4 critical observations from the Carolina Panthers' loss at Lions in Week 5

Chandler Zavala’s health trumped any scoreline

For a few painstaking minutes on Sunday afternoon, the boisterous crowd at Ford Field fell into a worried silence as medical personnel tended to the stricken Chandler Zavala. When the rookie left guard went down practically untouched and didn’t move, the concern was clear.

The benches of both teams cleared, and many took a knee around the former North Carolina State man.

After seven minutes, Zavala was eventually lifted onto a stretcher and carted off the field. The roar from the crowd that came when he was able to give a thumbs-up, signified the relief felt around the stadium.

Later reports were also positive that after being taken to a local hospital, Zavala had feeling and movement in all his extremities and was alert. It was reported by Frank Reich post-game that he would fly home with the rest of his Carolina Panthers teammates.

While his game status going forward is of course unknown, the positive sign is the player is okay. After the horrid scenes with Damar Hamlin last season, the sight of any player lying face down on the turf and not moving is going to have fans fearing the worst.

Of course, fans are rightly frustrated by the poor play of the team. But it’s moments like this that put things into perspective and remind us that it’s just a game.

These are young men playing an extremely dangerous sport. Quite frankly, the outcome of games isn’t important in the grand scheme of things.