5 losers (and 2 winners) from the Lions' defensive disaster in Week 4

The Detroit Lions should heavily consider requesting an even earlier bye week after their latest loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Their Week 4 performance, which lands them at 2-2 on the year and in a tie for last place with the Green Bay Packers, was nothing short of embarrassing.

Take your pick from a long list of errors that led to the 32-36 loss - the multiple penalties that killed potential scoring drives, Bryce Young's ability to pick apart the lack of any slot coverage from Detroit, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard's insistence on blitzing Young when he just kept taking advantage of it, or the sputtering offense in crunch time.

There were plenty of losers from this loss, but two winners that deserve some praise amid the slander.

5 losers (and 2 winners) from another embarassing Lions loss

Loser: The Lions' coaching staff

This might've been one of the worst coached games the Lions have had, across the board, in a very long time. Obviously, Sheppard has to get his lumps here first. He seems to have no firm grasp on how to coach his linebackers (concerning considering that was his job prior to his promotion, and he is a former linebacker), or how to work with the personnel available to him in the secondary.

Again, he can only work with who he has, but it's been a grind to watch him attempt to pull the right levers in coverage to get completely blown up by basically any quarterback with a pulse and any wide receiver with some speed and length.

Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing had a mostly good game for the Lions, although he had a strange call on 4th and 20 in the second half - a hook and ladder to Jahmyr Gibbs that led to a turnover on downs. And, of course, there's a lack of discipline that points to Petzing, fairly or not, with so many penalties on the offensive line hurting their field positioning.

Dan Campbell has to take some blame here, too. He did the right thing last year by taking over play-calling from John Morton when it was obvious that he was not built to manage the Lions' offense, but he's finding himself in the same predicament this season with Sheppard, another internal hire that he continues to vouch for.

Winner: Jake Bates

Bates was 4-4 on field goals on the night, and you can't really ask for more out of the Lions' starting kicker. He helped to keep things close, but the rest of the team and their offense couldn't capitalize in crunch time. Still, a perfect night and your longest kick being a 54 yarder is nothing to sneer at. Kudos to him.

Loser: D.J. Reed (or, the only "adult" in the room)

Reed was one of the Lions' big-name signings last year in free agency, with the cornerback coming off some great years with the New York Jets. Since arriving in Detroit, though, he's either been underwhelming on the field or injured. After a hamstring injury kept him out for much of 2025, he's been a lot less explosive in coverage and a lot less intimidating as a tackler.

It sucks to see, especially since he's the only "adult" in the secondary, as it were. He came into the season expected to be CB1, and he got that job again, but he's been just as bad as the rest of the secondary. When your best player, and your only actual starter, is struggling to contain opponents' top receivers, you're in a lot of trouble. He was the Lions' main defender on Tetairoa McMillan and...yeah. That didn't work out very well.

Winner: Isaac TeSlaa

After a concerningly quiet and drop-filled preseason, TeSlaa has stepped up for the Lions as a firm option at WR3. He finished up this game with 95 receiving yards on eight targets, showing off his range and speed downfield. With Jameson Williams often drawing a ton of attention downfield thanks to his own speed, getting the ball into TeSlaa's hands with regularity is a great idea for the Lions' offense.

Loser: Lions' offensive line

Penalties - two of which were on rookie tackle Blake Miller - were the biggest downfall for the Lions' offensive line in this loss, although they also did a pretty bad job of creating running lanes for Jahmyr Gibbs throughout the game. He finished up with just 46 rushing yards against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL.

They were also susceptible to blitzing by the Panthers, with Devin Lloyd being their biggest villain (nine total tackles, one quarterback hit, one tackle for loss). They also kept letting the Panthers' defensive linemen get a hand up and on Goff's passes, which killed a few drives throughout the game. Derrick Brown had two deflected passes alone.

After it felt like they had begun to make some strides, the offensive line was overall a huge letdown in Week 4.

Loser: Jack Campbell

Campbell and the rest of the Lions' linebacker unit have left much to be desired so far this season. They can't contain the run, nor are they doing a good job defending against the pass. They deserve just as much blame at the moment as the teams' secondary. Campbell has been most disappointing on this front.

Per PFF, Campbell allowed all five passes thrown his way to result in completions, and the rest of Detroit's linebackers also allowed for all targets to be completed against them. This is not a winning formula by any means, and it's hard to decipher if this is a schematic issue or a personnel issue. Sheppard is a former linebackers coach and a former linebacker, so shouldn't this be his bread and butter?

Loser: Brad Holmes

Sheppard, and Campbell, can only work with what they have, right?

Well, Holmes hasn't tried to give them much else beyond some 3rd-string talent at cornerback and safety, and that's an indictment on his ability to construct a roster outside of just drafting well. They swung and missed on Joey Porter Jr., and honestly, I don't even see how landing him would've helped much when this isn't just a cornerback problem, but a problem with the entire defense aside from their defensive line. Their linebacker room is atrocious right now, as well.

Holmes' job might be on the line this season, in addition to the jobs of Campbell, Sheppard, and Petzing. They might not believe in windows, but their core is only going to get older and more jaded by the process that Holmes has established in Detroit. They're showing zero fire behind their decision making at the moment.

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