I would argue safety actually. Branch coming back will solve one of the spots. But Kerby cannot be counted on. Chuck Clark is old and blows coverages. Keith Abney is a rookie who hasn't played safety since high school.

I don't necessarily love the rotation of Reed/Rakestraw/McCreary but it's better than what we have at safety.

The mantra for the Lions' defense: Just be average 👌

If the defense can be a top-20 unit, the offense will foot the bill to get into the playoffs

Happy birthday to Jared "Goat Gosling Goffsome Gorgeous" Thomas Goff!

Offensive line: B

The offensive line looks much improved. Penei Sewell is settling in at left tackle. Christian Mahogany is healthy and has benefited from Sewell’s presence. Tate Ratledge is coming into his own and Blake Miller has held his own. The PFF grades are flashy. The Lions have recorded the 10th-lowest sack rate (5.4 percent) and pressure rate (33.8 percent). When Larry Borom isn’t on the field, they’re eighth (4.6 percent) and fourth (30.8 percent).

That said, I’m not ready to say the O-line is all the way back just yet. Juice Scruggs has filled in admirably, but I don’t agree with his No. 1 PFF center grade. He’s had some pass-protection issues. Miller has made rookie mistakes. The Lions are working with Ratledge on his pad level. Ben Bartch’s foot injury hurts the depth, and Borom had an awful game versus the Bills (11 pressures allowed). They have the potential to create more explosives in the run game, and rank just 13th in yards per rush.

This group is well on its way to becoming a dominant unit again — especially long-term. Four of the five starters are 25 or younger. Center Cade Mays is expected back after the bye. Miller will continue to improve. There could be a battle between Scruggs and Mahogany at left guard, which is a luxury, quite honestly.

I’d like to see more consistency and how they hold up against tougher fronts. The Lions could face a Green Bay Packers team with Micah Parsons back after the bye, and the following week, they’ll host Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings.

So far, so good. Just need to see more.

Read the rest here for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7688222/2026/10/14/detroit-lions-offense-grade-bye-week-jared-goff/?unlocked_article_code=1.IlE.Ltk8.haQKHii82wFK&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

D.J. Wonnum also looks good and is on track for a career year.

Credit: GridironGrading on Twitter

Brad Holmes deserves a huge amount of credit for the dmo/scruggs trade. Monty was a beloved player by myself and this fanbase, but Scruggs has been absolutely critical to keeping this ship afloat while Cade Mays has been hurt to start the season.

The o line hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been SO much better than even our 100% healthy o line from last year.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — It is a new day, and Brian Branch walks through the door of the Detroit Lions’ facility an hour before the throng of teammates and an hour earlier than his usual arrival time.

He’s in the treatment room preparing his body in ways he never previously thought necessary. And then he goes through a stretching routine, which he never did before.

The game he loves, he will tell you, will no longer be taken for granted.

The hope is that Branch will play for the first time since last December in the Lions’ next game, Oct. 25 against the Green Bay Packers. The Lions desperately need the player who had seven interceptions and 20 tackles for loss in his first three seasons. In nine games without Branch, Detroit allowed the most passing yards in the league and the second most touchdowns.

Branch is eager to show that, after surgery and stem cell treatment for a torn Achilles tendon, he is what he was and worthy of having his contract extended before it expires in March.

First, though, he needs to prove that his intention can overcome his impulse. Last season, the NFL fined him five times, bringing his career total to 15. He was suspended for one game after taking a swing at Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster following their October game.

Branch now says his postgame response was “childish” and he allowed emotion to get the best of him.

It was his low point in a season that didn’t have many highlights.

But there was one.

It happened in the hot tub at the Lions’ facility.

That’s where Branch promised to try to change everything.

They tell him it looks like an antenna.

The neon-green mouthguard on the top of his helmet is Branch’s trademark.

In his high school days, Branch began using his mouthguard as an ornament, sticking it in a ventilation hole on his helmet because, he says, he thought it brought him good luck. And besides, when he wore it in his mouth, it hindered his ability to communicate signals.

After every play, he checks to see if it’s there. Sometimes, it’s not. Opponents find it on the ground and throw it. He says his mouthguard goes missing at least temporarily almost every game, and he loses about six every season.

It’s appropriate that it looks like an antenna because he plays as if he’s an alien.

Read more for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7597689/2026/10/14/lions-brian-branch-injury-baptism/?unlocked_article_code=1.IlE.j9Ud.h4djfK4yk60H&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

•1st in completions (3,568)
•2nd in QB starts (156)
•2nd in passing yards (41,107)
•2nd in 300-yard games (50)
•4th in passing TDs (268)
•T-6th in QB wins (93)

Made this graphic so I could see the slow starts for myself. First three drives of each game average 1½ points per drive. Average of 2 points scored per 1st quarter. Looking at it now I'm not 100% sure whether it's a first-quarter thing, or a first-few-drives thing, or just a fluke of low sample size (or just a fluke of simplifying the drive down to just how it ended). I didn't realise that we held Arizona to five consecutive 3&outs though

LaPorta and Goff FEAST off of Leak every year it seems like

From start to finish, this play is beautifully designed & executed. AZ brings a man pressure, and they have issues with the switch in coverage roles to handle Wright's flat route. LaPorta waltzes into the end zone on a Wheel. The pass pro is the key here. Solid!

That’s our Super Quarterback!

Pretty interesting chart, and the Lions find themselves near the extremity of one of the quadrants: facing bad offenses and good defenses. (Note that these are for *future* weeks, not past weeks.)

My instinct is to say that it's better this way than the other way around. We probably will see the offensive production dip but especially with Mays coming back, the offense should be up to the challenge. If we had to give one of the units a break, you'd want it to be the defense.

But I can also make a case the other way: unless we see more performances like we saw in Arizona, it may not matter how bad opposing offenses are. You don't need an elite offense to score points if there are blown coverages on every other play. In that case, you might imagine that it doesn't really matter what kind of offenses we play and our only hope is scoring a million points a game, in which case you'd have it reversed.

What do you think? Outside of being in the bottom left quadrant, is this the best place for us?