Three ways Lions can improve after loss to Bills

The Detroit Lions and head coach Dan Campbell went into their second game of the season against the Buffalo Bills 1-0 and came out with a loss, making their record 1-1 so far this season.

The Lions have never been to the big game. It's not that they haven't won it; they actually haven't stepped foot on the field in a real championship game. The Detroit fan base is hungry to finally get there, and this is the team to do it.

The Lions fell to the Bills 41-31 on "Thursday Night Football," and there were some glaring problems on the field. Here's what they need to do to fix it.

Three things the Detroit Lions absolutely need to fix after loss to Bills

The Lions can't expect to fix everything overnight. But there are a few things that can be done now to help get them back on track.

Lions secondary

For one, they have to fix the secondary. The team's defense was not good. All this reporter has to do is look at her fantasy football team, which has the Lions on defense, to see that they fell hard. The team's defense allowed 41 points and 446 total yards of offense in the game, according to NFL research. So, the Lions have to fix their communication on defense, lean into their strengths, rally around defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and stop big plays from happening.

Stop opponents' running game

Second, they have to stop the opposing team from making big runs. In other words, they have to fix their run defense. The Lions have to focus on making sure the opposing team doesn't get a lot of yards on run plays, and this was a problem in the Bills' game.

Take advantage of easy schedule

Finally, and this one is easy, this team has an easier schedule than most in the NFL. They have to play on that. They need to lean into games against teams that are simply weaker, including the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, to get back to where they need to be in the rankings.

With the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears looking like strong competition, it's imperative for the Lions to step it up if they want to secure a high spot in the NFC North rankings. Now is the time to do it.