Getty Austin Bryant excited on the field for Lions vs. Eagles in 2022.
The Detroit Lions did not manage to grab a win in Week 1 of the 2022 season, and a big reason as many saw it was the team’s defense.
The Lions allowed 38 points on the day in the loss and could not get off the field or get a stop when they needed in crunch time. That helped fuel the frustration some have with the team.
Defensive end Austin Bryant, however, has a different approach. In spite of the fact that the team gave up plenty of yards and four touchdowns on the day, there was some building blocks.
Bryant admitted when speaking to the media on Monday, August 12 that moral victories are hard to find, but insisted that his team was not beaten at the point of attack, and nearly made a run at the end, facts he takes heart in.
“This is a big boy league. There are no moral victories, but it was a three point loss to a really good team with a quarterback that can hurt you with his arm and his feet. Probably not as good as we want to be on defense, but I thought when we had a chance to make a run, we made some plays,” Bryant said. “Didn’t quite get it done there on that last drive with the with the fourth down stop, but it was encouraging to see in that moment that we kind of forgot about everything else that happened throughout the game and were able to get some type of momentum on defense and try to make a comeback. Like we all know, wasn’t able to be successful in that but it is encouraging going forward. Long season and I’m looking forward to what we can do not only next week, but the rest of these 16, 17 games.”
Bryant admitted there were some mental mistakes the Lions have to clean up that could be the difference for the team that the squad needs to remember.
“I just don’t think we were on the same page at every level in the run game. I don’t think they were more physical than we were in the run game even though the stats may show that,” he said. “If you look at the tape, we’re not getting knocked back. We’re building the wall, it’s just a fit here, a fit there but it all works together. It’s all a system from the front to the linebackers to the secondary. We all work together so it’s not just the defensive line that stops the run, it’s not just the linebackers It’s all of us on accord every single time because people have to be in the right fit every single time for you to have a great run stopping type of game. I think it was just a little bit of imbalance between each level and that’s what kind of gave them the upper hand in the run game.I don’t think we were out-physicaled at all.”
Clearly, Bryant thinks the Lions are in good shape on defense if they can clean up some messes. That is internal confidence in the group.
Bryant Remains Confident in Lions’ Defense
Though the Lions struggled and allowed 455 yards, 216 of which came on the ground, that hasn’t diminished the confidence Bryant has in his group.
As he explained, confidence is natural for the team given what they have done in camp, so the loss isn’t going to change things in terms of mindset for Bryant at this point or his group.
“I mean I’m always confident. I think all our guys are are always confident. This is one game. It’s a 17 game season. The Super Bowl is not decided tomorrow or from week one I mean, we got 16, 17 games to build and show who we are so that’s what I hang my confidence on because I’ve seen the work that we put in this offseason. I’ve seen the team that we’ve been in camp and I’m not gonna let one game, one week define who the Detroit Lions are going to be. That’s not in my DNA, and that’s not in their DNA so I’m very encouraged.”
Bryant is right and the season is long and a grind. The Lions still have a chance to turn things around, so it will be interesting to see if they can learn the lessons and get over the hump this time.
Bryant’s Career Stats & Highlights
It’s good to see Bryant speaking like a leader for the Lions defense at this point. Picked up in the fourth-round of the 2019 draft, the pass rusher out of Clemson got hyped as a possible hidden-gem thanks to his production in college.
Once he got to Detroit, Bryant was quickly injured again with a nearly identical pectoral ailment to the one he sustained in school. The first few years, he hardly saw the field, but was talented in college. With the Tigers, Bryant was active with 130 tackles, 21 sacks, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles and 37 tackles for-loss.
Bryant put up just 25 total tackles in his time in the NFL coming into last season. In 2021, he managed to top that with 31 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Health played a role in his resurgence. Bryant had one tackle to start the 2022 season.
This year, a healthy Bryant could well help be a difference maker for the Detroit defense. Even though there was a shaky start to the year, it’s clear that Bryant still believes in the team’s defense stepping up and turning things around.
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