What the box score didn’t tell you: The most frustrating part of the Lions’ defensive disaster wasn’t the 32 points — it was what happened right before them
Detroit created third-and-longs, made tackles for loss and even earned a few third-down stops. Then Carolina kept finding ways to reset the downs and keep Jared Goff on the sideline.
The Detroit Lions gave up 32 points to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night, and everybody is going to talk about how bad the Lions defense looked. They should, because it was bad. I get it.
But something inside this game makes it even more frustrating. The box score only hints at it. Detroit actually put Carolina in situations where the defense should have been able to get off the field. The Lions made tackles for loss. They forced third-and-longs. They even stopped a couple of third downs.
Then they handed the advantage right back.
Good defensive plays have to lead somewhere
Here’s the deal. Good defensive plays have to go somewhere. If you knock a running back backward and force a third-and-9, you’ve created a chance to end the possession. If you give up the first down on the next play, the offense gets to start over.
We saw that happen repeatedly against the Panthers.
Start with Carolina’s first possession. Jimmy Rolder makes a tackle for loss, and the Lions get the Panthers into a third-and-9. That’s exactly what you want. Make Bryce Young throw it, keep the completion in front of the sticks, and make the tackle.
Instead, Young finds Tetairoa McMillan. Jack Campbell can’t finish the tackle, and McMillan picks up 10 yards. Detroit eventually forced a punt on that possession, and Alim McNeill deserves credit for the sack that got it done. But it took another defensive win to finish a drive the Lions already had a chance to end.
Then look at the second quarter. McNeill makes a tackle for loss, and once again Carolina faces a third-and-9. This time, McMillan picks up 26 yards. You go from a chance to force a punt to giving up an explosive play.
Later in that same possession, Detroit actually gets a third-down stop. Carolina goes for it on fourth-and-4, completes a pass to John Metchie III, and keeps the drive alive.
To be honest, I think that was the worst one of them all. That was the death knell for this defense. When a team can come out on fourth-and-4 and simply know it’s going to convert, that’s how you know your defense is in real trouble. Two plays later, McMillan scores a touchdown. The Lions had multiple chances to get off the field on that possession, and Carolina walked away with six points.
Third-down percentage misses part of the story
Fast forward to the fourth quarter. The Lions get another third-down stop. Carolina goes for it on fourth-and-4 again and converts again, this time to Darren Waller. The drive ends with a field goal that pushes the Panthers’ lead to 32-19.
This is why looking at third-down percentage alone can miss part of the story. If you stop third down and then allow a fourth-down conversion, you still haven’t gotten Jared Goff the ball back.
Then there’s the late third-and-14. Detroit had just cut the deficit to six. The defense has a chance to get the offense back on the field with time to work. McMillan makes a tremendous catch along the sideline and moves the chains.
Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw actually helped him a little. If Rakestraw was just a second closer, he could have had a great pass breakup, and the Lions would have gotten the ball back in a better spot. Instead, his contact pushed McMillan’s other foot down, which gave Carolina the first down. Credit to the receiver, because it was a great play. But it also meant more time came off the clock. Detroit eventually got another stop, but that earlier opportunity was gone.
The same result, over and over
That’s the thing I keep coming back to. How many times did this defense have a chance to change the game, only to let Carolina reset?
The reasons were different. A missed tackle. A big completion. A fourth-down conversion. You can’t fix all of those with one adjustment, but the result keeps being the same. The Panthers get another set of downs, the defense stays on the field, and Goff stays on the sideline.
That’s not just the story of the Carolina game, either. It happened against New Orleans. It happened against Buffalo. It happened against the Jets. The Lions have too many of these situations where they have chances to get off the field, and they just can’t finish.
I don’t know what you do at this point. But as we wrote earlier on Monday, it’s probably time to start considering a change at defensive coordinator.
Detroit Lions News