O-Line Showdown: Lions’ Pass Rush Holds Key to…
With the whole country watching the Detroit Lions again, this time in primetime on “Sunday Night Football” against the Houston Texans, Detroit’s weakest unit must step up. The Lions’ defensive line came into the 2024 season with their best players under coach Dan Campbell. A few weeks into the season, suddenly, what was their strongest unit was their weakest. Injuries have piled up all over the defensive line, impacting this team a lot. It started with defensive end Marcus Davenport and linebacker Derrick Barnes before superstar defensive end Aidan Hutchinson also went down.
Detroit had one of the better run defenses in the NFL before the injuries, and now the Lions are tied for the fourth-worst yards per carry allowed with 4.8. While the run defense has taken a step back with those personnel losses, the pass rush has suffered the most. In the past three weeks, the Lions have rotated multiple players in at the defensive end spot and signed players off practice squads, but they have yet to work.
For the Lions to win against the Texans, the pass rush must hit home to slow the Texans’ passing game. Opposing quarterbacks for Detroit have had plenty of time to throw in the past three weeks, and while it hasn’t hurt the Lions yet, it’s only a matter of time before a team takes advantage of it. Let me explain why the Lions’ pass rush must step up and be a difference-maker on Sunday night.
