Film Review: Lions' Front Seven Comes Up Short against Justin Fields

The Detroit Lions' defensive line did not disrupt quarterback Justin Fields too often in its matchup with the Bears at Soldier Field.

No question, the Detroit Lions' secondary is a clear weakness of this team. 

To make up for a significant deficiency, Detroit's front seven must make strides and perform at a higher level as the 2021 season progresses.

With key injuries to Jeff Okudah and Ifeatu Melifonwu, along with bringing along a new player in Bobby Price, who is learning to play the cornerback position, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn must call upon his defensive line to execute at a drastically higher level. 

Against the Bears, Detroit's defensive line failed to consistently stop the run or pressure quarterback Justin Fields, who enjoyed success playing in front of his home fans at Soldier Field. 

"It wasn't as good as it was last week," Campbell said postgame. "There again, I know there was a couple things we -- there was a couple of guys getting out of their gaps, things of that nature, not being disciplined that we've got to clean up. You know, and it seems like it's more -- it's one here, it's one there. It's on this guy this time. And, it's stuff that we've got to clean up."

Throughout his tenure, Campbell has taken a certain level of responsibility for the inconsistent play of members of the roster.

"I think a lot of this does, it starts with me. And it goes to my coaches. We've got to coach better," Campbell said. "We've got to do a better job. We've got to get these guys to where they can handle pressure situations. We've got to give them plays that they can handle when they get in those situations. And, we just have to play a lot more crisp than we are. We get -- feel like we get in the fire and we're -- fundamental, we start falling apart a little bit. So, we'll clean this up."

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The front seven struggling with gap responsibility is disappointing, especially since an investment was made in Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill in the early rounds of the draft. 

Losing outside linebacker Romeo Okwara for the season has made the challenge that much more difficult, but the team has a couple of younger players in Austin Bryant and Julian Okwara who must develop over the course of the next 13 games. 

Based on a review of the defensive line's performance on Sunday, the Bears were able to take advantage and win many battles on first and second down, especially with running back David Montgomery picking apart Detroit's defense methodically. 

As a result, Fields was able to manage the offense and avoid third-and-long situations that typically favor the defense. 

Detroit's lack of consistent pressure from the front seven put extra pressure on a secondary that is ill-equipped to communicate on the fly or to prevent wideouts from getting behind them for chunk yardage. 

The next opportunity to improve will be much more challenging, as the Lions head on the road to face the Minnesota Vikings Sunday afternoon.