For all of the Detroit Lions’ failures through three weeks, they were still 2-1 on the season. A date with the Carolina Panthers could have been an opportunity to win back-to-back games and, with the Arizona Cardinals on deck, potentially go into the bye week with positivity.

Instead, the Lions looked like a kitten in this catfight.

The Panthers were in control of this game from the start, and the final score of 32-26 does not illustrate Detroit’s struggles. The offense was failing with execution. The defense continues to be a calamity. From players to coaches, it was a failure for the entire Lions team. A team with playoff aspirations cannot put together many performances like these before a systematic change needs to happen. The Lions have yet to hit the iceberg, but it is visible in the horizon.

Suddenly, next week’s game against the Cardinals looks daunting. Can this team even stop an offense like Arizona’s? Can the offense stop shooting themselves in the foot and actually dominate a game like they are capable of?

Before we go too far into the future, let us examine the Winners and Losers from this Sunday night tilt.

Note: The label of “loser” is used to evaluate and contrast in-game performance and is not an indictment of a player’s ability, value, or character. The term is not intended to be disrespectful in nature.

Loser: Kelvin Sheppard, DC

Patience with Sheppard is wearing thin. The Lions have personnel issues on defense, without question, but the growing thought in my mind is that this is a poorly coached unit more than anything else. In a game where the Panthers had essentially one weapon in the passing game, Tetairoa McMillan, that should make for an easier game plan, even with a depleted secondary.

Instead, McMillan went off, totaling 193 yards on 14 catches and two touchdowns. Worse yet, the next-leading receiver for Carolina was John Metchie with just three catches for 37 yards. The Panthers, as expected, were feeding McMillan, yet the Lions defense continually had no answer for him. Bryce Young, meanwhile, was essentially perfect, going 29-of-41 for 329 yards and two touchdowns.

The defensive line actually looked good on Sunday night, which makes the failures of the secondary and Sheppard an even tougher pill to swallow. If the Lions could cover for a split second longer, they would have had multiple impactful plays—sacks, pass breakups, perhaps even interceptions. Instead, the Lions were consistently getting beat within seconds of the snap. When the Lions were calling blitzes, they were ill-timed and forced the defensive backs into 1-on-1s that they promptly lost. Jeremy eloquently voices my frustration with the play calling:

To add insult to injury, the run defense fell apart in the second half. Chuba Hubbard ran wild down the stretch, finishing with 122 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns. The Lions linebackers and secondary were missing assignments frequently, giving lanes for Hubbard to coast through.

A few misplays over the course of the game is expected. Constant misplays are an indictment of a poorly coached team. The Lions are not putting their players in positions to succeed, and they are naturally failing because of a lack of talent to overcome stacked odds. This teams incapability to stop explosive plays is mindboggling. I want the Lions to add a cornerback before the trade deadline, but that alone is not the solution to the secondary woes—it starts at the top with Sheppard.

Failing to trade for Joey Porter Jr. could haunt the Lions if Reed continues to struggle. While Reed started off as a rare bright spot in the secondary, his play over the last two weeks has fallen off a cliff. McMillan in particular was giving Reed fits, outright bullying him with both size and speed. On McMillan’s 32-yard touchdown, Reed got burnt for an easy catch. He did not record a single pass breakup on the night—in fact, he was rarely in position to even make a play.

Reed is simply not a CB1, yet the Lions are forced to rely on him to be their top dog.

This was a sloppy, sloppy game. I have already gone over the defensive struggles, but the Lions were struggling with fundamentals in every aspect. The offense tried its best to play catch up, but too many instances of self-inflicted wounds neutered any chance of a comeback.

Early on, the Lions had to burn a timeout because they were missing a player on a field goal attempt (an attempt that was thankfully converted). I was okay with his challenge of a potential catch-fumble-touchdown that was not overturned, but Detroit looked discombobulated on a fair number of snaps, either racing to beat the play clock or running players on and off the field.

The worst example of poor execution came late in the game. On fourth-and-10 with the game essentially on the line, the Lions got called for a delay of game despite holding three timeouts. On the subsequent fourth-and-15, the Lions got called for false start. On the ensuing fourth-and-20, the Lions tried to run a hook and ladder that only managed 13 yards.

My frustration really boils down to one thing: I am tired of the Lions needing to fix things. It has sadly been a common comment after Lions games that they have a few things to clean up. We are in Week 4 of the 2026 season. The Lions have had things to clean up since 2023. After a certain point, that line means nothing.

Winners: Alim McNeill and Aidan Hutchinson, DL

For as bad as the Lions secondary was, their work in the trenches was impressive. No players stood out as much as McNeill and Hutchinson. McNeill was a menace up the interior, recording two tackles for loss and numerous pressures. He turned one of those into a 10-yard sack of a backpedaling Young. As for Hutchinson, he was his usual game-wrecking self, even if a sack eluded him. What he lacked in sacks he brought in pressure, many of which came on his patented spin move.

If anything, the Lions could have had at least three more sacks if the coverage could have held for even a second. The Lions were bringing pressure up front but Carolina was countering with quick hits all night long. The front seven is doing its part to attack the passing game.

Wright had a pair of brutal penalties, an inexcusable performance for a backup tight end. The first drive was stalled by a false start penalty on Wright on first down, which eventually led to a 54-yard Jake Bates field goal. His second was an unnecessary roughness call that set the team back 15 yards, although he was promptly bailed out by a massive 57-yard shot to Isaac TeSlaa.

Considering that Wright is neither shining as a blocker or receiver, these types of mistakes stand out for wrong reasons.

Jameson Williams finished as the leading receiver, but a couple of drops keep him off the winners list. Instead, I will give a nod to TeSlaa, who has returned to relevance after a quiet start to the season. He only added four catches on the night, but one of which was a 57-yarder that set up the Lions deep in Panthers’ territory (a drive that stalled for a field goal, unfortunately). That led to his receiving total of 95 yards, a career-high.

He can be a big-play receiver like Williams when called upon, even if those instances are somewhat limited. Given the Lions red zone woes this season, I would like to see him more involved—we know he can use his size to make acrobatic catches.

With LaPorta’s contract extension talks stagnating, he is proving why the Lions need to pay him. LaPorta was vacuuming up passes all night long, finishing with 84 yards on eight catches and a touchdown. His reliability in this offense continues to be underappreciated. His role as a blocker has evolved from minimal to genuinely impactful, and he has easily passed Wright as their best blocking tight end. As a safety valve for Goff, he is seemingly always ready to churn out yards.

Losers: Linebacking corps

It’s hard to fault the linebackers too much given all of coaching woes, but they are not free from blame. Jack Campbell has looked lost in coverage far too often. Derrick Barnes was rarely near the football (he finished with a mere one tackle). A week after a strong outing from Trevor Nowaske, he rarely made a play on Sunday night. Aside from one tackle for loss from rookie Jimmy Rolder, there was essentially nothing positive from the linebackers.

Sure, the scheme is putting them at a disadvantage, yet the linebackers are nonetheless struggling to execute. It’s a failure from top to bottom with this group.

No player has elevated their value in the past few weeks like Branch… and that comes without him playing a single snap.

It has become evident that the Lions defense is appalling without him on the field. Branch provides sound coverage, stout run defense, and impactful game-changing plays on a regular basis. The Lions defense is presently missing most of those components. With Branch on an expiring contract and zero other reliable options in the secondary (given the questions surrounding Kerby Joseph), the Lions HAVE to pay Branch before long, lest they lose their best defensive back. Of course, coming off an Achilles injury, we have no clue how well he will perform. Yet in a season with a disastrous defense, he is one of the only lights at the end of the tunnel.