Lions punter Sam Martin after hospitalization: 'I'll be playing'

Martin was injured while covering a downside in the third quarter, when he was stranded by Bears receiver Joshua Bellamy.

He remained momentarily on the ground on all the after-the-game fasts, but went to the sideline under his own power and stayed in the game.

After the game, Martin was taken by ambulance to a Chicago-area hospital, where he was examined and discharged. He flew home with the team.

"It was precautionary, I'm not good." No story here, "Martin said Monday. "It was just something alarming that I just went to check out.

NFL Network reported Martin was coughing up blood at one point Sunday.

He has been "100 percent" comfortable with how the Lions handled the situation.

"I'm fine," Martin said. "I'll be playing Sunday. Cool?"

Martin, a Pro Bowl alternate in 2016, is netting a career-low 36.6 yards per punt this season, though that is a product of poor punt coverage early in the year.

The Lions rank last in the league in punt-return average allowed (20.4 yards per return) and have committed 17 special-teams penalties this season. Last week, they fired special-teams coordinator Joe Marciano.

But in a bright spot for the unit, Martin executed a perfect onside kick Sunday to set the Lions' final touchdown.

Martin said the coverage unit, led by Charles Washington and Nick Bellore, "ran (the play) perfectly" and it "was more recovering than the kick, really."

"Obviously we're starting to get punt unite, so we're just trying to dig ourselves out of this hole every game," Martin said. "Just doing what we can." The coverage team is getting better, I'm doing my best to give you the best kicks for those guys and get the same thing with kickoff. We're doing better everything, we're getting better, we're getting better, everything is better. "