For the second straight game, the Detroit Lions' defense was carved up. On Thursday, the defense provided no resistance against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, who walked into 41 points. Putting up 446 yards and only getting stopped twice, the Bills' offense probably had the easiest game they will have all season.
Honestly, the 41-31 scoreline doesn't do justice to how much of a disaster Thursday night was. Whenever a defense looks so unprepared, mistake-prone, and outclassed, there will be a lot of factors to blame.
Sure, the Lions are dealing with injuries in the secondary. It was a short week against one of the best teams in the league on the road.
At the same time, this was a long time in the making. No one who followed Detroit's offseason was surprised by how poorly the Lions' defense has performed over the last two weeks. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard should get some criticism for how out of sorts the defensive unit looked, to be sure, but the majority of the blame should go to Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes.
Detroit's lack of offseason additions is the main reason for the defensive struggles
Campbell and Holmes talked about how deep and talented this team is up and down the roster all offseason. Despite the fact that the Lions' defense was a disaster in the second half of last season, the front office failed to make significant additions.
Even when Terrion Arnold abruptly had to depart and it became clear that Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch weren't going to be ready to start the season, the Lions seemingly had no interest in making a major move.
Instead, the Lions began the season with Rock Ya-Sin as the starting cornerback and Avonte Maddox and Chuck Clark as the starting safeties. That is a serious downgrade from what the secondary looked like last season.
Ya-Sin had as bad a game as you can see from a starting cornerback on Thursday. Not only was he consistently cooked in coverage, but he had two costly penalties. Maddox didn't cover himself in glory, either, allowing 65 yards on two targets.
The Lions' approach under Holmes has been a patient one. They like to draft and develop and have largely stayed away from making splashy acquisitions. While that has largely worked and allowed the Lions to build one of the best cores in the NFL, the front office can sometimes get high on its own supply.
Believing in your own players is great, but at some point, you have to see the writing on the wall. The defensive backfield obviously needed an injection of quality and depth in the offseason. Campbell and Holmes refused to accept this reality, resulting in the defensive disasterclass of Week 2. Whether this is a wake-up call that augurs a move remains to be seen.
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