The Detroit Lions got a great win at home against the New York Jets in Week 3, but it doesn't mean that the team is completely immune to criticism.
Their offense, special teams unit, and pass rush all looked solid against New York, and those three units kept the Lions in the game while their secondary did everything they could to give it away in the second half.
Geno Smith, who passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns, faced almost no resistance from Detroit's cornerback room in this game, and was taken down by a porous Jets offensive line. It remains a major weakness for the Lions, and a move to shore the room up might need to come sooner rather than later.
Lions' pass rush keeps improving, as secondary crumbles
It might be worse, actually, that the Lions finally have a sound pass rush and defensive line as their secondary completely falls apart. It's not the entire defense being a liability like last season, no: it's just the backbreaking plays that are exposing how weak their cornerback room actually is this season.
The Lions have the second-most team sacks in the NFL, just behind the defensive stalwart Minnesota Vikings. They're getting to the quarterback, putting pressure on the ball, and are also doing a solid job of stopping the run. And it's just...not enough. It doesn't feel like their current system which includes D.J. Reed, Rock Ya-Sin, and Roger McCreary getting a majority of the snaps in the secondary is sustainable.
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The team, to their credit, have begun making adjustments to their personnel. Ennis Rakestraw Jr. got run in Week 3, and he actually looked solid in coverage. His length and speed should be a benefit to an older, shorter Lions secondary, but he's been inactive the last few weeks. Moving forward, it'd be nice to see the Lions experiment with him or Keith Abney II in the lineup.
Of course, if none of this works, their struggles can only boil down to two things: defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard can't squeeze anything out of the unit, or they need to add more legitimate starters to the roster...or both. Easier said than done, of course, with the only available cornerback on the market likely to command a hefty extension once dealt.
The Lions will simply have to hope that the answer to their cornerback woes lies somewhere else on their depth chart...for now.
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