The Detroit Lions are only five games into Kelvin Sheppard’s tenure as defensive coordinator and the 37-year-old is already making a name for himself.
Despite being in his first job as a coordinator, Sheppard has been a member of coach Dan Campbell’s staff since arriving in 2021 and was part of a succession plan to take over after former DC Aaron Glenn left for a head coaching job with the New York Jets.
The Lions (4-1) have remained a confident and imposing defense early in the 2025 season, ranking top-10 in total defense, second in sacks and third in takeaways.
It has Detroit’s next opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, and two-time NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes paying close attention to Sheppard and his unit after making life difficult for quarterbacks during their current four-game winning streak.
“I think he does a great job of of the game planning kind of like we’re talking about the unscouted looks, doing stuff that’s specific to each and every team,” Mahomes said of Sheppard. “He puts his guys in position so they can play fast and play hard.”
Sheppard’s willingness to tailor his defense to disrupt an opposing quarterback was most widely praised for the Lions’ performance against the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson in Week 3.
Detroit sacked the mobile quarterback a career-high seven times en route to a 38-30 victory in Baltimore.
A former NFL linebacker in his own right, Sheppard and his defense are ranked No. 2 in overall defensive grade by Pro Football Focus and average over 20 quarterback pressures per game, one of the best marks in the NFL.
“You can tell they respect him by how hard they do play,” Mahomes said. “I don’t know if that’s being a former player or whatever it is, but he gets the best out of his guys.
“It’ll be a great challenge for us. We got to match the intensity. We got to match the intensity of of going up against a Detroit Lions football team and a Detroit Lions defense. So it’ll be a great challenge for us.”
Mahomes is not an easy quarterback to get down, having been sacked seven times this season on 48 total pressures, among the fewest of quarterbacks who have started every game for their team. He’s just as elusive as Jackson with an O-line that is among the top-10 in preventing pressure.
But Detroit’s defense might be the best unit the Chiefs have faced to this point and they know they’re in for a physical and competitive matchup Sunday night.
“I look at these guys on tape, you see them on TV, and the word that comes to mind is relentless,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “I mean, their motor goes non-stop. And I think they work off of each other, that defense in general. They get one sack, they’re looking to get that second sack.
“Relentless is the thing that keeps coming to mind for me. And so, we want to make sure they’re not relentless on Sunday night.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.