LATROBE, Pa. -- Josh Bynes was lying on the ground, almost like a turtle knocked onto his back, during team drills. It wasn’t clear how he got there.

Seconds later, the Detroit Lions linebacker was in the middle of a scuffle with some Pittsburgh Steelers. It was one of the few times the teams mixed it up with extracurricular activities during their two-day joint practices, which concluded Wednesday night.

For the most part, it was good work, and both teams seemed pleased with the professional way players handled things. The Bynes flareup was one of two on Wednesday, the other coming after Adam Fuehne was hit hard by Pittsburgh safety Jordan Dangerfield after catching a touchdown pass from Dan Orlovsky.

Fuehne, who has Dangerfield by about 8 inches, verbally sparred with him briefly toward the end of practice, but it was quickly broken up.

“You can see the intensity level was up right from the start, with special teams drills all the way through,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said.

The added intensity helped make Wednesday night’s practice a bit more physical than the one Tuesday. There was more hitting, more talking to each other. But for the most part, it appeared to be friendly competition. There were no massive dustups, and the skirmishes seemed like what might happen during an intrasquad training camp scrimmage as well.

And the Lions were pretty happy with the work they got in over the two days in Pennsylvania leading up to Friday’s preseason opener.

“We had a good day today, everybody did,” defensive end Ezekiel Ansah said. “I’m glad it’s over.”

Here are some other thoughts from Wednesday’s practice:

1. Jon Bostic could be out a while: The Lions linebacker, whom general manager Bob Quinn acquired in an offseason trade, was carted off the field during individual drills with what appeared to be a leg injury. I didn’t see the injury occur -- there’s a lot happening on multiple fields, with both teams practicing -- but Bostic’s face did not give an indication that this would be a quick-healing thing.

Caldwell all but confirmed that after practice. “It’s not a couple-day thing,” he said. “That’s for certain.”

2. Rafael Bush returned and had a good day: The Lions' strong safety missed Tuesday’s practice due to the birth of his second child, a daughter, in North Carolina. He spent a couple of hours with his new baby and his wife before boarding a plane for Pittsburgh. He went right into meetings that night, then right to practice the next day. Why not take a couple of extra days to be with his family? He missed essentially all of last season in New Orleans with an injury and saw the joint practices as beneficial. Had he not been hurt in 2015 and had it been a Lions-on-Lions practice, he might have stayed away for another day. He had a good return to the field, breaking up a pass in the end zone that Landry Jones intended for Sammie Coates.

3. Nevin Lawson got a test: With Darius Slay out with a “medical situation,” the matchup with Antonio Brown was often left to Lawson. He hung in a bit, but there were times where Brown had him beat. Again, that shouldn’t be a surprise considering Brown is one of the top receivers in the league. On one play, Lawson had extremely good coverage and Brown still caught the ball, but he was out of the back of the end zone. It was an amazing catch by Brown and good coverage by Lawson. The Lions should take that. Darrin Walls got most of the No. 1 reps opposite Lawson with Slay out.

4. Brandon Copeland is making progress: He’s a guy who continually pops up in my notes on a daily basis. He’s added some moves to his pass-rushing arsenal and appears to be much more comfortable at defensive end. He got some first-team work opposite Devin Taylor in 11-on-11 drills when the Lions capped Ansah’s reps in practice Wednesday. He also beat NFL veteran Ryan Harris swiftly in individual drills and was strong while running two-man games that both teams did Tuesday and Wednesday. He also appeared to have a sack late in team drills, although the play was not blown dead. He’ll be a player to pay attention to the rest of the preseason.

5. Tahir Whitehead struggled in coverage: The Lions need DeAndre Levy back, not only for his tackling ability but for his coverage skills. Whitehead is a good hitter and smart run defender, but there were times he looked overmatched against Pittsburgh’s tight ends. Jesse James caught a touchdown over Whitehead in the end zone from Ben Roethlisberger, and there were multiple times the Steelers went right at the middle of the field and Whitehead. Again, this was just one practice, but it's something to keep an eye on.

5. This and that: TJ Jones returned to practice but wasn’t spotted doing much at all, other than wearing a helmet and pads. After practice, he deferred all injury questions to Caldwell. … Eric Ebron again declined to answer questions from the media, saying, “Y’all just don’t leave me alone. It’s worthless [to ask].” Lions players have consistently deflected injury questions to Caldwell all training camp. … After a play on which he was stopped short of the end zone, Steelers receiver Antonio Brown punted the ball toward the crowd.