Lions loss vs Panthers leaves big questions over Defensive Coordinator's Future

The Lions lost 32-26 in Carolina on Sunday night. It was a game we never deserved to win, and the scoreline flatters us a little.

An offense that keeps beating itself

The offense is again struggling to fire early. They managed just three points in the opening quarter, and that was a 54-yard field goal. The red zone was the real problem. The Lions finished with four field goals against two touchdowns (Gibbs from a yard out, LaPorta from eight), and that is ultimately what cost them. Turn two of those field goals into touchdowns and it's 34-32 to us. Instead we took the 3s and the Panthers just kept scoring.

The big issue was penalties, and they came in the worst possible moments. There was the whip block from Brock Wright, false starts on various people, and two delays of game. All of it left the Lions in desperate situations on offense. PFF's charting has nine penalties on the Lions' offense, and Wright and Blake Miller had two apiece.

The frustrating part is that the offense moved the ball. Detroit had 452 total yards against Carolina's 445, at 6.6 yards a play. Goff was excellent (PFF has him at 84.9 overall, 84.3 as a passer), Sam LaPorta graded 80.9, and the interior of the line was solid, with Mahogany at 77.2 and Scruggs at 73.2. Moving the ball wasn't the problem. Getting in the way of ourselves was.

One more number to flag is the run game. The Lions had 52 pass attempts to just 15 rushes, for 46 yards. Some of that is game script, some of it is getting too far behind and needing to abandon the run, and some of it is being forced into long-yardage situations by the flags.

A great front, and a back seven at sea

The defense deserves a proper split. Up front, there was a good performance, especially early on. Aidan Hutchinson (7 pressures per PFF, graded 82.2 overall), Alim McNeill (5 pressures and a sack) and Tyleik Williams were all disrupting and putting pressure on Bryce Young. The Lions hit Young 11 times and sacked him three times.

And he still threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover, because the back seven were all at sea.

Passes over the middle in intermediate areas were far too easy. It was soft coverage and big cushions, and it looked like a training exercise for the Panthers offense. PFF has the Lions allowing a catch on 82.9% of charted targets. Derrick Barnes was targeted five times and gave up five catches. Jack Campbell looks like a shadow of himself from last year. He was fine against the run (78.7 in run defense) but graded just 49.5 in coverage. D.J. Reed was again burned on the outside by Tet McMillan, who had a career day (14 receptions for 192 yards and 2 TDs), including a 32-yard touchdown and a 10-yard score over the middle.

The fact that the Lions had a chance to win at the end was fortuitous. Unfortunately, a sack killed that final drive before it started.

It's too easy to say this is personnel related. Either the defenders are in the wrong place, which is a huge issue, or they're in the "right" place for the scheme and the scheme is the issue itself. Neither answer is a good one for the people calling it.

The DC question

Kelvin Sheppard is in his second year as coordinator. Dan Campbell kept the defensive staff intact this offseason after a 2025 in which the defense slid to 23rd in scoring (24.8 points per game). Through four games this season, the Lions have given up 127 points, nearly 32 a game. That's with a front that is playing well enough to get home on the quarterback. Everyone saw the stat about this defense conceding more yards than the 2008 edition that went 0-16.

Most Lions offenses would struggle to keep up in a shootout with a Panthers offense who could take what they want, when they want. When the pass rush wins and the opposing quarterback still gets that comfortable, you have to ask what the coverage structure is asking of these players.

In the end, you have to ask if this scheme is fit for purpose. Because the players are being set up to lose on defense as it stands. Do you retain the hope that Kelvin Sheppard will turn this around? For me, I don’t have that faith right now.

With a week 6 bye, the Lions could wait until after Sunday’s game against the Cardinals to make a shift. Dan Campbell has not been shy about mid-season coordinator changes, demoting (effectively firing) both Anthony Lynn and John Morton in his tenure on the offensive side of the ball. He could make that change sooner, or he could retain the faith. But change, whether in scheme, execution, or staffing, needs to come quickly.