Minus the first-half against the New Orleans Saints in Week 1, the Detroit Lions have now struggled on defense for a total of six quarters during the 2026 season, and some early alarm bells are going off.
In Week 2, the Lions allowed a total of 446 yards, and were gashed through the air and on the ground by the Buffalo Bills, who had a balanced attack that forced the Lions into plenty of busts up front and on the back end.
Finding a fix heading into Week 3 is the goal, and to say the team is looking demoralized already is an understatement. Linebacker and captain Jack Campbell seemed to take the thrashing at the hands of the Bills the hardest.
After the 41-31 loss, Campbell was near tears as he spoke to the media. After a game which featured Campbell himself racking up an ugly 28.2 rating from PFF, he took all the blame for what happened on the field, saying everything that went wrong started with him.
"I played terrible and it starts with me. I've got to be better, and I ain't got no other thing to do (but) to look in the mirror and be better. So that's really where it starts. It starts with us."
It's easy to see why Campbell is a leader. Instead of giving cliche-filled answers as it relates to what must improve, he was direct about how he needs to look at himself first and everything else second.
"Honestly, after every single game, if I have few misplays and stuff, (I'm upset). It's just not acceptable. I'm going to look myself in the mirror (and) be a man about it. I ain't going to point fingers, because no fingers to be pointed except at myself."
Campbell has been consistent early in his career, and bad games are going to happen to players. That's especially true when going up against a talented team like the Bills. The more concerning thing is how frustration is bearing out for a captain early in the year about the way his team is playing.
It's obvious Campbell knows something is wrong within the defense, and is working to try and identify fixes for his part. While this is admirable, it shouldn't be completely on him to find answers for everything that is going wrong.
Kelvin Sheppard needs to adjust before Lions squander their season
Coming into the season, it was clear the Lions were going to need time to adapt in the secondary. They had players missing due to injuries, but the hope was they could band together for the first quarter of the season until familiar faces came back. Scheme was supposed to help carry them through.
Instead of that happening, everything has fallen apart. In spite of a decent Week 1 pressuring the pocket, the Lions didn't offer much resistance to Josh Allen in Week 2 up front. Worse, their run defense went from serviceable to terrible, allowing 203 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
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Sheppard needs to do a deep dive on both weeks and find out what was working in the first-half against New Orleans and what has changed since. This type of urgency is what it means to be an elite coordinator, and nothing short of a solid performance in Week 3 should be acceptable to Dan Campbell relative to where the franchise's expectations are at.
The Lions can't risk falling behind this season. It's a vital year to make an NFC playoff push, and they are going to need their defense to be at least average to give their offense a chance to shine. This means pressure is on Sheppard to right the ship, or the Lions might need to consider a quick change at coordinator.
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