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Detroit Lions Season Will Sink If Secondary Stays Same

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) is tackled by. Detroit Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (23) IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Detroit Lions Season Will Sink If Secondary Stays Same

Originally posted on Detroit Lions on SI | By Vito Chirco | Last updated Sep 14, 2026 8:55 AM ET

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The Detroit Lions kicked off the 2026 campaign on a positive note Sunday, beating the New Orleans Saints, 31-30.

Yet, there's no doubt Dan Campbell's squad failed to bring its “A game,” and has plenty to clean up on both sides of the ball heading into Thursday night against Josh Allen and the Bills.

Most notably, though, the Lions’ secondary – starting with the team's No. 1 cornerback D.J. Reed – has to play at a much higher level. The defensive backfield was exposed time and time again against Kellen Moore's team, looking like anything but a playoff-caliber position group. And its shortcomings played a major role in the Saints erasing a 21-0 deficit and forcing overtime in the season-opening tilt.

Now, maybe you're the type of person who wants to show the secondary a bit of mercy because of its current banged-up state.

And yes, I'm readily aware the Lions are presently without both of their starting safeties: Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Branch and Joseph are each high-level defenders, with the ability to make a big play and come up with a crucial stop at any given moment. And Joseph, for one, has become one of the game's most prolific ballhawks, with a knack for coming up with timely turnovers. The All-Pro safety, in fact, has 20 interceptions to his name through just 55 games.

So, it's hardly a stretch to say Detroit has a glaring void in its defensive backfield without the starting safety duo.

However, it's still absolutely no excuse for the subpar performance the team's defensive backs delivered on Sunday.

Quite simply, Kelvin Sheppard's DBs did not come ready to play, and were seemingly a second or two off on each throw they went up to contest from Saints QB Tyler Shough.

And they especially had no answer for New Orleans wide receiver Chris Olave. Olave, a 2022 first-round pick of the Saints, thrashed the Lions to the tune of 10 catches for 182 yards. It was a career-best day for the Ohio State product, who keyed New Orleans’ valiant comeback attempt.

All in all, it was a porous day for Detroit's pass defense, which permitted Shough to throw for a career-high 410 yards. The second-year Saints signal-caller, by the way, had only thrown for 300-plus yards twice prior to Sunday, and had never thrown for more than 333 yards.

The Lions’ secondary has no choice but to rectify its play going into its primetime affair with Allen & Co. on Thursday. Allen, who's coming off a 334-yard, two-touchdown performance through the air against the Texans, will have an absolute field day against Detroit if the lackluster play persists.

And even worse, the Lions’ season is in serious jeopardy of being a seismic flop if the coverage issues continue. They not only could prevent Detroit from making a deep playoff run but also could cause Campbell's team to miss out on the postseason altogether. And that would be a major letdown for the franchise and its Super Bowl-starved fanbase.

No ifs, ands, or buts about it, Sheppard's secondary needs to perform at a much higher level in Week 2 and beyond. And if it fails to do so, the Lions’ season is in danger of sinking before it even gets off the dock.

This article first appeared on Detroit Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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