The narrative of “defense wins championships” is often repeated come playoff time, but it ended up being the subtitle of Super Bowl LX.
The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots both delivered stout defensive outings, but it was Seattle’s defense that out-smothered New England’s. An unrelenting pass rush resulted in six sacks of Drake Maye, while the defense also tallied three turnovers, one of which went for a touchdown. After boasting the league’s best defense throughout the regular season, Seattle backed it up with a Super Bowl crown.
The Detroit Lions and their fans will no doubt be envious of such a defensive performance. The question now is how to follow in those footsteps.
Today’s Question of the Day is:
How close are the Detroit Lions to having an elite defense?
My answer: I think the Lions are missing an elite cornerback, a complementary pass rusher, and a play caller.
It might be an unfavorable opinion given how poorly the Lions’ defense looked at times in 2025, but in reality, they are not far away from boasting a great defense. The Lions were ninth in defensive DVOA in 2025 despite numerous injuries and a generally difficult schedule. However, DVOA is not everyone’s cup of tea, so let us look at it on a player-by-player basis.
The Lions easily have the best pass rusher between Detroit and Seattle thanks to Aidan Hutchinson, who led the way with 16 sacks last season. The Seahawks failed to record a pass rusher with over 10 sacks, but they traded quality for quantity. Seattle had four players with eight or more sacks (Byron Murphy, Uchenna Nwosu, Leonard Williams, and DeMarcus Lawrence), whereas Detroit had just two linemen with over four sacks (Hutchinson and Al-Quadin Muhammad). Considering Muhammad is a pending free agent, the Lions will need to add at least one pass rusher in free agency, but at the very least, they already have an All-Pro talent as a starting point. Can Alim McNeill and Tyleik Williams step up next season along the interior?
Detroit arguably has the edge over Seattle when it comes to linebackers as well, thanks to Jack Campbell. Questions remain surrounding Alex Anzalone’s free agency and Derrick Barnes’ disappointing 2025 season, but like at edge rusher, the Lions at least have one elite player already on the roster. It is worth noting, however, that the Lions were extremely heavy at linebacker in 2025. Campbell, Anzalone, and Barnes played 1096, 1003, and 939 snaps last season, respectively, while the Seahawks’ top linebackers were Ernest Jones (903), Drake Thomas (761), and Tyrice Knight (307).
The reason for Seattle’s limited linebacker usage was due to their dominant secondary. The leader of the group is Devon Witherspoon, but players like Coby Bryant, Tariq Woolen, Nick Emmanwori, Josh Jobe, Julian Love, and Ty Okada are not to be forgotten. The Seahawks have seven defensive backs that range from good to elite—there lies Detroit’s problem. Of their secondary members, only Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch (both safeties) are considered elite. However, both have injury concerns entering 2026, meaning their status as elite is a question mark until proven otherwise.
At cornerback, the Lions simply do not have the players to match Seattle’s caliber. Terrion Arnold has not developed into a shutdown corner, while D.J Reed had an up-and-down first season in Detroit. Throw in a rough year for Amik Robertson, and the Lions’ secondary was getting beat far too often. Not only do the Lions not have the starting talent of the Seahawks, but they also lack the depth. Is there a backup cornerback you feel confident in? Can Thomas Harper be a reliable third safety? At this point, I’m not sure Arnold will be that elite cornerback that the Lions expected him to be—the Lions need a bulldog like Witherspoon.
Players aside, it also comes down to the man at the helm. For Seattle, Mike Macdonald coached a brilliant game against the Patriots, and it shows why he was a Coach of the Year finalist. Not only does he have the chess pieces, but he also knows how to utilize them to create a dominant defensive game plan. For the Lions, the question is whether Kelvin Sheppard can reach that level. His first season as defensive coordinator had some positive moments and some rough ones, but the jury is still out on what his ceiling is as a coordinator. There were some games where the defense looked great (such as versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), but he also looked outmatched in others (such as versus the Los Angeles Rams). If the Lions want to be an elite defense, not only do they need their players to grow, but so too does their coordinator.
I think that the Lions have a better defense than many expect, but they are still missing some key pieces. They need a consistent pass rusher besides Hutchinson. They need great cornerback play, whether that comes from internal players or an external acquisition. Finally, they need their defensive coordinator to develop a scheme to overcome deficiencies and adapt to opponents. If Detroit could get all three—a big if—then I think they could emerge as an elite defense.
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