Aaron Glenn went into the Lions' Week 9 clash with the Packers in charge of the worst defense in the NFL, and emerged with the game ball.
"It was shocking, to be honest with you. For a defensive coordinator to get a game ball, I was very appreciative," Glenn said Thursday. "But I'll tell you what, I was really more appreciative of the players because it shows the belief that they have."
The Lions held the Packers to nine points and held longtime tormenter Aaron Rodgers to the fifth-lowest passer rating of his career. They picked him off three times, twice by rookie safety Kerby Joseph. Rodgers can discredit Detroit's performance all he wants, saying this week the Packers lost to the Packers -- not the Lions. Fact is, he had the ball in his hands and a chance to win the game and the Lions stopped him.
Glenn said that's what excited him most, "that our defense was on the field at a critical time at the end of the game to put the game away."
"That was something that our guys needed, because belief starts to stick. Belief is a powerful drug, so that's something we have to continue to do. I'm proud of the way our guys fought. I'm proud of the energy, the execution, the sideline, it was outstanding. This has got to be one of the better games we've had since I've been here, so I'm looking forward to more games like that," said Glenn.
Glenn has spent most of the season under fire for a defense that's struggled to get off the field. It failed to force a punt against the Seahawks in Week 4. Two weeks ago, it was torn apart by Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins, which led to the firing of defensive backs coach and one of Glenn's close friends, Aubrey Pleasant. Many critics said Glenn should have taken the fall instead. His defense is still the worst in the NFL, last in points against, yards against and yards against per play.
Asked if he feels like he quieted that criticism in the Lions' win over the Packers, Glenn said, "Man, listen, I told you last week: nothing surprises me. That's your guys' job, though. The negative part is what sells in this business, and I get that. So A.G.'s going to keep on rolling."
The performance against the Packers was, indeed, a significant step forward. The Lions held Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to under 3.0 yards per carry, forced a few clutch turnovers, and, as Glenn said, finally came through with the game on the line. Of course, none of it means anything if the Lions don't put forth another good performance Sunday against Justin Fields and the Bears, who are suddenly firing on all cylinders.
"I don't want to say I'm a nonchalant type of guy, but man, it's time to move on and get to the next one, because we have a really good opponent coming in that's playing really good on offense," said Glenn.
On top of the game-winning stop, Glenn loved that Detroit's best defensive effort of the season was fueled by its young players. Joseph broke up three potential touchdowns, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson delivered a pick of his own, linebacker Derrick Barnes had a sack and a huge goal-line stop of Dillon as part of a career-high 12 tackles and cornerback Jerry Jacobs kept a clean slate in coverage, among other strong performers like defensive linemen Josh Paschal and Alim McNeill.
"It's good to see," said Glenn, "because they can only get better. We have a really good nucleus of young guys that you can build around here and really try to change the mindset of how they go about doing things. You continue to see it happen with all those guys, so this is a process.
"No one said this was going be easy. I know everyone on the outside thinks that we should be going to the Super Bowl right now. We think that, too. But we understand that, man, we've got to build this team and we've got to build it the right way. That's where our focus is. It's not focused on what everybody else is thinking. We have a plan and we're going to execute that plan. And as we continue to grow, these young guys are going to grow with us."
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