The Detroit Lions haven't stopped anyone on defense for the entirety of the 2026 season, and after a particularly galling performance in a 32-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers, it's become clear something has to change.
Detroit gave up 445 yards in the game, and likely would have been in position to grind out a comfortable win if their defense could have managed merely a handful of stops. Instead, they rarely got off the field and put too much pressure on their offense to be perfect again.
Despite the fact that it was another game where Detroit struggled with vital things like communication and player placement, nobody is jumping ship on Kelvin Sheppard as a defensive coordinator. The Lions rank near dead last in the league in terms of all defensive metrics, and it's unlikely they will make the playoffs with these kind of efforts consistently.
Aidan Hutchinson wanted no part of blaming Sheppard after the loss. As he explained, having seen Sheppard up close, he has faith in what he is able to do and it's on the defense collectively to step up and give the offense a better chance to succeed.
"I've been with (Kelvin) Sheppard for years now. I have the utmost faith in him. I think we have the utmost faith in him. We definitely have to evolve as a defense and we have to grow, because we can't keep putting our offense in these shootout games. It just puts stress on them. We've got to do better as a unit. I think we all support Sheppard fully."
Similarly, cornerback D.J. Reed, who's been one of the bigger focal points of Detroit's breakdowns in the second-level, doubled down on Hutchinson's claim. He said that it's on the players entirely to win their battles, and they simply need to flip more of those matchups in their favor.
"It's not a coaching thing, It's a players thing. This game comes down to winning one-on-ones, and that's what we got to do. As a collective unit in the secondary, we haven't been doing that, so we just got to be better."
While the players seem sure scheme isn't the issue, this is a familiar refrain and little has changed. No matter who is on the roster, it's on coaches to maximize their talent. Far worse coaches have won with far less talent in the past, and that reality is starting to hit Detroit like a ton of bricks.
Dan Campbell must get real about Sheppard's issues with Lions
The players can say whatever they want about needing better execution, but at the end of the day, if an entire group of talented athletes isn't getting the job done, that falls on the the coaching staff.
It's Sheppard's job to put together a scheme that helps his players be their best selves. It's his duty to make sure everyone is prepared for their roles. The fact that nearly everyone seems to be regressing on defense isn't a fantastic indicator of where things are at in Sheppard's program.
Campbell didn't want to talk about Sheppard's job security after the loss to Carolina, but the fact is, he must be on a ticking clock. Campbell has acted with urgency before on the offensive side when it was clear things weren't working, and that needs to be the case with the defense.
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The Lions don't have the luxury of waiting to see what happens this season before making a move. There was an expectation Detroit would be better in 2026, and could use schedule strength to their advantage in terms of making a playoff push. With a defense this bad, that's not going to happen. That wastes yet another year of a talented core.
If Campbell were to make a move with Sheppard, he could buy time for the franchise to reset things in the short and long term. A move would buy him goodwill at a time where there isn't much to go around with any decision makers, Brad Holmes included.
The Lions must find a way to clean things up on defense, beat the Arizona Cardinals and go into their bye ready to reset at 3-2. Anything short of that should represent an immediate move being made next week by Campbell.
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