Bill Belichick believes the Detroit Lions could be vulnerable to talented passing quarterbacks because they give opposing quarterbacks a lot of time on the ball to select a target.
The Lions are now 11-1 in the NFC North, one win ahead of the Minnesota Vikings and two ahead of the Green Bay Packers, thanks to an explosive attack that has scored 383 points.
But the six-time Super Bowl champion feels the key to defeating them isn’t suffocating Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, and Jared Goff. He claims it stems from what their opponents do with the ball, as he believes he has them figured out.
“They don’t get very much pressure on the quarterback,” Belichick told the Pat McAfee Show.
“A lot of the sacks that they do get are because the quarterback holds the ball for an extended period of time.
“They really haven’t rushed the passer very effectively. I think the numbers are a little misleading because of the amount of time that the quarterbacks have held the ball. I think they’ve gotten away with some things.
“It looks good now, I just don’t know if it’s going to last against really good passing teams. I just worry when they get against a good offensive team.
“If [Jordan] Love has a good day, if [Sam] Darnold has a good day, which I didn’t think really either one of them did, you know what that would look like?”
Why are the Lions weak to stopping the pass?
The Lions could be struggling due to the absence of Aidan Hutchinson, who was their main pass rusher before he suffered a season-ending injury after making 7.5 sacks in five games of the 2024/25 campaign.
Across the season, the Lions have managed to pull of 30 sacks and that puts them quite far down the order across the NFL as they languish in 17th out of all of the teams. The Denver Broncos lead the league with 47, ahead of the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens.
But the Lions rank third in interceptions with 14 behind the Vikings and Texans so that suggests it could be a tactical decision to allow more time on the ball whilst dropping slightly deeper to cover receiving threats.
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NFL Makes Lions Announcement Ahead of Packers Clash in Detroit
The Detroit Lions have become one of the best teams in the National Football League over the past two seasons, and currently hold the best record in the National Football Conference at 11-1 so far this year.
Detroit’s game vs. the Chicago Bears was thrilling for both television and in-person viewers as the Lions seized an early lead only to watch rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears storm back.
The Bears had a chance to tie the game late, but their comeback attempt fell short as Williams’ last ditch heave hit the turf at Ford Field, setting off raucous celebrations amid questions about Chicago’s alleged clock mismanagement.
Detroit and Chicago’s holiday meet-up was noteworthy not just for the action on the field but also for the viewership records it broke.
“The early game on CBS between the Bears and Lions averaged 37.5 million viewers,” the NFL wrote on its website, “the most-watched early Thanksgiving Day game on record and up +11% versus last year’s Packers versus Lions game which was the previous record.”
The Packers and Lions are now in line for an additional marquee matchup with the two teams set to square off this Thursday in downtown Detroit at 8:15 p.m. with playoff positioning and the NFC North Championship up for grabs.
