Detroit, MI
Dan Campbell on Pass Rush: ‘We Need Just a Little Bit More’
The Detroit Lions’ pass rush is under heavy pressure to replace the impact left by Aidan Hutchinson. In losing the All-Pro caliber defender to a season-ending injury, the defense now has a massive void to fill in terms of rushing the passer.
Both starting defensive ends are out for the year, as Marcus Davenport suffered a torn triceps in Week 3.
In the immediate future, the Lions elected to replace him with a series of defenders rotating in as well as generating some pressure with different blitz packages. They also added defensive end Isaiah Thomas, who could potentially debut on Sunday after sitting out against Minnesota, off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad.
Against the VIkings, the Lions generated 15 pressures as a team. Alim McNeill led the way with three, while four different players had two. In evaluating the game Monday, coach Dan Campbell admitted that the team stands to improve when it comes to the pass rush.
“An area where we could be better is, there was some things where our coverage had to — we ask them to do a lot and they had to hold on a little bit,” Campbell said. “There were some things where we fabricated some rush, we got there a few times. But to answer your question, we need just a little bit more. There was a couple of them that did get long, a couple of these plays that you’d like to believe we can get somebody there just a little bit sooner. We’ll keep working with it, A.G.’s gonna keep coming up with a great plan, he’s a stud as a defensive coordinator, he maximizes everything we have and we’ll figure it out. But I was proud of the way they battled.”
Campbell gave credit to Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn and Dave Fipp for their efforts to prepare their respective units ahead of Sunday’s game. Glenn in particular was praised, as he was able to adjust to life without Hutchinson and scheme up new ways to get after the quarterback.
“I thought the coordinators did an outstanding job, all three of them,” Campbell said. “Man, they were on top of their game. I thought Ben had a great game plan, man he was on it the whole game. I thought Fipp developed a great plan, those guys were humming. And lastly, I thought A.G., I thought everything that we went in and this game said we had to do and the way we had to play, it wasn’t perfect but my God those guys competed and it gave us a chance and they executed at a high level.”
I wonder if Dan Campbell drank Boone’s Farm like I did at MSU — DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) October 21, 2024
“Last time I was called classless, I was drinking wine out of a bottle” pic.twitter.com/i6v6VNHuVI
‘Everything’s got to run through Detroit’
Sunday marked the first NFC North game Detroit has played this season, and as a result it allowed them to vault into first place. In knocking off the previously unbeaten Vikings, the Lions claimed the pole position as the season nears its halfway point.
While the competitiveness of the division points to things being far from settled, the win could wind up paying dividends for the Lions in their quest to set themselves up with a home playoff game.
“It meant a lot. I said this (Sunday), I didn’t want to call it a must-win, but our guys know how important it is. We’ve said it all the time, when you talk about the endgame, where you want to be at the end of the season, man, you’ve got to work backwards and what are the steps to get there?” Campbell said. “You’ve got to win the division. That’s where it starts. If that’s really what we’re saying, everything’s got to run through Detroit. And to do that you’ve got to win you division games, and then you get a home game in the playoffs, if not more. So it was big.”
Notes
Campbell was recently described as “classless” by former New Jersey Governor and Dallas Cowboys fan Chris Christie for the way he managed the Lions’ blowout Week 6 road win. The Lions’ coach responded to the comment on Monday, explaining that he wasn’t concerned with it.
“The last time someone called me classless, I was drinking wine out of a bottle,” Campbell said with a smile. “It’s all good, I’m not worried about it.”
Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions score 4 players with AP All-Pro nods, including 2 first-timers
ALLEN PARK — Jack Campbell and Penei Sewell were named to the AP All-Pro first-team for the Detroit Lions.
It’s the third consecutive first-team nod for Sewell, 25, who was also named Pro Football Focus’ protector of the year earlier this week. PFF graded Sewell as the top offensive lineman, and not just tackle, in the NFL this season. He allowed only two sacks and 19 pressures across 601 pass-blocking snaps as the top-ranked pass-blocking offensive lineman.
For all the focus on the offensive line and what needs to happen this offseason, Sewell’s presence gives them a cornerstone, blue-chip piece to build around.
Campbell earned his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro nod this season, putting the bows on a true breakout campaign for the former first-round pick. The 25-year-old joins Chris Spielman and Joe Schmidt as the only Lions linebackers ever to make the All-Pro first-team.
The linebacker finished the season by playing all 17 games for the third straight season, posting career highs in tackles (176), sacks (five), forced fumbles (three), fumble recoveries (two) and tackles for loss (nine). Campbell did all this while taking over the green dot for the first time, and playing more snaps than any other teammate — offense, defense or special teams.
The third-year linebacker finished the season as PFF’s second-best overall linebacker, trailing only Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers. Campbell’s 176 tackles were the second-most in the league in 2025.
“He’s extremely valuable,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of his linebacker last month. “He’s taken more reps than anybody on this team. He plays on kickoff for us, and he’s an asset on kickoff and then everything you see on defense. He doesn’t come off the field; he’s our bell-cow, green-dot. And he does –, and the guy is smart, and he’s instinctive, and he is snap-to-whistle all-out, all the time, in practice too. And he doesn’t take plays off, he doesn’t take days off, he goes after the football, he’s a ball guy.
“So, he’s invaluable.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had made the first team in consecutive years, was named to the AP’s second team this time around. St. Brown finished the season fifth in receptions (117), fifth in yards (1,401), tied for second in touchdowns (11) and seventh in yards after the catch (570).
The star wideout became the first player in league history to have at least 90 catches through a player’s first five seasons. St. Brown has at least 100 catches and 1,000 yards in four straight seasons, and has caught double-digit touchdowns in the last three.
Aidan Hutchinson joined in on the fun this year, too. Hutchinson earns his first AP All-Pro team nod, landing a second-team spot this season. Not too shabby for someone returning from a season-ending leg injury, and his return served as quite the response.
Hutchinson, who got his big extension this year, played every game and set a new career-best mark with 14.5 sacks and 35 quarterback hits. He also scored his second Pro Bowl appearance this year, as well. Since PFF started tracking pressures, there have been six players to reach the 100-pressure mark. Hutchinson is the only one on that list to have done it twice.
The pass rusher led the NFL in pressures created, finishing the campaign with a clear 100. The next closest player was Jacksonville’s Josh Hines-Allen, who had 95.
“The number of things that he’s able to do for us in the run and the pass game,” Dan Campbell said of Hutchinson earlier in the season. “Man, it takes up — he pulls a lot of slack, man. You talk about pulling your weight, he pulls his weight and then some. He requires a lot of resources offensively, which helps everybody else out. Guys like him, he’s in that rare world of man, you don’t get the easy way out. He’s got to beat the nudges, he’s got to beat the back chip, then the tackle’s on him. Or he’s got to beat the nudge, sometimes the back, the tackle, and the slide’s coming to him with the guard also.
“So, sometimes you may have to beat three, sometimes four. But if that’s the case, somebody else is winning. They’ve got to win. So, what he does is not easy, and I go back to this. He is a complete football player; he does it all. And he’s disruptive, he’s violent, he’s high motor, he’s crafty, he’s explosive, he’s tough, he’s competitive. And he does it all. He does it all.”
For a full look at the AP’s All-Pro voting results, click here. Of note, longtime former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford earned the first All-Pro first-team nod of his career this year. Stafford remains in the MVP hunt, and this honor usually leads to that.
Detroit, MI
Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park
Vigil held in Detroit for woman fatally shot by ICE agent in Minnesota
People gather at Detroit’s Clark Park on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 to host a vigil for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
The name Renee Nicole Good bounced off the buildings of southwest Detroit as hundreds marched on the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, following Good’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week.
A candlelight vigil was held at 6 p.m. at the city’s Clark Park in memory of Good, before attendees took off marching down Vernor Highway.
As of 7:30 p.m., the mass crowd had reached Cavalry Street, about half a mile away from the park, and turned, yelling “What do we want? Justice ” and calling for ICE’s ousting from communities.
Good, 37, was in her car when she was shot in the head on Wednesday, Jan.7, by a federal immigration officer in south Minneapolis. She leaves behind three children, ages 6, 12 and 15.
The shooting was recorded by witnesses and heightened political and community tensions over federal immigration enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration operations. The Trump administration has since said the shooting was done in self-defense, USA TODAY reports.
Protests have occurred in cities across the U.S. since Good’s death, including gatherings in Michigan, and additional demonstrations are scheduled throughout the weekend.
This is a developing story.
Detroit, MI
Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job
But we also can’t ignore the drastic fall-off from the Dolphins’ offense. Partially because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill over the past two seasons, the Dolphins have finished 22nd and 25th in scoring offense in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Injuries can be used as an excuse, but the greatest coordinators find a way through the adversity.
Beyond that, there are questions about his philosophical and schematic fit. While the Lions have built their offenses on grit and physicality, McDaniel seems to favor speed and finesse. But maybe that’s exactly what the Lions need. Detroit has two speedy players in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, who could probably be utilized more creatively, and it’s hard to imagine anyone better than McDaniel to do so.
McDaniel also has a very long coaching history with a lot of different coaching influences and schemes—including his closest coaching guru: Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has a scheme that is both more congruent with what the Lions do and much more adaptable.
On this EMERGENCY PODCAST, our crew debates the fit of McDaniel in Detroit, along with our thoughts on the Lions’ other known candidate: Commanders quarterbacks coach David Blough.
Before that, Erik Schlitt, Ryan Mathews, and I discuss our biggest takeaways from Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ end-of-season press conference, including the future of David Montgomery, whether Holmes really took accountability for his mistakes, and our confidence in him moving forward.
You can catch our discussion in the embedded podcast below or on any podcasting platform you’d prefer. Just search “Pride of Detroit.”
You can also catch video of the show over on our YouTube pages. Here are the links:
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