The perception of the Lions is simple, and well-deserved: they're only going as far as their offense carries them. The defense is tired of hearing it.
"We want to change the narrative," linebacker and co-captain Alex Anzalone said after last week's rout of the Broncos.
Performances like that one will help. Against a winning team, a resurgent quarterback and, as Anzalone said, "one of the best offensive play-callers" in the NFL in Sean Payton, Detroit's defense had arguably its best game of the season. It pitched a first-half shutout while the offense got going, made key stops on third down and in the red zone and held Russell Wilson and the Broncos to a meager 4.6 yards per play.
"It was a big statement," said Anzalone. "Great defensive effort, just limiting points in winning situations. ... That was just everyone doing their job at a high level and making plays."
The rush defense was stout as it has been all year, holding Denver to 3.0 yards a carry. That's one thing the Lions can count on moving forward, and the return of Alim McNeill would only help. It was the pass defense that made major strides, limiting Wilson to just 6.0 yards per attempt thanks to a steady flow of pressure and an array of exotic looks up front. Six players had multiple QB pressures, including three apiece by Anzalone and defensive backs Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brian Branch. If that continues, Aaron Glenn's defense might be onto something.
"We were able to pressure at times and then we were also able to have some sim pressure where it looks like we’re pressuring but we’re really only rushing four," Anzalone said. "AG did a good job dialing that up and we were able to get home."
It was a much-needed game for Glenn's unit, which had actually played pretty well in the first half of the season. It was a top-10 defense through 10 weeks. Week 10 was also the start of a stretch in which the Lions allowed more than 25 points in five straight games. While Anzalone acknowledges that "we weren’t playing to our standard," he also points out the defense was "put in some difficult situations" due to a spate of turnovers on offense.
"Everyone wants to talk about over 25 points every game or whatever it is, but points per game is a loaded stat," he said.
The Lions got back to playing complementary football against the Broncos. The offense took care of the ball against a team feasting on takeaways and ultimately racked up 42 points and 448 yards, and the defense held Denver to 17 points and 5-of-13 on third down. Anzalone, who made a game-high 12 tackles, knows the Lions' main goal is to win the NFC North, which they can achieve by beating the Vikings on Sunday.
"Our main defensive goal is to change the narrative of how we’re viewed as a team," he said. "I think early on we obviously were doing that and then had we a little slump. We just have to keep moving forward, keep limiting points, win the situations, third down and red zone, and that’s really it."
For Anzalone, this has been a rewarding season. The Lions have work to do yet, but the success makes the toil of the last two years worth it. Anzalone has been one of the faces of the rebuild since he arrived, and he's taken a lot of flak for the shortcomings of an undermanned defense along the way. Now he's the leader of a defense perhaps changing the story and the captain of a team writing a new one.
"It’s awesome," Anzalone said. "That was one of the biggest factors of why I came back in free agency, to build off the momentum of last year. I knew we were going to be in this situation going into this year. It’s an opportunity to leave our legacy and win the North for the first time ever."