DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions have seen this scenario happen so often this season. The offense starts woefully slow and can’t move the ball. An opponent takes an early lead.
Then the Lions' defense -- one of the best units in the NFL -- makes a play. Whether it's a sack, an interception or forcing a three-and-out, the defense changes the flow of the game in favor of Detroit.
Sunday's big plays featured Glover Quin and Darius Slay intercepting Teddy Bridgewater on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter. The takeaways put the Lions in good field position, leading to 10 points that shifted the momentum of the game.
This is the truth about these Lions: They will be as good as their defense allows them to be. Right now, that’s pretty darn good.
“They are up there with one of the best defenses that I’ve played against in my time, in my career,” Minnesota tight end Kyle Rudolph said. “Their front four is as talented as anyone. They get after the quarterback, but DeAndre Levy is playing at a really high level in the middle. Both of the safeties are playing at a really high level.
“When you have it from front to back, you look at all the great defenses, the Seattles, the San Francisco 49ers, that’s how they are built and the Detroit defense is just like that.”
It has harassed quarterbacks over and over again, using a front four led by Ndamukong Suh and Ezekiel Ansah to force sacks and tough decisions. Consider: In the three drives in which the Lions sacked Bridgewater, they allowed no points. And the defensive front forces opponents to scheme differently when they face the Lions because of Suh and Ansah, something Rudolph acknowledged Sunday.
Detroit stops the run better than anyone in the NFL, too. The 76 yards Minnesota gained was above the Lions’ season average, but in the second half, they allowed only 12 yards on eight designed runs.
This leads to another critical point with Detroit's defense: How it reacts. The Lions allowed 14 points in the first 20 minutes of the game. Then they didn’t allow Minnesota to score again. It's a similar plot to games earlier this season, when the Lions' defense has improved as the game went on. This comes from adjustments the players and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin are making.
“You’re going to have spots where you give up a couple plays, but in life itself it’s all about how you react and we react better than probably any other defense in the league,” cornerback Rashean Mathis said. “That’s the biggest key. ... Meaning the negative plays that you give up, how do you bounce back from that? When you give up a touchdown, how do you bounce back from that? We respond well. We respond very well. It’s just the makeup of the team.”
It has been all year. It’s been key for Detroit’s offense, too. Unlike in previous seasons, when the Lions didn’t have a defense that could be expected to eventually shut down an opponent, this year Detroit's offense knows the defense can.
It allows the offense time to settle down, figure things out and make adjustments if it starts slow, knowing it has a strong defense that will keep a game from becoming out of control early.
The turnovers, as they did Sunday, help, too.
“Defense has been huge for us,” guard Rob Sims said. “We were stalling early, a couple penalties here and there and just not hitting our stride. It’s like that sometimes, but when you have a defense that plays like that, we can fight back and make our adjustments and it’s nice.”
It’s more than nice. It’s why Detroit is closing in on a playoff berth for only the second time since 2000.