Detroit Lions defense can carry team

Don't look now, but through three weeks, the Lions' defense — not the team's offense — has played like a top unit in the NFL. And that's why Detroit sits at 2-1 heading into its Week 4 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

The Lions' most recent impressive performance on defense came on Sunday against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. It was a truly masterful display from defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn's unit, with Detroit limiting Murray & Co. to under 20 points (13) for the first time in 2024. With that effort, the Lions have held each of their first three opponents this season – the Rams, Buccaneers and Cardinals – to 20 points or less.

“I mean, this is one of the best three-game streaks I've ever seen (on defense),” Taylor Decker, the Lions' longest-tenured member, told reporters after Detroit's 20-13 win over the Cardinals on Sunday. “I guess time will tell, but I know the character of the guys on the defensive side of the ball. I know 'AG' (Aaron Glenn) makes them play aggressively and has their hair on fire, so to speak. I'm very confident they're going to continue to do that.”

Before the Week 3 affair, the Cardinals had averaged 34.5 points per game and were coming off a 41-point performance against the LA Rams in Week 2. Murray had also been unrivaled in his first two games, throwing for four touchdowns, zero interceptions and 428 yards. That wasn't the case on Sunday for the talented dual-threat passer.

Now, it's true that Murray and the Cardinals marched down the field with ease on their first series of the game, capping an eight-play, 70-yard drive with a 10-yard pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. for a touchdown. However, Arizona was held in check after that, scoring only six more points the rest of the game (only three of those points came in the second half). That's a huge credit to Glenn's defense, which was without veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone and suffered a variety of serious injuries throughout the game.

Fellow linebacker Derrick Barnes, who injured his knee on Sunday, was wheeled into the locker room in the first half. He did not play a single snap in the second half. Additionally, defensive tackle Alim McNeill left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury and was unable to return. Defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike (leg) and cornerback Terrion Arnold (knee) also left the Week 3 game in the first half. However, unlike Barnes and McNeill, they returned to the game.

Meanwhile, defensive back Brian Branch left the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a head-to-head collision with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. Detroit says Branch is in concussion protocol.

Despite the numerous injuries, the Lions, aided by the efforts of Onwuzurike and Pro Bowl EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, were able to apply sufficient pressure on Murray, each of whom recorded two quarterback hits and Hutchinson notched the only sack of the Cardinals' playmaker.

In addition, Glenn's unit stymied Arizona's running attack, notably limiting James Conner – the team's lead back – to a season-low 17 yards on nine carries. It also held the Cardinals to under 100 rushing yards (18 carries for 77 yards), continuing the Lions' season-opening streak of allowing their opponents fewer than 100 yards on the ground.

Detroit's secondary also performed exceptionally well in the desert, and the starting safety duo of Branch and Kerby Joseph spearheaded that performance. Joseph continued his opportunistic play, securing the Lions' only interception against Murray – the defensive back's second pick of the season – on an end zone throw by the Arizona quarterback in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Branch aided Detroit's defense in both passing and running, finishing the game with two passes defensed and nine tackles, a team-high total, including one tackle for loss. Overall, the team's defensive back group limited Murray's production in the air, limiting the Pro Bowl passer to just 114 yards on 13 completed passes.

It was the definition of a balanced performance from the Glenn-led defense, and it's fair to say that his unit – not offensive coordinator Ben Johnson's – catapulted the Lions to their 2-1 start.

The offense – a top-five unit in 2023 – has averaged just 20.7 points per game so far, outside the NFL's top 10. Additionally, the team's red zone efficiency of 38.5 percent ranks just 26th in the league.

To put it mildly, Detroit's offense has a lot of catching up to do compared to its defense.

Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who scored the most points of the game against Arizona with seven pass catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, is well aware that the offense needs to play better.

“Our defense is playing great. I think we need to score more points as an offense,” St. Brown told reporters after the game. “I know it sounds crazy, but we think 20 points as an offense is nice, but in a game like this we need to do (more). … It's nice to win, but we think we can get a lot better as an offense.”

“There is a lot of room for improvement and we will get better. I don't think we have to worry too much, but we need to continue to improve.”

Detroit's defense certainly wasn't expected to perform better than its offense entering the 2024 season. But it certainly has through the first three weeks. And you know what? That's far from the worst part.

If Glenn's unit continues to perform as well as it has done so far, it could well lead Dan Campbell's team to many more wins this season.