How the Lions' Defense Can Force More Turnovers in 2020

Jason Ross dives into how the Lions' defense can force more turnovers in 2020

The 2019 season did very well in pointing out just how important turnovers are in the NFL.

Nine of the top 10 teams in the turnover differential category made the postseason.

The NFC champion San Francisco 49ers were 11th in that particular category.

In other words, if you’d like to play deep into January and possibly early February, you might want to invest some quality time into working on protecting the football and forcing your opponent to give it up.

The Lions had an interesting season when it came to turnovers.

They were solid in forcing fumbles (eighth in the NFL), but ineffective when it came to interceptions (ranked last in the league).

The addition of new defensive coordinator Cory Undlin is reason to believe that the Lions’ defense could be bound for an uptick in interceptions when 2020 rolls around.

Undlin, who spent the last five seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive backs coach, was part of a Philly team that won a Super Bowl ring in 2017 and that finished in the top 10 in interceptions on three separate occasions.

The promising future of Lions’ third overall pick Jeff Okudah has been well-chronicled, while the addition of former New England Patriots safety Duron Harmon has perhaps fallen under the radar.

Harmon is a veteran who reads offenses very well, and could be a mentor in the development of younger players, such as Will Harris, Tracy Walker and Okudah.

Interceptions are also a by-product of putting pressure on the quarterback.

The defense won only 24 percent of its pass-rush reps last season (last in the NFL), per ESPN.

So, it’s no secret that what was an anemic pass rush will have to improve in order to give the youthful secondary a better shot at taking the ball away.

DetroitLions.com writer Tim Twentyman recently delved into the success that the Lions had when it came to forcing fumbles.

As Twentyman wrote,

“The Lions had 11 different players force a fumble last season, led by Justin Coleman and linebacker Jarrad Davis with three a piece. Both Detroit’s forced fumbles and fumble recoveries (11) ranked in the top eight in the league.”

Detroit only won three games a season ago.

Given the ample amount of potential that the offense possesses, if the defense can become more well-rounded, the Lions could very well see more positive results in the win-loss column in 2020.

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