The Detroit Lions’ defensive woes are starting to reach a fever pitch. In Week 4 against the Carolina Panthers, they allowed nearly 450 yards of offense and six scoring drives, including four touchdowns. While the defense made several fourth quarter stops to give the offense a chance to make a miraculous comeback, it was too late and the Lions ran out of gas.
Detroit’s defensive woes are nowhere near fixed through four games, and the pressure is starting to mount on defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. Time is running out to fix that side of the ball, or at least show signs of progress.
Detroit ultimately fell 32-26 to the Panthers, dropping their overall record to 2-2.
Here’s how the game is played.
The Panthers won the toss and held off, putting the Lions’ offense first. Detroit’s offense finally came out looking strong, with gains of 7 for Jahmyr Gibbs, 6 for Jameson Williams, and 18 for Amon-Ra St. Brown.
But after a false start with Brock Wright, the Lions fell behind the sticks. On third-and-12, Jared Goff pressured it. Jake Bates drilled a 54-yard field goal to get ahead 3-0 Lions leading
The Lions defense forced a third-and-9 after a great tackle for loss by rookie Jimmy Rolder. However, Bryce Young found Tetairoa McMillan, who broke a tackle attempt from Jack Campbell to gain 10 yards and a first down. Carolina quickly faced another third down—third-and-2—but this time Detroit got off the field thanks to Alim McNeill’s bull rush-turned-sack.
The Lions offense tried to build on their lead, starting at their own 11-yard line. However, they could not overcome another penalty. After a first-down hold from Juice Scruggs, Detroit went three-and-out thanks to a missed deep shot to Williams that the Lions receiver barely missed.
The Panthers methodically marched down the field to take the lead. Carolina, using multiple RPO concepts, dunked and dunked down the field, until Young found a wide-open McMillen for 21 yards.
On the next play, Chuba Hubbard took a toss play for a 16-yard touchdown. 7-3 Panthers.
The Lions looked to respond, and an 11-yard pass to Sam LaPorta with a rough call on the passer pushed Detroit to midfield almost immediately. A 4-yard run from Gibbs closed out the first quarter.
A 13-yard run by Gibbs got the Lions into field goal range, but the Lions running back dropped a third-and-7 conversion after taking the big hit. Detroit challenged the play, but the call was upheld, and Detroit had to settle for a 43-yard field goal attempt. 7-6 Panthers.
The second time, the Lions defense forced the initial third-and-9, and the second time, the Lions blew it. An Alim McNeill tackle for loss set up the game, but Detroit’s blitz on third down didn’t go home and Young found a wide-open McMillan for a 26-yard gain.
Detroit got a third-down stop, however, the Panthers opted to go for it on fourth-and-4, and they converted on a pass to John Metchie. Two plays later, Young connected with McMillan—who beat DJ Reed for a 32-yard touchdown. The extra point is not earned. 13-6 Panthers.
Detroit avoided a three-and-out, with Goff finding Sione Vaki for 17 yards on a third-and-10. Williams was able to keep the drive alive with an 8-yard catch on third-and-5. Then Goff found St. Brown for another 14. Now in the red zone, the Lions face a critical third-and-3. Goff scanned the line and threw a wideout screen to Williams for an 11-yard gain and a first-and-goal situation. A pass interference against the Panthers put Detroit at the 1-yard line. From there, Gibbs ran it in, and the Lions tied it with 2:14 left in the half. 13-13 tie.
Carolina managed to take the lead before the end of the half. They were given a no-call on a very clear intentional grounding, but Detroit at least managed to keep the Panthers out of the end zone with three straight forced incompletions. Ryan Fitzgerald drilled a 47-yard attempt to give the Panthers 16-13 lead there are 28 seconds left.
That was too much time, as Goff hit Williams for a 49-yard bomb on the very first play of the drive.
Detroit tried to get a few shots into the end zone, but ultimately settled for a 41-yard field goal attempt, and Bates tied it. 16-16 tie.
The Panthers got the ball first and went right back to work against a Lions defense that had no answers. They converted a third-and-1 with a run, then converted a third-and-2 with an easy wide receiver screen to Metchie. A pass interference by McCreary pushed the Panthers into field goal range. An 11-yard pass to Darren Waller put Carolina in the red zone. McMillan then continued his funny night by knocking Christian Izien out of his shoes for a 10-yard touchdown (and another missed extra point). 22-16 Panthers.
Detroit appeared to be in trouble after a personal foul penalty on Brock Wright, however, and Goff connected on another bomb. This time, Isaac TeSlaa caught the Panthers second down for a 57-yard gain.
Unfortunately, Detroit was stopped in the red zone when Goff’s third-down pass was batted at the line of scrimmage. The Lions elected to kick the field goal and make it a three-point game. 22-19 Panthers.
A special teams penalty put the Panthers in their own zone—at their own 15-yard line—but it didn’t matter tonight. Young completed passes to Darren Waller for 16, then Brycen Tremayne for 22, then Metchie for 18 yards. The run defense then collapsed and allowed Hubbard to gain 25 yards down to the 2-yard line.
Then Hubbard plunged in for the score. 29-19 Panthers.
The Lions offense tried to keep the game from getting out of hand. The completions at Williams (14) and St. Brown (19) drove them comfortably into Panthers territory, but they faced second-and-14 after Blake Miller’s false start.
Williams threw a potential first down on the first play of the final quarter, setting up a third-and-14. Goff’s next throw was too high for St. Brown, and Detroit punted.
The Panthers took over, scoring points on five consecutive drives, and put the game away. They started at their own 14-yard line, but on the very first play, Hubbard turned the field over and gained 31 yards.
Hubbard picked up another 12 to move into Lions territory. The Lions were able to get a stop on third-and-2, but the Panthers went on fourth-and-4 and converted on a pass to Waller. The Panthers did lead in the red zone, but Carolina extended their lead with a field goal 32-19 Panthers there is 8:59 left.
Detroit seemed to respond quickly. Goff completed five straight passes for 61 yards, but the offense’s red zone struggles continued deep into the night. Three straight incompletions, including a batted ball, set up a fourth-and-10. Then Detroit blew up with a delay of game and false start penalty. On fourth-and-20, the Lions tried a hook-and-ladder, but fell 6 yards.
The Lions defense was able to get a three-and-out, allowing the team one more shot to get back into the game. With 6:07 left, the offense needed to score quickly. A couple of TeSlaa completions gained 26 yards. LaPorta then hit another 21. LaPorta then converted a fourth down in the red zone, and Goff returned to him for an 8-yard touchdown with 3:38 left. 32-26 Panthers.
Carolina’s offense was able to put the game away. Detroit forced the Panthers on third-and-14, but McMillan made an incredible toe-tapping catch on the sidelines to move the chains.
Detroit had one more chance to turn the ball over on offense. And on third-and-6, DJ Wonnum made a clutch tackle as Young tried to scramble. This forced the Panthers to punt.
Goff took over at his own 13-yard line with 2:06 left and no timeouts remaining. But Goff took a sack on second down, and the Lions never recovered.