Belichick: Lions Haven't Rushed Passer 'Effectively,' Need Upgrade

Could Lions' pass rush struggle down stretch against mobile quarterbacks?

Detroit Lions defensive end Za'Darius Smith (99). / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions have had to make a number of moves and acquisitions to offset the impact of several key injuries to their defense throughout the 2024 season.

With key players such as Aidan Hutchinson and Alex Anzalone out with long-term injuries, the Lions have had to rely on external additions to keep the defense playing at a high level.

In particular, the Lions have felt Hutchinson's absence plenty throughout the year. As one of the league's top young edge rushers, Hutchinson has been extremely difficult to replace. While the Lions have found ways to get after the quarterback, legendary coach Bill Belichick openly wondered whether that success will be sustainable down the stretch for the Lions' defense.

Detroit's defense currently ranks tied-for-16th in the league with 30 sacks. Hutchinson had 7.5 prior to his injury, and Alim McNeill is the active leader with 3.5.

“I think that the Lions, whether that’s coach Campbell, (general manager) Brad Holmes, whoever it is, has certainly tried to address the pass rush situation. I think that needs to be addressed. They don’t get very much pressure on the quarterback," Belichick said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. "A lot of the sacks that they do get are because the quarterback holds the ball for an extended period of time, and they’ve got a lot of sacks in the fourth quarter when they’ve been ahead in obvious passing situations. In spite of the fact that they’re, statistically, a very good third-down team, I think that that’s going to be an issue for them against the better teams that they play like it was in the first half of the Houston game where they were down by whatever it was, two touchdowns just at halftime. So I think those are the issues they’re looking at defensively — pass rush and how much man to man coverage they can actually play."

Belichick noted that the coverage could also use some improvement as the season wears on. The Lions added Za'Darius Smith at the trade deadline, which has passed and limits the ways Detroit can make additions.

"The Lions need to address their pass rush situation because I think that's gonna be an issue for them against better teams..

They got into a lot of trouble against Houston and I worry about them against mobile Quarterbacks"

Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/fbwpbaeChu

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 2, 2024

The legendary coach praised the efforts of Brian Branch in the secondary, though. Branch has had a breakout second year emerging as one of the league's best young safeties. Still, Belichick believes the Lions could benefit from adding both to the pass rush and the secondary ahead of their presumed playoff run.

"I think Branch has had a fantastic year. He’s been responsible, it looks to me, for a majority of their pass breakups, interceptions. He’s even caused some interceptions by taking away, or caused sacks, by taking away a route and forcing the quarterback to hold the ball," Belichick said. "I think he’s had a great year for them. I think the rest of the secondary, and the rest of the pass rush, can certainly be improved and they’re trying to do it. That’s what they should do, either schematically or with the acquisition of a player, try to get more of an edge rush to work with (Alim) McNeill inside  or use some linebacker pressures to try to beef up the pass rush."

Though the Lions have gotten an uptick in rush production from Smith and Muhammad since their arrivals, Belichick believes that the numbers are a bit weighted by the team's success in obvious passing downs. McNeill and DJ Reader also provide steady contributions from the interior.

"They really haven’t rushed the passer very effectively. I think the numbers are a little misleading because of the amount of time that the quarterbacks have held the ball," Belichick said. "I would say the quarterbacks have missed a lot of open receivers that, had they seen them or hit them, it would’ve been interesting to see how some of those had gone.” 

The former Patriots coach suggested these changes as a method for combating against teams that have mobile quarterbacks, which the Lions could see late in the year and into the playoffs. The upcoming games against Green Bay and Buffalo will provide a strong litmus test as the Lions prepare to battle against the best in the postseason.

“I wouldn’t say it’s gonna be tough. I think they need to do better than they’ve been doing. I think they’ve gotten away with some things and it looks good now, I just don’t know if it’s gonna last against really good passing teams or quarterbacks that can extend plays a little bit," Belichick said. "Like I said, they got into a lot of trouble against Houston. I know they ended up winning that game, but still it wasn’t all about the interceptions. It was about, defensively, some of the things that they gave up. I’m just worried that when they get up against a good offensive team, if Love has a good day, if Darnold has a good day, which I didn’t really think either one of them did, what that would look like.”