It hasn't been the start to the 2026 season the Detroit Lions had envisioned. After barely escaping with a win over the Saints in Week 1, they were completely outclassed by the Bills on the road on Thursday. There are plenty of problems with the team right now, but their inability to get a stop due to a lack of communication and discipline is at the top.
The frustrating part of it all is the fact that even their most reliable defenders are letting them down. Other than Aidan Hutchinson, it's difficult to find too many silver linings. Perhaps the most disappointing player through the first two weeks of the season, however, has been Jack Campbell.
Jack Campbell's performance has been a big reason for the Lions' pathetic defensive showing
After an All-Pro season where he looked like one of the best linebackers in the league, Campbell couldn't have looked further from a difference-maker through the first two games. The 26-year-old defender, who landed a four-year, $81 million contract in the spring to make him the third-highest-paid linebacker in the league in terms of annual salary, has been a big part of Detroit's struggles.
Campbell had a poor showing against New Orleans. There were warning signs about his struggles in coverage as the Saints' passing game carved up the Lions' defense in the second half. These warning signs turned into a full-on fire alarm on Thursday. Campbell had one of his worst games in a Lions uniform as Detroit's defense had as bad a game as anyone could have realistically feared.
Per Pro Football Focus, Campbell had a 31.8 coverage grade and a 29.6 defensive grade, the worst mark on the team. Buffalo's tight ends, Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox, both had themselves a game, and Campbell wasn't effective in coverage. He also had a costly penalty that canceled out a sack.
As a defensive captain who wears the green dot, Campbell obviously has more responsibility than the rest of the starters. Especially given how out of sorts the defensive unit looked in terms of penalties, communication, and not being on the same page, part of the blame goes to the 26-year-old linebacker.
After the game, Campbell accepted his responsibility and said, "I got to be better, and I ain’t got no other thing to do (but) to look in the mirror and be better. So that’s really where it starts. It starts with us," per MLive's Kory Woods.
He was visibly emotional in his remarks before adding, "Yeah, put it on me. I play terrible. I've got to be better, especially for the offense and for all these guys in the locker room."
This is the first step in improving. Campbell is aware of how much better he needs to be going forward. But this is obviously not all on him. There were plenty of play-calling errors by the coaching staff and an overall lack of connectedness on the defensive unit.
The Lions' defense may never be an elite unit, but it also can't afford to look as pathetic as it looked on Thursday night. Campbell going back to his 2025 form would do a lot to get things back on track.
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