Detroit Lions: Is the NFL’s worst defense in 2020 actually fixable?
No team in the league allowed more total yards and more points in 2020 than the Detroit Lions. Can a new coaching regime stop the bleeding?
In 2018, then-Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn hired a familiar face to supplant Jim Caldwell as head coach. Matt Patricia was Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator in New England and with the Patriots for 14 years.
Although his final appearance with the franchise saw the Philadelphia Eagles roll up 538 total yards in a 41-33 win over the Pats in Super Bowl LII, the positives had certainly outweighed the negatives.
Of course, the Patricia Era in the Motor City lasted all but 43 games and resulted in a 13-29-1 record. Both he and Quinn were dismissed two days after the team was humbled at home on Thanksgiving Day by the visiting Houston Texans, 41-25. And by the season’s end, the franchise put up some dubious numbers on this side of the football.
The Lions allowed a league-high 519 points – the second-most in one season in NFL annals behind only the then-Baltimore Colts (533). The club surrendered a distressing 6,716 total yards – the fourth-highest total in league history (as confirmed via Statmuse).
The Lions gave up 68 total touchdowns, tied with the aforementioned 1981 Colts for the most ever. That club gave up 67 offensive touchodwns, compared to the 65 offensive touchdowns (27 rushing, 38 passing) by Detroit in 2020. So now it’s up to new head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to revive this unit.
To date, new general manager Brad Holmes hasn’t done a lot to date in terms of upgrading the Lions’ defensive unit via free agency. The club dealt for Rams’ interior presence Michael Brockers and signed end Charles Harris, the latter a one-time first-round draft choice of the Miami Dolphins.
The club parted ways with defensive tackle Danny Shelton, linebacker Christian Jones and cornerbacks Desmond Trufant and Justin Coleman. And 2017 first-round draft choice Jarrad Davis signed with the New York Jets.
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Holmes has the seventh overall pick in April’s draft, to go along with the second-rounder and a pair of selections in the third round. They could all be used on defense as the Lions have concentrated on offense during free agency. The franchise has moved on from quarterback Matthew Stafford and now five-year pro, Jared Goff, is at the controls. But that won’t mean much in terms of wins if the team can’t make some progress when it comes to the defense.