Getty AJ Parker celebrates an interception for the Lions in Cleveland.
The Detroit Lions keep inching closer to turning their season around, and if they manage to get it done, it’s going to be on the defensive side of the ball.
After a shaky start to the season, Detroit’s defense is rounding into form a bit and managing to keep the team in games. Over the last few weeks, Detroit’s defense has not been the reason the Lions have lost games, but rather, the reason they were in them in the first place.
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The players know what kind of mindset turnovers and takeaways require, so the good news is they are working hard to duplicate those attributes inside the locker room. Speaking with the media on Tuesday, November 23, Lions safety Will Harris explained
.@jamahl on the ability to create turnovers.
“We’re all competing for them, every time we go out on the field, we’re just trying to get the ball back for our offense. They come in bunches, and we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to capitalize on them, especially over the last couple of weeks. So, we’re all just out there trying to get the ball,” Harris told the media.
Turnovers can be like an addiction to a defense, so it’s a major positive to see the Lions catching the fever as it relates to getting it done. Making takeaways a team mindset is huge, and the Lions are thinking the right way to continue their hot streak of turnovers for the defense.
Lions Defense Stepping up Takeaway Game
Entering into Week 12, the Lions’ defense had forced a total of 3 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. They also had only allowed a total of 29 total points in a pair of games. Those numbers might not seem like much, but for the Lions, they’ve been huge. Consider that prior to this outburst, the Lions had only grabbed a total of 4 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries from the start of the season. Those games had featured plenty of struggles on defense for Detroit, and it’s perhaps no coincidence that when the takeaways started to flow, Detroit’s defense started to shape things up and stay in the game much better.
Perhaps the most prolific member of the secondary at getting this done is cornerback Amani Oruwariye. In Week 11, Oruwariye grabbed team-leading interception 5 of the season.
With Oruwariye leading the charge and players understanding the importance of good habits for the defense, it’s safe to say the Lions are on a much better track toward sustaining a better defense for the future that can remain successful.
Why Turnovers Could Help Lions Turnaround
It’s no secret the Lions have been inconsistent on defense this year, but if they could manage to find more turnovers, that would only help matters. Often times, when a team is allowed to execute at will, it can be a major blow for the defense in terms of confidence. Far too often in the first half of the season, the Lions fell behind because their defense was allowing too many points too consistently without finding a way to get off the field. Often times, a sudden change can be a shock to an offense and provide more of a boost to a defense than a turnover on downs does.
Clearly, the players know this fact, which is why they’re fighting hard for the takeaways. The more they can find, the better off they’ll be in the second half of the season as recent results show.
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