The Lions -- the Detroit Lions -- are one of the hottest teams in the NFL thanks to their high-flying offense. But don't discount their defense, which has formed an identity over the past several weeks as "being tough, being violent and hunting the ball," coordinator Aaron Glenn said Thursday.
"Defense wins championships," said veteran safety DeShon Elliott, "and to win championships you need takeaways. And I feel like we’ve got a good grip of them."
Indeed, the Lions are hunting. They've come up with 11 takeaways over their six-game surge -- after forcing just six through their 1-6 start -- a pace that would rank first in the NFL over the course of this season. Not that they're satisfied.
"We only have nine interceptions this year, we need to get double digits," said Elliott. "I don't know which team has the most, but regardless, we don’t have enough."
The Eagles lead the way with 15 picks, part of an NFL-best turnover margin of plus-14. To no surprise, they also have an NFL-best record of 12-1. The Lions have gone 5-1 since ratcheting things up in the takeaway department, with a turnover margin of plus-8. The only time they lost the turnover battle over this stretch, against the Bills on Thanksgiving, they also lost the game. Funny how that works.
"That’s what wins games in the NFL," said veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone, who has a pick and a fumble recovery in the past three weeks. "You look at the turnover margins across the league, the teams that aren’t turning it over and are forcing turnovers are winning. It’s a telltale for success."
The Lions started hunting back in Week 9. That's when they came up with three interceptions against Aaron Rodgers in a win over the Packers, two by rookie safety Kerby Joseph, who had also forced a pair of fumbles the two games prior. They got three more takeaways two weeks later in a win over the Giants, including another pick by Joseph. Suddenly, the bar had been risen.
"It was like, hold on now, we can’t let the rook lead the team in takeaways," Elliott said. "Of course it don’t matter as long as we all end up winning, but that just makes us more competitive in our room. I feel if we’re competing against each other as one, it will help us overall."
The internal competition is real. Glenn, a former Pro Bowl corner who had 41 career picks, said that when you're part of a defense that's forcing turnovers, "either you get with it or you get moved out." So Joseph's teammates have gotten with it, like cornerback Jeff Okudah who snatched a huge pick-six in Detroit's comeback win over the Bears in Week 10. Since entering the Lions' lineup in place of the injured Tracy Walker, Joseph has sparked the defense by simply being himself.
"No one wants to be the weak link," Okudah said. "Any time you see guys creating turnovers, you’re definitely more incentivized to go out there and create one for the defense yourself."
"You’re like, I want a piece of it," said Anzalone.
"It makes you hungry, bro," said Elliott. "It makes you hungry for more. I only have two (takeaways), so I feel like I need to catch up to Kerby. Kerby got five, I need to get it going. I think a lot of guys got that hunger inside of them and they want to get it going as well."
The lion's share of Detroit's takeaways since Week 9 have been interceptions. Elliott said it's a product of being around the ball. Glenn said it's "the mindset of being intentional about it." That is, "Understanding who the targets are and if we do have a target, intentionally going after that target." Sunday presents another opportunity against the Jets and Zach Wilson, who's thrown more picks than touchdowns over his young career.
"It don’t matter how you get 'em as long as you get em, whether it’s a pick or a forced fumble," said Elliott. "Either one, it’s the same thing. We always say in our room, shoot, both of those are better than getting a sack. We want to get the ball."
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