It is really difficult to parse through yet another Detroit Lions defensive disaster class to find something positive to say about that side of the ball.
The run defense used to be that positive throughout the preseason and Week 1, but they surrendered 203 rushing yards to a Buffalo Bills team that only rushed for 86 in Week 1 against the Houston Texans. In fact, quarterback Josh Allen alone outran running back Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions' offense by three yards (69 to 66), and accounted for two of the Bills' three rushing touchdowns.
The secondary was a trainwreck once again, giving up three TDs through the air to Allen. Meanwhile, linebacker Jack Campbell has continued his alarming All-Pro to All-Woe trend, bringing down the LB unit. On Pro Football Focus, Campbell (28.2) and fellow LB Devin White (30.8) were two of the Lions' three lowest-graded players across both sides of the ball on Thursday.
So what's left? EDGE Aidan Hutchinson. Okay, not just Hutchinson, but the Lions' pass rush as a whole has been an emerging bright spot on the defense in the early weeks of the season.
Against the Bills, the Lions pressured Allen 23 times, resulting in two sacks and eight QB hits. Those eight QB hits were twice as many as the Texans and their elite pass rush managed against the Bills in Week 1.
Hutchinson again led the way, picking up his third sack of the season and forcing a first drive fumble that, in a game of momentum, could've made a world of a difference had the Lions recovered it. Had they done so, they would've been set up on the Bills' 31-yard line, with a good shot to get on the board first instead of falling into a 21-0 hole.
It's more than just Hutchinson out there on defense
Hutchinson finished as the Lions' highest-graded defender again on PFF (88.6) and, similar to Week 1, he was followed by defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (78.2). Williams recorded one of those QB hits, with five tackles, three of them solo, to boot.
LB Derrick Barnes picked up the other sack for his second of the season. This sack could've made for a fun story had the Lions won, after Allen was interrupted by a spider during a press conference earlier in the week. This coming days after Barnes arrived to the Lions' Week 1 game against the New Orleans Saints dressed as Spider-Man with his son.
But alas, Allen was allowed to do what Allen does despite the pass rush -- extend plays long enough to find a hole in the defense. It wasn't tough for Allen to find and exploit those holes, whether it was finding a gap to run after being flushed out of the pocket for an easy first down or chuck the ball to a wide open receiver in the secondary.
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It was a similar story to Week 1, where the pass rush sacked Saints' Tyler Shough four times, with eight QB hits and a league-leading 26 pressures. Shough collected his bearings in the second half and countered by excessively throwing the ball to the tune of 410 passing yards, which turned what was shaping up to be a blowout win for the Lions into a one-point overtime win.
But it appears the Lions finally have the pass rush fans have been extensively begging for, so far. It just frustratingly comes at a time when little else on the defense is working. With safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch on the way back, and possibly a trade for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on the horizon, maybe the pieces will fall into place for an elite defense down the stretch.
Until then, it looks like it's up to Hutchinson and the pass rush to come up with the big plays needed on defense, so that Jared Goff and the offense consistently win these shootouts that will continue to be abundant for weeks to come.
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