At this rate, I imagine NFL quarterbacks are lining up and screaming: No, I want to play against the Detroit Lions' defense! I need the stats!
Because the Lions' pass defense isn’t just bad. It’s on the pace to be record-settingly awful. The Lions are giving up an NFL-worst 327 yards per game through the air. That’s on pace to be the worst pass defense in NFL history, a record held by the 2011 Green Bay Packers, which allowed 4,988 yards in 16 games, an average of 311.8 yards per game.
So, what is Dan Campbell’s idea on how to fix it?
“We need to get some takeaways on defense,” the Lions coach said on Monday, Oct. 5. “That's going to help out a lot here.”
Yes, that would
help alleviate some stress on the Lions offense, a logical plan and focus, but I’ll address that point in a second. Let’s allow Campbell to finish his plan to fix this mess.
“We've got to play a lot smarter than we are right now in areas, and really across the board,” Campbell continued. “We mentioned the discipline. We've got to get that cleaned up. I have to get that cleaned up.”
Cleaned up?
No. I’d be in a favor of a complete teardown of the back end of the Lions' defense.
Because it stinks. It’s a combination of poor coaching, poor play and poor roster construction – yes, I’m adding Lions GM Brad Holmes to the blame train.
I don’t want to hear about missing players. I don’t want to hear about Kerby Joseph’s knee or Brian Branch’s Achilles tendon or even Terrion Arnold’s trouble with the law (which, by the way, regardless of the arrest, dates back to February). Nothing about this should come as a surprise. The Lions came into this season knowing about those injuries, and Arnold’s pre-trial hearing was in June. The Lions had plenty of time to address the root issues. Like actually finding somebody who could cover a receiver one-on-one.
“Look, there're things we can do defensively that we haven't tried yet,” Campbell said. “And we're still looking at everything that we've got here from our own roster to the practice squad, to people that are here that are playing, to push them at different spots, and then different calls. There’re some other things that we can try.”
The one sliver of good news? Branch could start practicing this week, with an eye toward returning Oct. 25 against the Packers at Ford Field.
Obviously, he would be a huge lift, whenever he can find the field.
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Every QB looks great against Lions
Now, it's understandable when Bills QB Josh Allen shreds the Lions with five touchdowns – three through the air and two with his legs in a 41-31 victory in Week 2.
But these other dudes the Lions have faced? They are stretching the definition of "dude," at least in comparison to Allen.
At least Bryce Young is a former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick. On Sunday, he tore apart the Lions, completing a season-high 70.7% of his passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and a 110.7 rating.
Do you realize how hard it is to do that? How rare that is? It was only the fourth time in Carolina history that a quarterback completed at least 70%, racked up 325 passing yards and added two touchdowns with no interceptions.
“We're not in flow right now, obviously,” Campbell said.
Obviously. But the Lions defense has a disturbing way of making other teams find the most magical flow, making everything look so easy and efficient.
Young completed a career-best 11 passes to begin the game, marking the first time a Panthers quarterback completed the first 11 passes of a game since Teddy Bridgewater in Week 10, 2020, against Tampa Bay.
And it would be so shocking, if we hadn’t seen that before.
Two weeks ago, NY Jets QB Geno Smith – not a Heisman winner, not even a first-round pick – started 7-for-7 against the Lions, tying for the second-best perfect start to a game during his Jets tenure.
Now, consider something else: Smith completed 83.3% of his passes, threw for more than 300 yards, had three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Lions.
Do you realize what he did the following week against the Chicago Bears?
He completed just eight passes (in 15 attempts) for 119 yards in a 23-12 loss to the Bears.
Watch out below: Here comes Geno!
It’s a trend we have seen all season. Quarterbacks rip apart the Lions and then return to Earth the next week.
In the Lions' season opener against New Orleans, Tyler Shough – a 2025 second-round pick whose college career overlapped as a freshman at Oregon with Penei Sewell, who is in his sixth season with the Lions – threw for 410 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions defense. In his next two games, he threw for 507 yards ... combined.
“We may tweak some of this personnel that we've got here a little bit and see if we can mix it up some and then we'll go from there,” Campbell said.
To which I say: Hallelujah.
Because this isn’t working.
Forward down the field... other teams marching on Lions
Perhaps the most frustrating part is watching teams just march down the field against the Lions. Over and over. Forcing the Lions offense to be perfect just to have a chance to win.
In Week 1 vs. the Lions, the Saints scored on five of their last six possessions – the only blemish was a missed field goal and, finally, a missed 2-point conversion in OT.
Last week, the Panthers scored on six consecutive drives for the first time in franchise history.
And it has left Lions coaches searching for answers, just trying to find players who don’t mess stuff up.
“Who are the guys we can hang our hat on?” Campbell asked. “We've got to play much smarter. We really need the dependability of guys doing what they're supposed to do and not blowing a gasket when the real bullets are flying.”
Now, the Lions are about to face Arizona Cardinals (1-3), one of the worst teams in the NFL.
There was a time when you would assume this would be a cake walk. But consider this: The San Francisco 49ers might be the best team in the NFL and they barely squeaked out a 36-30 win over the Cardinals in Week 3. In that game, Arizona QB Jacoby Brissett attempted 52 passes, competing 38 for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
You don’t think he’s licking his chops getting ready to play the Lions defense?
You don’t think he’s thinking: I’m gonna top 300.
“I'm a big believer in we can improve what's here right now,” Campbell said. “And there's a ton of the little things. And it's not just defense, it's us as a team.”
I know we are just four games into this season.
I know the Lions have the offensive talent to beat just about anybody. If they play perfectly.
But the state of this defense is not just a shame, but a stain on all of them. From Holmes to Campbell to the assistants to the players.
Now, let me end with a sliver of hope and why I found it so interesting that Campbell brought up takeaways.
Let’s go back to that 2011 Packers team, which gave up a ton of yards through the air. But they led the NFL with 31 interceptions and finished with a 15-1 record ... because Green Bay had such a prolific offense.
So, it is possible to win while playing bad pass defense, if – and only if – the offense is clicking and the defense creates turnovers.
That seems like the only hope for the Lions at this point.
Which, interestingly enough, was the plan that Campbell laid out on Monday. Now, let's see if they can do it.
Because this defense sure is painful to watch.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Here's the only way Lions will overcome their historically bad pass D
