Detroit Lions Still Trust Pass-Rush, Players Have to 'Step Up'
The Detroit Lions were not able to pressure Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love consistently.
As a result, Dan Campbell's squad found themselves training by two touchdowns at halftime.
But in the second half, Detroit's defense did settle down, but the momentum gained early carried the Packers to the Week 1 victory.
It was clear Detroit's pass-rush was outmatched by the blocking schemes of the Packers early in the contest.
Green Bay made the effort to give extra attention to Aidan Hutchinson, but nobody else on the Lions' defensive line was able to consistently win one-on-one battles.
“They did a good job. They short set, (Jordan Love) he does a good job of bouncing in there, he’s got pocket mobility. The backs were stepping up pretty good," said Campbell on Monday. "(Josh) Jacobs did a really good job of shutting down some of the twist game, the stunts, the picks, all those that we’ll do some of.
"And then inevitably, when we got out of that a little bit, we’ve got some guys that have to win a one-on-one, they’ve got to step up and make their plays when they’re there. And we’ll adjust, like I said, we’ll keep repping it, we’ll keep working it. We’ll keep tweaking with guys too, and trying to find guys that we can put in a one-on-one and let them have a chance to win.”
Appearing on 97.1 The Ticket Tuesday morning, Campbell was asked how the team is planning to approach the pass-rush, if Hutchinson continues to get double-teamed and chipped.
"We'll have to get it from the interior. We'll have to get it from our linebackers and we'll have to get it from the other side," Campbell said. "I mentioned this yesterday. We did have guys, we had a few guys that had some one-on-ones, and they just they got to win those, you know. That being said, we have got to do a better job on the back end, too. It all goes hand in hand. Rush and coverage always go hand in hand. We're going to adapt. We'll switch some things up. And look, we switched things up in the second half, too. And though we didn't get a sack, we did get some pressures, and we got off the field. So, I thought we settled down and started making some plays."
Given the message has been similar the past couple of seasons, the team has not racked up the sack totals in Campbell's tenure.
Last year, though, the team ranked second in the league with a total of 345 pressures.
"I do believe we have the guys that can win one-on-one. And there's different ways to win. Certainly, everybody would love to see the speed ball off the edge and nobody can touch him. But those guys are -- that's a rarity when you can find one of those guys. But then it's the guys, these guys who can push the middle of the pocket, man. You can get an edge, and you can open it up and you can drive it right back into the quarterback's lap.
"So, there's different ways to apply pressure on the quarterback. And the bottom line is you just got to make them uncomfortable," Campbell explained further. "If we can make them uncomfortable, get get in his lap here a little bit, then normally good things will happen when you can do that. But, it requires everybody doing their job and you got to get there with urgency."
Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson Gets Stern Warning After Packers Loss
Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is getting warned after his season opener against the Green Bay Packers.
The Detroit Lions had a very difficult start to their 2025-26 season, and hopefully it’s not a sign of things to come. While those in the Motor City were hoping that the Lions would pick up where they left off last season, that didn’t quite happen, and instead, the team fell in a big loss to the Green Bay Packers, with a final tally of 27-13.
It wasn’t a good look, but hopefully the team got the wake-up call that it needed and will forge ahead with some wins. While there was a lot of finger-pointing after the game by spectators, the players gave it their all, but something was just off. It was easy to feel the absence of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn during that game.
Following the game, one of the Lions’ biggest stars, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, is getting some harsh words thrown at him about his debut. Hutchinson, of course, is coming back from a season-ending injury last season, so people were excited to see him back on the field. But, even he had a difficult start to the season, which is uncharacteristic for him.
Detroit Lions Star Aidan Hutchinson Gets Put on Notice
Hutchinson is raising some eyebrows following the Packers loss. He’s an elite player and one of the best in his position in the NFL, so hopefully he doesn’t get too discouraged by the talk, but it’s worth pointing out.
In a piece published on Monday, September 8, Chris Schad of Detroit Jock City calls Hutchinson out on his season debut. He basically said that Hutchinson did himself “zero favors” in that game and also didn’t help his case to land a blockbuster contract with Holmes and the Lions.
“Hutchinson didn’t show up often in the game against the Packers, finishing without a tackle or a sack in Sunday’s loss,” Schad noted. “His presence didn’t free up things for his teammates, either, as Jordan Love was sacked just once.”
Schad added, “Hutchinson also was embroiled in a controversy when he knocked over Love on a personal foul call, which resulted in Packers lineman Zach Tom getting injured as he tried to avoid his quarterback on the ground.”
Packers’ Micah Parsons Did a Number on the Detroit Lions
What made it worse was the dichotomy of the Packers having defensive end Micah Parsons on the team, which they obtained through a trade with the Dallas Cowboys.
“While Hutchinson wasn’t showing Brad Holmes to throw the bag at him as soon as possible, his cause was made worse by the debut of Micah Parsons,” Schad adds. “The star edge rusher played just 30 snaps in the win over the Lions but he was noticed immediately, swimming past All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell in his first snap as a Packer.” Later, Parsons also “picked up a sack in addition to the pressure he created all afternoon,” making that contract with the Packers worth it right away.
It was not a good look for Hutchinson. But, hopefully this was just an anomaly and that a better game is on the way.
Meanwhile, former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had a great game to start his season. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that “Matthew Stafford set an NFL record Sunday for most career opening-day starts for a quarterback with 17.” He adds that, “Until this year, Stafford had started his team’s season opener in all 16 seasons, which tied him with John Elway for the longest streak to being a quarterback’s career. Now it’s his record.”
