The Lions’ defense promises to improve despite mounting injuries

DETROIT – These Lions’ defense wouldn’t make excuses after their worst day of the season, even if there was an obvious excuse.

In Sunday’s 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field, the unit allowed 559 yards of total offense and forced just one punt.

While the Lions still sit atop the NFC at 12-2, the performance raised concerns that the increasingly weakened Detroit defense will weaken toward the end of the year.

However, that wasn’t the thought in the Lions’ locker room.

“We just have to find a way to get stops,” Lions defensive tackle DJ Reader said. “We couldn’t do it today. It sucks when it happens, especially the way it happened, but we’ll go back to the drawing board and everything will be okay.”

Reader is one of the few pillars of this Lions defense that is still playing well 15 weeks after the unit was decimated by injuries.

Four of the Lions’ Week 1 defensive starters had already gone on IR with injuries during the season, most notably Aidan Hutchinson and Alex Anzalone. Two more could be added after Sunday; Dan Campbell said cornerback Carlton Davis and defensive tackle Alim McNeill could both be out for a year after leaving the game with injuries.

The Lions also had a number of two-deep players suffer season-ending injuries, including Derrick Barnes, Brodric Martin, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Cornerback Khalil Dorsey joined that list on Sunday with a season-ending ankle injury.

In order to complete their roster, the Lions had to sign several players to the practice squad at short notice and distribute them to various positions.

Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold said he believes the Lions’ problems stem from execution and communication, not personnel.

“The plays they scored, it wasn’t like they necessarily went out and won a 1-on-1 match or they went out and won it,” Arnold said. “It was up to us. Aaron Glenn does a great job of putting us in situations where we can go out and be successful, and we just have to execute the game plan better.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen destroyed the Lions’ defense early by avoiding the rush, extending plays and throwing strikes downfield. The Bills opened the game with three straight touchdowns to immediately put the Lions in trouble, and the MVP front-runner finished the game 23-for-34 for 362 yards with two touchdowns, along with 68 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.

The reader said Allen represents a difficult decision for a defense: If you push him to the middle, he escapes outside; Push him to the outside and he will step forward and make a throw.

“You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” Reader said.

Allen’s problems also forced the Lions’ secondary to step in for extended seasons.

“It’s definitely very difficult, but we have to do a better job of cleaning up in the secondary,” Arnold said. “We’ve been doing this all year. I think our urgency needs to be better and our communication needs to be better.

The Lions’ secondary could be the latest unit in need of reinforcements with Davis and Dorsey both out for the season. Cornerback Amik Robertson could take on a larger role and play a role that plays on the outside instead of the inside.

“I’m a football player, man, wherever they put me, I’m going to play at a high level, like Amik Robertson, but play Lions football, be myself in the program,” Robertson said. “If we do that, I will do that, but right now I don’t know what will happen.”

Even on the worst day of the season, the Lions still believe they have the defensive players in their locker room to make the playoffs, even if that number drops every week.

“At the end of the day, we don’t like losing. However, it all depends on how you react,” Robertson said. I’m a resilient guy, we have a lot of resilient people, it’s a resilient team. We gotta get back on our feet, man.”

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