due to a concussion suffered in a 27-20 loss versus Green Bay in the season opener. Lions franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford will miss some time as well with a shoulder injury sustained in a Week 1 loss at Chicago.
Kolb's face was planted into the grass by Packers linebacker Clay Matthews and he spent a few plays receiving medical treatment on the sidelines. The Eagles' staff, which garnered mixed reviews for the move, briefly sent him back in action before Michael Vick took over to begin the third quarter and almost led the Eagles to victory.
Kolb, of course, supplanted current Washington Redskin Donovan McNabb as the starting quarterback and is a longshot to play in this week's game.
In compliance with NFL rules, Kolb must go through a series of tests before returning to the field. He failed the second phase of testing before seeing a specialist for an evaluation. According to Eagles head coach Andy Reid, Kolb will not be able to practice until Friday at the earliest.
"I'm going to listen to the experts and I'm going to follow what the protocol is here and that's how I'm going about it," Reid said on the team's site.
Reid is going through the same motions with middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, who also left the loss to Green Bay with a concussion. He too was inserted back into the lineup even after collapsing following a collision with new teammate and former Lions linebacker Ernie Sims.
Eagles center Jamaal Jackson, who made a valiant effort to return from offseason knee surgery, also suffered a season-ending triceps injury in last week's loss. The news wasn't good either for All-Pro fullback Leonard Weaver, who's out for the year with a torn knee ligament.
The Eagles hope their laundry list of injuries doesn't result in their first 0-2 start since the 2007 campaign, when they went 8-8.
Detroit has been through this before, as Stafford went down with a shoulder injury on his non-throwing arm last year. The second-year signal-caller was blind-sided by Bears defensive end Julius Peppers last Sunday and had to be replaced by Shaun Hill in a 19-14 loss.
The setback was accentuated by a controversial play involving Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who had a would-be touchdown in the game's final minute called back for not having possession through the completion. The ball rolled out of his right hand after he hauled in Hill's pass and landed in the end zone.
Lions second-year head coach Jim Schwartz said afterwards he wasn't going to blame the officials for losing a game, citing other areas that led to Detroit's demise in the Windy City. Detroit went 4-for-14 on third down and named Hill the starting quarterback for its home opener versus the Eagles.
"Shaun has a lot of trust in the locker room," Schwartz told the Lions' website. "They know what kind of quarterback he is. I think that the players respect that. That's not a sell job, that's not a massage job. Shaun will go in and lead the team."
In Hill's last three seasons -- all with San Francisco -- he posted a 10-6 record as a starter with a 23-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He was acquired via trade in the offseason and will try to hand the Lions their first home-opening win since 2007.
An improved Detroit defense that added veteran end Kyle Vanden Bosch and rookie tackle Ndamukong Suh made a strong impression against the Bears, save a few big plays from Chicago running back Matt Forte. The Lions held the Bears in check within the red zone last week, but must keep up the pressure versus Philadelphia's young core of offensive weapons.