One of the only things that’ll leave a sour taste in the mouths of Alabama football fans after Saturday night is the team’s injury report.

The Crimson Tide completed its best overall performance of the year in a 42-28 win over LSU. Jalen Milroe outplayed a Heisman Award contender and the defense stymied the country’s best offense. Yet, by the fourth quarter, a few of Alabama’s key players had taken off their pads and watched injured from the sidelines while their teammates closed it out.

Defensive back and UAB transfer Jaylen Key exited with a quad injury in the first quarter after he fell to the ground trying to break up a deep pass. Interior linebacker Deontae Lawson had his left leg in a walking boot after getting juked out by LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels near the UA sideline in the third quarter. Wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks was spotted on the bench with his left arm in a sling.

Alabama (8-1, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) head coach Nick Saban was asked about Key and Lawson postgame.

“I don’t know how bad the injuries are til they do MRIs and all that kind of stuff,” said Saban, “I can’t tell you more than that.”

The Tide used more of Trey Amos and Kristian Story once Key departed. Star defensive back Malachi Moore appeared to play more safety in the second half, pushing boundary cornerback Terrion Arnold inside to star, or the nickel cornerback role. Jihaad Campbell mostly filled in for Lawson, as did Trezmen Marshall. Brooks has been mainly a special teams player this fall.

Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels, who entered with LSU averaging 47.4 points a game, was limited to 219 yards on 15-of-24. He also ran the ball for 163 yards, a career-high, on 11 attempts with three total touchdowns. Overall, LSU produced 478 yards of offense, ending a run of seven straight games with 500 yards of offense.

“This group of guys has shown tremendous resiliency to keep working to improve. I think they trust the coaches, they respect that we’re trying to do to help them be better players,” Saban said. ” … We just gotta try to keep doing that. We got a lot of guys nicked up today, hopefully, it’ll be an opportunity for somebody else to step up.”

Alabama hits the road next week to Kentucky for an 11 a.m. kickoff and a chance to book a trip to the SEC championship in its grasp.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].