Detroit’s defense is straight-up D.E.A.D. last in the entire NFL right now, giving up more points and more yards than any other team through Week 4. Yeah, you read that right. And the wild part? This isn’t just a blip, it’s the second year in a row this unit has been a complete liability, putting the Lions in grave danger of losing every single week, no matter how good their offense might be.
The Numbers Are Screaming For a Change
Seriously, pull any defensive stat out of a hat, and you’ll probably find the Lions chilling at the bottom of the league. After their 32-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers on “Sunday Night Football,” head coach Dan Campbell admitted the defense is a glaring issue. You’d think that would mean some big moves, right? A change in play-calling, maybe even firing second-year coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. But nope. Campbell is holding firm, saying he wants to “exhaust everything” with the current players and coaches. We just saw what “exhaust everything” looks like against the Panthers: Carolina quarterback Bryce Young, already the NFL’s leading passer, padded his lead with a 329-yard performance. Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan had a career night with 14 catches, 192 yards, and two touchdowns, while running back Chuba Hubbard racked up 122 yards and two scores on the ground. This defense has given up at least 24 points to the Panthers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and New Orleans Saints, with the Saints even putting up 30 points in the second half and overtime of their season opener. It’s a full-blown crisis, and the “adjustments” made on the fly over the last year have done squat.
Sticking With “What We’ve Got”
So, what’s Campbell’s plan to fix this mess? Get this. After the Carolina game, he said, “I’m not talking about all that. I’m talking about getting better right now with what we’ve got. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to find a way to get better with what we’ve got. There are other things that we can do. We’ve tweaked a little bit every week here. There’s still some things that we can try that we haven’t yet to try to settle some things down and see if we can help. It’s a work in progress.” A “work in progress” when your defense is getting absolutely gashed every single week? Even linebacker Jack Campbell is out there defending Sheppard, saying, “Shep works hard. Dan believes in him, I believe in him. He’s made of the right stuff. We’re going to get this figured out. We’ve just got to stay the course, stick together. Right now, it’s us versus everybody.” Look, you gotta respect the loyalty, but the results are on the field. Sure, injuries to safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, plus Terrion Arnold’s late-offseason departure, aren’t helping the secondary get off the field. But at some point, “us versus everybody” needs to start translating into “us stopping somebody.”
This stubbornness from Campbell, while maybe admirable in spirit, just feels like a team wasting what could be a real shot at a championship conversation. If they can’t figure out how to get better with “what they’ve got” real fast, this entire season is going to be a long, painful reminder of what could have been.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
Leave a Reply