The Lions defense has been locking down in the red zone
When you think of really good defenses, your mind always tends to go to the historical ones. The defenses like the 2000 Ravens or the 1985 Bears. The last thing you might think about is the 2023 Lions. But maybe you should. Certainly not in any historical senses, but in the sense that this is […]
When you think of really good defenses, your mind always tends to go to the historical ones. The defenses like the 2000 Ravens or the 1985 Bears. The last thing you might think about is the 2023 Lions. But maybe you should. Certainly not in any historical senses, but in the sense that this is a group that is just finding ways to get it done.
The Lions defense has improved quite a bit in last few weeks. They went from allowing 29.8 points per game in the five games after the bye to 21 points per game in the last five games. They also turned things around in the sack and turnover department. Going from six sacks to 15 and five turnovers to nine.
The big thing that's really been surprising though is that while the Lions defense is still allowing big yard totals, they're not allowing teams to get into the end zone. They are bending a lot, but they're not breaking.
The Lions defense has played 52 drives in the last five games and they've allowed 11 touchdowns. That's a major improvement. They're allowing two touchdowns a game and then holding teams to field goals or forcing punts and turnovers.
The red zone is where the difference is really showing. The Lions have the fifth worst red zone defense on the entire season. They were allowing touchdowns on 62.5% of their defensive drives in the area. In the last five games that has dipped to 46%. Wait, there's more. It's dipped to a league low 16.6% in then last three games. The Lions have defended the end zone six times in the last three games and they've allowed one touchdown. That was against the Cowboys.
Here's the good news. The Lions play a Bucs offense on on Sunday that is really bad in the red zone. The Bucs have the 30th ranked red zone offense in terms of scoring percentage. They score a touchdown on 44.9% of their red zone trips. What makes it even worse for them is they haven't scored a red zone touchdown since Week 16. The Lions have to take advantage of this.
Detroit Lions 2023-24 moon stats
Everyone has a gimmick I suppose. For me, it's now the Detroit Lions moon man after I tweeted about the Lions last playoff win coming on a waxing crescent and that last Sunday night's moon was a waxing crescent. Suddenly all the major betting outlets took hold of it and it was everywhere. Even the […]
