With another abysmal performance by the defense on Sunday night against the Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff was once again tasked with helping the offense carry the team. Goff completed 32-of-52 passes (61.5%) for 412 yards and one touchdown, but it wasn't enough to avoid a loss (32-26). He couldn't have played much better, yet he had to try to put together a game-winning drive.
Goff is quietly playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but it's only quiet because the conversations regarding the defense are getting loud. Not only could the defense cause Detroit to miss the playoffs, but it could also waste the best season of Goff's career.
Jared Goff is playing at an elite level, but the Detroit Lions' defense almost makes it irrelevant
The Lions have allowed at least 30 points in three of their first four games for the first time since they went 0-16 in 2008, per ESPN. The secondary is the root of the problem, as Detroit is the worst in the NFL against the pass, giving up 304 passing yards per game. On Sunday night, Panthers QB Bryce Young threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns.
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan set career highs in receptions (14) and yards (192) to go along with two touchdowns. Panthers running back Chubba Hubbard ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, and his 6.1 yards per carry marked a career-best in games with at least 20 attempts. Much like the first three games this season, the opposing offense did almost anything they wanted against the Lions.
Meanwhile, Goff is the only QB in NFL history to not have a winning record with more than 1,200 passing yards and zero turnovers through four games. If the Lions merely had a decent defense, they could be 4-0 with Goff in MVP conversations. Instead, the discourse is about who they can trade for and who needs to get fired. Head coach Dan Campbell still doesn't want to think about letting go of defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.
"I'm not talking about all that, man, I'm talking about getting better right now with what we've got," Campbell said after the game Sunday.
Unfortunately, what the Lions have is an injury-ridden secondary, and a coordinator that doesn't seem to know how to work with what he has. On top of it, Detroit also has a front office that doesn't feel the need to trade for high-end talent, even though it hasn't had a successful draft since 2023.
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Sheppard wants to play man coverage, but the Lions simply don't have the cornerbacks to do it. He's tried using blitzes to mask the coverage issues, but to no avail. The linebackers can't seem to cover anyone either. Overall, the defense seems lost, but Campbell said there is more to try.
"There's other things that we can do," Campbell said. "We've tweaked a little bit every week here. There's still some things that we can try that we haven't yet. Try to settle some things down and see if we can help.
"... I want to exhaust everything here."
It seems like it will take at least one or two more embarrassing performances for Campbell to consider firing Sheppard. Until the Lions make a drastic change on defense, whether it's a new coordinator or a trade, Goff needs to continue playing at his best to give them a chance to win.
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