Back in what seems like a different life, I worked for an automotive finance technology company. I was young and trying to make a bigger name for myself, so when I kept running into one recurring problem that bugged me, I went to my boss.
I explained that the way our company handled something was deeply flawed. It was a complaint that several others who were in the same position as me shared, but I was the one who voiced it.
My boss listened. He let me whine and kvetch. And then he hit me with something that, in retrospect, should have been plainly obvious to me. But it wasn’t at the time. And I needed to hear it.
“Don’t come to me with a problem and no solution.”
I hadn’t offered any fix or alternate way. I just complained.
“What do you think we should do about it?”
I was frozen. I had nothing.
Two days later, he called me and asked if I had any ideas on what could be done differently. I had spent most of that time thinking about it, and I did indeed have potential remedies. After more extended conversations with people above my boss, my ideas were largely adopted. And they worked and were popular with the staff.
Lesson learned. That was almost 30 years ago, and I still embrace the philosophy of not complaining about an issue unless I have an idea of how to fix it. Or ideas for potential solutions.
Thursday night’s game in Buffalo offered up many valid things to complain about with the Detroit Lions. But, in remembering what my boss (RIP Mr. Adams) demanded of me all those years ago, I’m going to try and effort some solutions for the Lions’ problems.
Health
Getting healthy is the most obvious solution, and that does look like it’s coming. Through two games in four days, the Lions really have only suffered one potential long-term injury, to safety Avonte Maddox. Maddox is a placeholder for Brian Branch, who should return after the Week 6 bye at the latest, too. Starting center Cade Mays will be back by then, too. Kerby Joseph? Who knows…
But that’s not a real solution, not a cure-all. And it’s perilous to rely on guys coming off of injuries to thrive immediately, too.
Stop blitzing so much on D
Through two games, Kelvin Sheppard’s defense has been very blitz-heavy. Detroit blitzed over 43 percent vs. the Saints in Week 1, and an astounding 55.3 percent rate in Week 2 in Buffalo. After a spotty start, Tyler Shough and the Saints quickly adapted and thrived when blitzed. Josh Allen and the Bills ignored the extra pressure and annihilated the Lions extra pressure.
This is a defense that has invested considerable resources in the front four. Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill are each among the highest-paid players at their positions. Tyleik Williams is a 2025 first-rounder. D.J. Wonnum was a priority free-agent addition this offseason, plus second-round rookie Derrick Moore. Day 3 rookie Skyler Gill-Howard has shown he belongs already, too.
The point? This is an impressive defensive front four (or five). They don’t need the extra help at those high rates. The occasional blitz is fantastic, a way to keep the offense guessing and off-balance, to keep them from getting comfortable in their protections. The Lions aren’t getting any added benefit from blitzing. Quite the opposite, in fact:
The Lions blitzed Josh Allen on 55.3% of his dropbacks in Week 2, their highest rate under DC Kelvin Sheppard.
🔹 Passing vs. Blitz: 12/17, 137 yards, 2 TD
🔹 Scramble Runs: 5 for 49 yards, TD
🔹 QB Sneaks: 4/4 conversions, TD#DETvsBUF | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/qazhTGJJti— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 18, 2026
The secondary isn’t strong enough or fast enough to operate consistently even when the Lions aren’t blitzing. Taking away extra coverage options to blitz excessively only exacerbates the issues. This defense is built around the idea that the line can create pressure and make plays without help. But that’s not what the scheme is doing in the first two weeks. If you’ve invested that heavily in the front and still see the need to blitz at near league-high rates, you’ve completely failed as an organization in team building.
Replace Rock Ya-Sin
Through two weeks, the veteran outside corner has not played well. Ya-Sin has allowed 11 completions on 16 targets, a QB Rating over 110 and has also been flagged for three called penalties. He’s been guilty of many more that went uncalled, unfortunately. When the Saints or Bills needed a big completion, Shough and Allen immediately targeted him–and it worked.
In Buffalo, Ya-Sin couldn’t reliably run with any of the Bills’ targets. He’s always been a grabby corner from his time in college at Temple, but the grabbing isn’t working this year. Being left without help over the top is a separate but related problem, but the smart quick-fix option here is to try someone else.
Ennis Rakestraw is healthy–as healthy as he’s ever going to be in the NFL. The Lions saw fit to invest a second-round pick in him in 2024. While injuries have devastated his early career, the talent that compelled them to use such a lofty pick on him hasn’t just evaporated. It’s time to see what Rakestraw can do. If not now, then when? If he’s a healthy scratch again, why even bother having him on the roster?
Rookie Keith Abney should merit consideration, too. He’s grossly undersized, but the Lions knew that when they drafted him. Abney showed confidence and competence in training camp and the preseason. Right now they’re getting neither from Ya-Sin.
Embrace the villain
Remember this?
The villain mindset was something the 2023-2024 Lions embraced quite successfully. Be who you are, be unapologetic about it and let others worry about you, not vice versa. Dan Campbell bought into it and it gave the Lions a swagger and identity that proved incredibly triumphant.
Our defense isn’t great? No problem. We’re going to hang 44 on your ass and make you try and keep up. Unload the bag of tricks early and often. Bail out a struggling defense by leaning even more into Jared Goff and the best set of offensive skill position players in the league.
All those offensive pieces are still in place. But the villain mindset to deploy it with reckless abandon — that’s gone. It’s in Chicago with Ben Johnson, who in Week 1 covered for a truly incompetent Bears defense by proudly running up the score and never letting the foot off the gas. Chicago’s starters were still in, still attacking while up by 20 points in the fourth quarter. No mercy in this dojo.
Detroit can do that. Absolutely, these Lions have that capability. But that’s not the mindset anymore. The Lions fell behind in Buffalo and kept trying to run for too long. In Week 1, they got more conservative on offense with a nice early lead. It’s like playing prevent defense, but on offense.
Going into Buffalo, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the Bills were going to be able to post a lot of points on the Detroit D. Hell, they just humiliated the Texans defense in Week 1 and Houston might have the best unit (on paper anyway) in the NFL. The Lions offense came out meek and flat. Uninspired. Once they awakened and new OC Drew Petzing got to being more aggressive (and it looked quite nice), the Lions actually outscored Buffalo 31-20. Apply that same mindset to the start of the game, tighten up the protections with a healthier offensive line, and these same Lions can win games where the Detroit defense is overmatched like it was in Buffalo.
