The Detroit Lions needed their defense to step up when they visited Charlotte last night to take on the reigning NFC South champions, the Carolina Panthers. Despite Dave Canales’ side injury woes, it wasn’t going to be an easy encounter, given how their offense, including the quarterback Bryce Young, fared in the regular season. But Kelvin Sheppard’s defensive issue continued, as the Lions succumbed to a 26–32 defeat.
Following the exit of Terrion Arnold, the struggle in the cornerback room was evident once again, as the secondary failed to keep up with the Panthers’ offense. The Lions CB1 D.J. Reed spoke with the reporters after the game, reflecting on the tough loss. With the secondary coming up short, he shouldered the blame while standing by the coaching staff, including the under-fire defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.
“It’s not a coaching thing. It’s a players thing,” said Reed last night. “This game comes down to winning one-on-ones, and that’s what we got to do. And as a whole collective unit, in the secondary, we haven’t been doing that, so we just got to be better.”
“It’s NOT a coaching thing, it’s a PLAYERS thing… we just gotta be better”
Reed entered the Bank of America Stadium with a rib injury and went on to have a highly frustrating night— both on a personal level and from the team’s perspective.
D.J. Reed Reveals What Lions Must Fix Going Forward
Panthers’ passing game was on point at times, as quarterback Bryce Young logged 329 passing yards and 2 game-changing touchdowns. The cornerback D.J. Reed managed 6 tackles, including 5 solo tackles, but he failed to create a roadblock in the Panthers’ passing game.
Besides the tackles, he didn’t register any interceptions, forced fumbles, or pass breakups. What looked like an even matchup on paper quickly turned into a daunting task for the veteran, who failed to match the size and physicality of the Panthers’ elite wide receiver, Tetairoa McMillan. He had a brilliant night with 192 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.
Since the start of the regular season, the Lions’ secondary failed to contain elite receivers, and McMillan took advantage of their coverage struggles last night. Reed was faced with the question after the game.
“We got to definitely take the number one wide receiver away. And yeah, we definitely have to do that,” added Reed. “But ultimately, when you do get one-on-ones, you got to win, and we didn’t do that today.”
As Reed took the blame for the poor show and refused to put the blame on Sheppard, the head coach Dan Campbell was also asked to address the same situation.
Dan Campbell Addresses Growing Questions Around His Defensive Coordinator
While the Lions defense leaked 32 points in Charlotte, the trend started from the season opener. They conceded their fewest points against the Jets (24 points), showing the serious struggles this year. As a matter of fact, the franchise sits last in scoring defense and total defense among all NFL teams in 2026 after giving up a total of 127 points in 4 games.
Given the dismal record, coach Campbell was inevitably asked whether he would consider getting rid of DC Kelvin Sheppard.
“I’m not talking about all that,” was Campbell’s blunt answer in the post-game press conference. “I’m talking about getting better right now with what we got, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to find a way to get better with what we got.”
With injuries piled up in the secondary, the Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch’s anticipated return should give them a sense of relief midseason. On the other hand, Brad Holmes should look to trade for an elite CB after missing out on Joey Porter Jr. recently.
Lions’ D.J. Reed Breaks Silence on Defensive Woes as DC Kelvin Sheppard Takes Heat