Lions' Defense Can Carry Team

Lions' defense has outperformed offense through first three weeks of season.

Sep 22, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) celebrates an interception against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Don't look now, but through three weeks, the Lions’ defense – not the team's offense – has performed like a top-tier unit in the NFL. And it's the very reason why Detroit owns a 2-1 record headed into its Week 4 clash with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

The Lions’ latest impressive performance on defense came on Sunday against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. It was a truly masterful showing from defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn's unit, with Detroit limiting Murray & Co. to under 20 points (13) for the first time in 2024. With the effort, the Lions have held each of their first three opponents this season – the Rams, the Buccaneers and the Cardinals – to 20 points or less.

“I mean, this is up there with the best three-game stretches I've seen (on defense),” Taylor Decker, the longest-tenured member of the Lions, told reporters after Detroit's 20-13 win over the Cardinals Sunday. “I guess time will tell, but I know the character of the guys on that defensive side of the ball. I know ‘AG’ (Aaron Glenn) is letting them play aggressive and kind of play with their hair on fire. I'm very confident they'll continue to do that.”

Prior to the Week 3 affair, the Cardinals had been averaging 34.5 points per game, and they were coming off a 41-point performance against the L.A. Rams in Week 2. Murray had also been peerless through his first two games, throwing for four touchdowns, zero interceptions and 428 yards. That wasn't the case on Sunday for the talented dual-threat passer.

Now, it is true that Murray and the Cardinals marched down the field with ease on their first series of the game, capping off an eight-play, 70-yard drive with a 10-yard strike to Marvin Harrison Jr. for a touchdown. However, Arizona was kept in check after that, and scored just six more points the rest of the game (just three of those points came in the second half). It's a huge credit to Glenn's defense, which was without veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone and suffered a multitude of major injuries throughout the contest.

Fellow linebacker Derrick Barnes, who injured his knee Sunday, was carted off to the locker room in the first half. He did not play a single snap in the second half. Additionally, defensive tackle Alim McNeill left the game in the opening half with a shoulder injury, and was unable to return. Defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike (leg) and cornerback Terrion Arnold (knee) also each exited the Week 3 contest in the first half. However, unlike Barnes and McNeill, they did return to action.

Meanwhile, defensive back Brian Branch departed in the fourth quarter (neck), after enduring a head-to-head collision with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. Per Detroit, Branch is in concussion protocol.

Despite the litany of injuries, the Lions, aided by the efforts of Onwuzurike and Pro Bowl EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, were able to exert a sufficient amount of pressure against Murray. They each recorded two quarterback hits, and Hutchinson recorded the lone sack of the Cardinals signal-caller. 

Additionally, Glenn's unit stymied Arizona’s rushing attack, notably limiting James Conner – the team's lead back – to a season-low 17 yards on nine carries. It also held the Cardinals to under 100 total rushing yards (18 carries for 77 yards), extending the Lions’ season-opening streak of permitting less than 100 total yards on the ground to opponents.

Detroit's secondary also stepped up with a big-time performance in the desert, and its starting safety tandem of Branch and Kerby Joseph spearheaded the effort. Joseph continued his opportunistic ways, securing the Lions’ only interception of Murray – the defensive back's second pick of the season – on an end-zone shot from the Arizona quarterback in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Branch aided Detroit's defense both against the pass and against the run. He finished with two passes defensed and a team-high nine total tackles, including a tackle for loss. As a whole, the team's defensive backs group curtailed Murray's production through the air, limiting the Pro Bowl passer to just 114 yards on 13 completions.

It was the definition of a well-rounded effort from the Glenn-led defense. And you can definitely make the case that his unit – not offensive coordinator Ben Johnson's – has catapulted the Lions to their 2-1 start.

The offense – a top-five unit in 2023 – has averaged only 20.7 points per game thus far, which ranks outside the top 10 of the NFL. Plus, the team's 38.5 percent red-zone efficiency ranks just 26th in the league.

To put it mildly, Detroit's offense has some catching up to do to its defense.

Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who amassed a game-high seven receptions for 75 yards and a score against Arizona, is readily aware that the offense needs to play better.

“Our defense is playing great. I feel like we, as an offense, got to put more points on the board," St. Brown expressed to reporters in the postgame. “I know it sounds kind of crazy, but we feel like as an offense, 20 points is nice, but in that type of game, we've got to put up (more). ... It's nice to get a win, but we feel like as an offense, we can get a lot better.

“(There's) a lot of room for improvement, and we will get better. I don't think we're too worried, but we've got to keep improving.”

Detroit’s defense, going into the 2024 campaign, certainly wasn't expected to outperform its offense. Yet, it undoubtedly has through the first three weeks. And guess what, it's far from the worst thing. 

In fact, if Glenn's unit continues to perform at the exemplary level it has thus far, it could very well carry Dan Campbell's squad to many more victories this season.