Despite all of the Detroit Lions’ failures through three weeks, they were still 2-1 on the season. A date with the Carolina Panthers could have been an opportunity to win back-to-back games and, with the Arizona Cardinals on deck, potentially enter the bye week with positivity.
Instead, the Lions looked like a kitten in this catfight.
The Panthers controlled this game from the start, and the final score of 32-26 does not illustrate Detroit’s struggles. The offense failed with execution. The defense continues to be a calamity. From the players to the coaches, it was a failure for the entire Lions team. A team with playoff aspirations can’t put together many performances like these before a systematic change occurs. The Lions have not yet hit the iceberg, but it is visible on the horizon.
Suddenly, next week’s game against the Cardinals looks daunting. Can this team even stop an offense like Arizona’s? Can the offense stop shooting itself in the foot and truly dominate a game like it is capable of?
Before we go too far into the future, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from this Sunday night game.
Note: The label “loser” is used to evaluate and contrast in-game performance and is not an accusation of a player’s abilities, worth, or character. The term is not meant to be disrespectful.
Loser: Kelvin Sheppard, DC
Patience with Sheppard is wearing thin. The Lions definitely have personnel issues on defense, but the thought that comes to mind is that this is a poorly coached unit more than anything else. In a game where the Panthers essentially had just one weapon in the passing game, Tetairoa McMillan, that should make for an easier game plan, even with a depleted secondary.
Instead, McMillan went off, totaling 193 yards on 14 catches and two touchdowns. Even worse, Carolina’s next receiver was John Metchie with just three catches for 37 yards. The Panthers, as expected, were feeding McMillan, but the Lions defense still had no answers for him. Bryce Young, meanwhile, was essentially perfect, going 29 of 41 for 329 yards and two touchdowns.
The defensive line actually looked good Sunday night, which makes the failures of the secondary and Sheppard an even tougher pill to swallow. If the Lions could have covered a split second more, they would have had several impactful plays: sacks, pass breakups, maybe even interceptions. Instead, the Lions were constantly getting beat within seconds of the snap. When the Lions blitzed, they were ill-timed and forced the defensive backs into 1-on-1s that they quickly lost. Jeremy eloquently expresses my frustration with the room calling:
To add insult to injury, the run defense collapsed in the second half. Chuba Hubbard went on a rampage down the stretch, finishing with 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Lions’ linebackers and secondary frequently missed assignments, allowing Hubbard to run through routes.
Some playing errors during the game are expected. Constant playing errors are an indictment of a poorly coached team. The Lions don’t put their players in a position to succeed, and they naturally fail due to a lack of talent to overcome obstacles. This team’s inability to stop explosive plays is mind-boggling. I want the Lions to add a cornerback before the trade deadline, but that alone isn’t the solution to the secondary problems — it starts at the top with Sheppard.
Not trading for Joey Porter Jr. could haunt the Lions if Reed continues to struggle. While Reed started out as a rare bright spot in the secondary, his play over the past two weeks has fallen off a cliff. McMillan in particular was giving Reed fits, downright intimidating him with his size and speed. On McMillan’s 32-yard touchdown run, Reed got burned for an easy catch. He didn’t record a single broken pass all night. In fact, he was rarely in position to play.
Reed just isn’t a CB1, but the Lions are forced to rely on him to be their top dog.
It was a sloppy, sloppy play. I’ve already touched on the defensive struggles, but the Lions struggled with fundamentals in every aspect. The offense did its best to catch up, but too many instances of self-inflicted wounds neutralized any chance of a comeback.
Early on, the Lions had to burn a timeout because they were missing a player on a field goal attempt (an attempt that fortunately was converted). I was fine with his challenge of a possible touchdown-fumble that wasn’t overturned, but Detroit looked disconcerted on a good number of snaps, either racing to beat the game clock or running players in and out of the field.
The worst example of poor execution came late in the match. On fourth-and-10 with the game essentially on the line, the Lions were called for a delay of game despite three timeouts. On the next fourth-and-15, the Lions were called for a false start. On the ensuing fourth-and-20, the Lions attempted a hook-and-ladder that only managed 13 yards.
My frustration really boils down to one thing: I’m tired of the Lions having to fix things. It’s unfortunately a common comment after Lions games that they have a few things to clean up. We’re in Week 4 of the 2026 season. The Lions have some things to clean up from 2023. Past a certain point, that line doesn’t mean anything.
Winners: Alim McNeill and Aidan Hutchinson, DL
As bad as the Lions secondary was, their work in the trenches was impressive. No player stood out as much as McNeill and Hutchinson. McNeill was a threat inside, recording two tackles for loss and numerous pressures. He turned one of them into a 10-yard sack of a running back Young. As for Hutchinson, he was as usual, destroying the game, even if a sack eluded him. What he lacked in sacks he brought in pressure, much of which came through his patented spin move.
If anything, the Lions could have had at least three more sacks if the coverage could have held for even a second. The Lions put the pressure on up front, but Carolina responded with quick hits all night. The front seven does its part to attack the passing game.
Wright took two brutal penalties, an inexcusable performance for a backup tight end. The first drive was stalled by a false start penalty on Wright on first down, which ultimately led to a 54-yard field goal by Jake Bates. His second was an unnecessary roughness call that set the team back 15 yards, although he was quickly bailed out by a massive 57-yard shot to Isaac TeSlaa.
Considering Wright doesn’t shine as a blocker or receiver, these types of mistakes stand out for the wrong reasons.
Jameson Williams finished as the primary receiver, but a few drops kept him off the winning list. Instead, I’ll give the nod to TeSlaa, who has returned to relevance after a quiet start to the season. He only added four catches on the night, but one of them was a 57-yard strike that put the Lions deep in Panthers territory (a drive that unfortunately stalled for a field goal). This gave him a career-high receiving total of 95 yards.
He can be an important receiver like Williams when called upon, although those instances are somewhat limited. Given the Lions’ red zone issues this season, I’d like to see him more involved – we know he can use his size to make acrobatic catches.
As LaPorta’s contract extension talks stall, he proves why the Lions need to pay him. LaPorta sucked up passes all night, finishing with 84 yards on eight catches and a touchdown. His reliability in this offense continues to be underestimated. His blocking role went from minimal to truly impactful, and he easily passed Wright as their best tight end blocker. As a safety valve for Goff, he is seemingly always ready to produce yards.
Losers: linebacker corps
It’s hard to blame the linebackers too much given all the coaching issues, but they’re not blameless. Jack Campbell has too often seemed lost in the media coverage. Derrick Barnes was rarely near the ball (he finished with just one tackle). A week after a solid outing from Trevor Nowaske, he rarely played on Sunday night. Aside from a tackle for loss from rookie Jimmy Rolder, there was essentially nothing positive from the linebackers.
Sure, the draft puts them at a disadvantage, but the linebackers still struggle to execute. It’s a failure from top to bottom with this group.
No player has elevated his value in recent weeks like Branch…and it’s done without him playing a single snap.
It has become clear that the Lions defense is terrible without him on the field. Branch consistently provides solid coverage, solid run defense, and impactful game-breaking plays. The Lions defense is currently missing most of these elements. With Branch on an expiring contract and no other reliable options in the secondary (given the questions surrounding Kerby Joseph), the Lions TO HAVE pay Branch soon, lest they lose their best defensive back. Of course, following an Achilles tendon injury, we have no idea how he will perform. Yet in a season with a disastrous defense, he is one of the only lights at the end of the tunnel.
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