Lions film breakdown: Detroit may have NFL’s best safety duo

Breaking down the All-22 tape of Detroit Lions safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch during their win over the Cardinals.

For the third game in a row to begin the 2024 season, the Detroit Lions defense has allowed 20 or fewer points. Yep. Pinch yourself, Detroit. This defense has the makings of being a really strong unit.

And while there are still certainly details to be ironed out over time, you have to be pleased with where they currently are this early in the year. Especially when you consider where they were last year, and how many new faces are in starting roles this season.

It takes time for a defense to gel, particularly on the back end. Secondaries, much like an offensive line, require excellent communication to operate at a consistently high level. Failure to properly communicate or to understand one’s assignment can cause big-time problems, with either of those two being the likely culprits when you hear announcers talk about an instance of “busted coverage.”

However, when you have good safety play, sometimes mistakes can be erased. You know that last line of your defense is secure. Like I said at the top, there is still a ton of football in front of us. With that said, the early play of both Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch is really encouraging.

Fresh off the heels of a 20-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, the Detroit Lions young safety tandem both had big days at the office. Let’s jump into All-22 film and take a look at several of the plays made by both Joseph and Branch during the Lions’ Week 3 win over the Cardinals.

First-and-10 on the Arizona 22. 5:52 left in second quarter.

We start off with the end zone view of a snap from the middle of the second quarter. Arizona is in a condensed formation with quarterback Kyler Murray in the shotgun. They are attempting to run a power concept (watch the guard and the tight end pull) to the right side of their formation, but thanks to defensive tackle DJ Reader being an immovable force inside, and linebackers Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Jack Campbell fitting this up perfectly, there is nowhere for running back James Conner to run.

Branch quickly identifies what is happening and gets downhill in a hurry, knifing in the backfield and helping get Conner on the ground for a tackle for loss. Branch can really do everything you could want from a safety at a really high level, but his abilities near the line of scrimmage have stood out from the moment he stepped foot in Detroit.

Second-and-3 on the Detroit 36. 13:11 left in third quarter.

To me, this is kind of the start of when Murray and Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon began to get impatient. Outside of their first offensive series of the game, they did not run the ball well at all against the Lions, leaving them with only one viable option to close the lead that Detroit had built.

On the first series of the second half, and with Arizona flirting with field goal range, the Cardinals offense hurried to the line, hoping to catch the Lions defense off-guard. And despite not being completely set before the snap, both Joseph and rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold got in position to bracket rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Despite the look from the defense, Murray uncorks a homerun ball to his receiver.

It’s a decently-thrown ball from Murray, but because it isn’t closer to the back of the endzone, Joseph easily tracks and high-points the ball for his second interception of the young season.

First-and-10 on the Arizona 35. 3:10 left in third quarter.

Jumping to a little bit later in the third quarter, the Cardinals have a fresh set of downs on their own side of the midfield. They are in 11-personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) and to counter, the Lions have four down-linemen, three off-ball linebackers, and a single-high safety in Joseph.

Before the snap, Murray calls for motion at the top of your screen. The receiver in motion releases to the inside of Branch’s assignment in the slot, forcing cornerback Carlton Davis III and Branch to switch on the fly.

Davis III was now tasked with covering wide receiver Michael Wilson, with Branch covering receiver Greg Dortch. Wilson runs a go, clearing out space for Dortch to run an out back towards the boundary.

Branch gets his head around and for a moment, Dortch actually creates a bit of space. Unfortunately for the Arizona offense, that space was short-lived. Branch immediately closes the distance and is able to get a hand in work through the ball. If this kind of play gets you out of your seat, then you too might be a football nerd.

Third-and-13 on the Arizona 32. 2:28 left in third quarter.

Just two plays later, we have yet another big play from both safeties. With another chance to get off the field, the Lions are in a 3-3-5 look (three down linemen, three linebackers, five defensive backs) to counter the Cardinals’ four-wide formation.

Linebacker Jack Campbell ends up being the fourth pass rusher with the rest of the defense (besides Arnold at the bottom of your screen) dropping into coverage. Everything is blanketed, and both Aidan Hutchinson and Levi Onwuzurike force Murray out of the pocket and towards his left.

I love how sticky Arnold is with his assignment and how Joseph notices it is now a scramble drill and reacts accordingly. It all leaves Murray with no choice but to throw one up towards the sideline.

Branch and Joseph actually collide near the sideline while they are both tracking the ball. An interception would have been nice, but at the end of the day—I am just happy to have a couple of ballhawks back there patrolling the secondary for the Lions.

Judging by Joseph’s reaction at the end of the clip, I am sure he would have liked another two-interception game under his belt. To that I would say there is always this coming Monday evening for that sort of thing.

First-and-10 on the Arizona 44. 12:38 left in fourth quarter.

Even though Branch has only been in the league a little more than a year now, I feel like we have seen him make plays like this one below time after time. Working out of an empty set, Murray gets the ball to Wilson in the slot quickly, hoping his receiver can do something after he has secured the catch.

From a pre-snap perspective, it isn’t a bad idea by Murray. Just look where Branch is just before the ball is snapped—a full 10 yards off the ball.

Instead, Branch is on him in an instant and wrestles Wilson to the ground for a gain of 1 yard. That is how you diagnose and cover ground with a quickness. Beautiful rep from the second-year defensive back.

Fourth-and-11 on the Arizona 48. 11:12 left in fourth quarter.

Picking back up in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals are growing more desperate as time ticks away. Now in a fourth-and-long situation, Arizona is back in 11-personnel with tight end Trey McBride in the slot near the top of your screen.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn opts to send six rushers at Murray, while having his secondary manned-up across the board with Branch as the single-high safety. This is the beauty of having a pair of safeties that have overlapping skillsets. It can be Branch or Joseph up high or in man coverage in the slot, and both can do either job very well.

Joseph is in one-on-one coverage with McBride who is running a dig past the first down marker. Murray is looking for his tight end the whole way, and even though it was a decently ran route from McBride, Joseph plays things perfectly. McBride tries getting physical with the safety at the top of his route, but Joseph sticks on him and is able to knock the pass away before McBride has a chance at the conversion.

Third-and-10 at the Arizona 28. 8:50 left in fourth quarter.

Lastly, we have a good example of the relationship that exists between a strong pass rush and sticky coverage on the back end. Nothing too fancy here from the Lions—Joseph is the single-high safety up top, with everyone else in man coverage.

The Lions once again rush six, with linebackers Jack Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez blitzing from the second level. Hutchinson immediately beats the hands of the right tackle and thanks to his quick-win, Murray gets rid of the ball in a hurry.

Branch is right there in-phase and the ball once again lands harmlessly on the grass. Sometimes a defensive coordinator can catch a quarterback or a play caller slipping, and other times a rusher simply wins his one-on-one and the coverage is sticky.

The sample size is still on the smaller side, but at this point I think we can safely say that Aaron Glenn has the horses to play defense the way he has always wanted to since arriving in Detroit back in 2021—physical and in your face.