The alarm bells are ringing for the Detroit Lions’ pass rush after a Week 1 performance that validated the worst fears of many fans and analysts. The Green Bay Packers exposed a blueprint that future opponents will surely follow: double-team Aidan Hutchinson on nearly every snap and dare anyone else on Detroit’s defensive line to beat you.
No one did.
“I asked Kelvin Shepard this question specifically, like, hey, Hutch said he got two or three one on one opportunities in 46 snaps against the Packers. Is it really as simple as just winning your one on ones?” Ben Raven recounted on the latest Dungeon of Doom podcast. “And he said, well, there’s 10 other guys on the field and if Hutch is getting attention from two or three of them, fill in the blanks.”
Those blanks weren’t filled against Green Bay, and the silence from Detroit’s other pass rushers was deafening.
Defensive end Marcus Davenport, whom the Lions’ re-signed in the offseason, was essentially invisible. When asked if he could name a single play Davenport made during the game, Kory Woods responded with a simple, “I can’t.”
This is precisely what had Lions fans concerned throughout the offseason. The team largely stood pat with its pass rush group, betting that Hutchinson would continue his ascension while Davenport would provide adequate pressure from the opposite side.
“When you put all the faith in all your marbles and saying that, hey, we’re good with Marcus Davenport, and then like you said, Hutch being double teamed, (and) he doesn’t get home, that brings fans to have questions like, ‘Okay, how come you didn’t take getting this password addressed more seriously in free agency and in the draft?’” Woods questioned.
The frustration was palpable from defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard when addressing the media this week.
Raven agreed with Woods’ description of Sheppard as “respectfully intense” when discussing the pass rush issues: “He’s ready to hit somebody right now. And he just was like, man, there’s 10 other guys on the field. Hutch is that type of capital player. We know he’s going to get double teamed and chipped like that. We need other guys to step up. And to me that’s like, you got to manufacture some pressure.”
Manufacturing pressure might be the key phrase for the Lions moving forward. If no natural pass rusher emerges opposite Hutchinson, the team may need to get creative with blitz packages involving linebackers like Derek Barnes or defensive backs like Brian Branch.
The concern is that the Week 1 performance wasn’t just a bad game but a validation of the offseason concerns. Woods put it plainly: “It’s one of those things when you see a performance like that, it validates all of the concerns the fans had about the team not addressing the pass rush through free agency that the way that they should have.
“You can also say, hey, maybe (Lions general manager) Brad (Holmes) is falling in love with his guys a little bit too much.”
With the Chicago Bears coming to town, featuring quarterback Caleb Williams, who showed flashes of his playmaking ability in Week 1, the Lions need answers quickly. If they can’t generate pressure against a Bears offensive line that’s still finding its footing, those alarm bells will only ring louder.
**See below to listen to the most recent Dungeon of Doom podcast**:
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