Kelvin Sheppard had a pretty revealing admission about the Lions’ defense that led to a brutally honest meeting with players and coaches after Buffalo
Detroit’s self-scout found a striking pattern in the 23 explosive plays allowed through two games, leading to one of the most transparent defensive meetings Sheppard says the group has had. Sheppard said roughly 75% of those explosives were “self-induced.”
The Detroit Lions defense has a problem, and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard isn’t pretending otherwise. After allowing 23 explosive plays through the first two games of the 2026 season, Sheppard told reporters Wednesday that there is a clear gap between what is happening in meetings and practice and what is actually showing up on game day.
That admission alone would be noteworthy. The way Detroit went about diagnosing the issue makes it even more significant.
The Lions turned the cameras on the players
Detroit had some extra time after the Thursday night game against Buffalo, and instead of immediately turning attention to the Jets, Sheppard said the defense treated the stretch like an early bye week self-scout. The coaching staff went back through the Bills and Saints games, pulled up every explosive play the Lions allowed, and sat everybody down to go through them.
This wasn’t the coaches standing at the front of the room telling players what they did wrong. Sheppard said they turned on the tape and went down the list. On every play, the player had to explain what he was doing and what he was supposed to be doing. The coaches were specifically told not to say a word.
That’s the part that matters. The Lions already know what the assignments are supposed to be. The players have already been coached on those assignments. What Sheppard wanted to figure out was why something they had worked on during the week wasn’t translating when the game started.
Sheppard described it as one of the most transparent meetings the group has had, with honesty going back and forth between players and coaches. You probably want that conversation happening in Week 3 instead of Detroit spending another month pretending everything is fine.
75% of the explosive plays were self-inflicted
According to Sheppard, about 75% of the 23 explosive plays allowed through two games were self-induced. That number is massive. It means Detroit’s own evaluation shows that most of these explosives aren’t Josh Allen making an unbelievable throw or an opposing receiver winning a one-on-one matchup. They’re things the Lions believe they caused themselves.
Sheppard isn’t brushing that off, either. He said the defense is done saying “take away those 4 plays and we played pretty well.” That was something Detroit could get away with in the past. Take away a run here, a deep pass there, a scramble over there, and the defense had a solid day. Sheppard’s point now is that you can’t take those plays away because those plays are the problem.
Against the Saints, Detroit allowed three explosive runs and eight explosive passes. Against Buffalo, that flipped to eight explosive runs and four explosive passes. Clean up one area, and another one breaks. Sheppard called explosive plays the single-handed demise of this defense.
That’s strong language, but it also explains why this defense can look solid for long stretches and then suddenly fall apart. You can play 55 good defensive snaps. If four or five of the other snaps turn into 30-, 40-, or 50-yard gains, those snaps can determine the entire game.
This meeting has to lead somewhere
Detroit isn’t acting like this is something that will fix itself. The Lions didn’t even start the week by worrying about Aaron Glenn and the Jets. They first wanted to figure out what was happening inside their own defense. Why are players doing something correctly in meetings and in practice, and then why does something completely different happen on Sunday?
If the Lions are right and 75% of those explosive plays are self-inflicted, then this isn’t necessarily about needing a new scheme or finding a bunch of new players. It’s about getting the defense they already have to execute what they’re being taught.
To go along with the self-scout, Lions coach Dan Campbell has talked about going live in practice this week. Campbell said the Lions will probably never practice the way they did before the Buffalo game again, when they relied on walkthroughs and never actually got on the field to practice. You have to be prepared. You have to get on the field and do exactly what you’re supposed to do so everyone knows where they need to be.
For what it’s worth, I don’t believe this is the 31st defense in the league. I think the Lions need to get on the same page, and I do believe they need secondary help. I also believe there are things they can do to protect their secondary in a better way. Sunday against the Jets will answer some questions about whether that brutally honest meeting actually closed the gap. If it didn’t, then there’s a whole other problem, and that problem starts to extend to Sheppard himself.
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