Halloween was a truly scary time for the Detroit Lions defense. The team had just lost a winnable game to the Miami Dolphins by allowing four touchdowns on five Miami possessions, all drives of which covered at least 67 yards.
Sitting in dead last in almost every conceivable defensive statistical metric, the Lions made the decision to try and end the horror by firing DBs coach and passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant. Many folks wanted coordinator Aaron Glenn sent out the door with Pleasant.
At the time, the Lions were the worst team in the league with a 1-6 record. The defense was allowing:
35 points per game (32nd of 32)
25 first downs per game (32nd)
154.8 rushing yards per game (30th)
5.14 yards per carry (30th)
8.24 yards per pass attempt allowed (32nd)
73.1 red zone TD percentage (32nd)
50.6 third down conversion percentage (32nd)
266.4 passing yards per game (30th)
6 takeaways in seven games (.85 per game ranks 30th)
Then came a few series of events that have sparked a pretty emphatic turnaround. Pleasant’s firing is the headliner, but the Lions also added starting CB Jerry Jacobs and rookie DE Josh Paschal into the lineup. Both represented significant upgrades at their spots on the depth chart and also created more depth overall. Valuable DL John Cominsky finally got healthy too. Rookie DE Aidan Hutchinson began playing more exclusively from a 2-pt. stance instead of with a hand in the dirt as well. Glenn figured out how to better use linebackers Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes, and S DeShon Elliott and DT Isaiah Buggs — two newcomers to the Lions in 2022 — also started playing better in their roles.
It’s a confluence of events that has helped improve the Detroit defense. Here are the Lions defensive stats from only in the six games since Halloween and how they would rank for the full season
PPG: 20.3 (11th)
1st downs: 21.3 (24th)
YPC: 3.8 (t-3rd)
AYA: 6.9 (t-21st)
Passing ypg: 259.8 (30th)
Rushing ypg: 122.3 (19th)
Third down conversion: 45.2 (29th)
That’s pretty solid improvement, notably in the run defense. But it’s not necessarily the corner-turning improvement we’ve seen in Detroit. The real edge comes from these two key metrics.
Red zone TD percentage: 55 percent (16th)
Takeaways: 11 in six games, a 1.84 average that would tie for 1st
The Lions have significantly improved in taking the ball away from the opposing offense and stopping foes from scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Going from near-historical depths to being even average in red zone defense has made a huge difference. That some of those takeaways have come in the red zone is an even bigger accomplishment for Aaron Glenn’s defense.
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