Allen Park — It’s been more than a month since the Detroit Lions’ then-battered secondary, fondly nicknamed the Legion of Whom, locked down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.

The Lions entered Week 7 missing four of their five starting defensive backs. The patchwork group, led by Amik Robertson, was phenomenal against quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was viewed as an MVP candidate through the campaign’s first six weeks. The Bucs were held to a season-low nine points that evening, as reserves — from cornerbacks Rock Ya-Sin, Arthur Maulet and Nick Whiteside to safeties Thomas Harper, Erick Hallett II and Loren Strickland — not only held their own, but flat-out balled.

With the secondary’s starters slowly making their ways back to the field, some of the heroes from that October victory have returned to the background. That’s life in the NFL. If nothing else, they showed capable of being trusted in a pinch, and they etched their names into the lore of the 2025 season, no matter how it ends for Detroit.

Harper’s opportunity, however, isn’t quite yet finished. The second-year undrafted product out of Oklahoma State (2019-22) and Notre Dame (2023) continues to fill in for Kerby Joseph, who has missed Detroit’s last four games with a knee injury and will be absent from a fifth when the Lions welcome the New York Giants to Ford Field on Sunday.

Replacing an All-Pro like Joseph is next to impossible, but Harper has performed well above any reasonable expectations. Among the 83 safeties across the league who’ve logged at least 250 defensive snaps this season, Harper’s overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus (74.0) is tied for 17th. The Lions are one of three teams with two safeties inside the top 20; Brian Branch (76.7) ranks 10th.

“He plays the game the right way. … He’s in his spot at the right time, every time,” Branch said of Harper.

Being able to quickly find his footing is nothing new for Harper, who the Lions claimed off waivers about a week before their season began. Harper didn’t start playing football until his sophomore year (basketball was his first love), and he only joined the team at Karns High School in Tennessee because his older brother, Devin, requested he gave the sport a chance.

Harper’s first play was a kick return for a touchdown.

“I totally went off script,” Harper said. “It was a left return, and I just went right.”

By the end of his debut, Harper saw a future in football. After making plays with so little practice reps, he imagined what he could do if he took things seriously. It also helped that Devin, a linebacker and 2½ years Harper’s senior, was on a similar path. Devin spent six seasons at Oklahoma State, and he’s had stints with three NFL teams, most recently with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.

“It was super natural,” Harper, 25, said of playing football.

Harper signed with the Los Angeles Chargers after going unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was waived following his first training camp and picked up by the Las Vegas Raiders, with whom Harper appeared in 15 games with last season.

He was once again waived in August, opening the door for the Lions to pounce.

Harper was surprised when the Raiders chose to move on, but he’s chosen to operate with the belief that everything happens for a reason. Without that gut punch, Harper wouldn’t be in Detroit.

The Lions came calling less than 24 hours after the Raiders cut him: “I was still shocked, but it was a good feeling knowing that somebody else believed in me,” Harper said.

That belief has proven both prudent and mutually beneficial.

rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

Allen Park — Kelvin Sheppard knows what people have thought about the Detroit Lions in years past.

The Lions, under a head coach who came up under Sean Payton, have predominantly relied on their offense to win games in recent seasons. It’s easy to see why. Dan Campbell spent a decade in the NFL playing on that side of the ball, and the Lions roster some the league’s best offensive talent. Why not lean into it?

But in his first season as defensive coordinator, Sheppard set out for his half of the ball to pull more weight. He desired a complementary situation, with the defense helping out the offense as much as the offense had been helping out the defense.

Sheppard’s efforts have largely been successful through 10 games. The defense having the offense’s back is best illustrated in sudden-change situations, when the opponent takes over possession after an interception, fumble, turnover on downs, missed field goal or blocked punt.

The Lions have faced 20 of these moments this season. They’ve given up only two touchdowns, and that’s despite the opponent’s average drive starting within five yards of midfield. There were six sudden-change instances in last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Lions held the Eagles out of the end zone each time, limiting the damage to three made field goals.

“It started back in the offseason, and it started at training camp. We went into this thing understanding that we wanted to play complementary football,” Sheppard said this week. “We didn’t want to just live on the back of our offense. … That narrative has been such in Detroit, that we win games because of offense. As a defensive player, as a defensive coach, that’s a luxury. But at the same time, it makes you feel a certain type of way.”

The Lions have allowed an average of 21.6 points and 291.8 yards per game this season, numbers that rank 10th and fifth in the NFL, respectively. They’re also near the top of the league in run defense (99.7 yards, eighth), pass defense (192.1, eighth) and, notably, third-down defense (34.4%, fourth).

Getting off the field in those critical moments goes a long way when there’s sudden change.

“We’re the firefighters on this team,” Sheppard said. “What does that mean? If Jack Fox, which he rarely does, shanks a punt, we’re not complaining, nobody’s sucking their teeth. We’re running on the field even faster to make sure we’re able to go put out that fire. That’s the mentality you’ve got to have as a defensive player. No pointing the fingers. No ‘what if’ this, no ‘what if’ that.”

With the defense playing as well as it’s been, and with the offense — outside of an exception versus the Washington Commanders — sputtering since Week 7, some have suggested it’s time for Campbell to have a philosophy change. Campbell’s aggression on fourth down is well documented. It’s worked well in the past because the Lions needed their offense to win them games. Maybe that’s no longer the case, and maybe Campbell should prioritize putting the defense in positions to succeed.

Ask Sheppard, though? He sees Campbell’s gambling mentality as a nod to his group: “I love it. I absolutely love it. Because that speaks volumes to me directly that our head coach believes, no matter where I put this defense, they’re going to put the fire out. So, I don’t care if Dan goes for it on every fourth down. It’s our job as defense to go out there and stand tall in that test.”

“We want this to be a complementary team. … We want to win because we win in all three phases of the game, and I think that’s something this team is trending towards. … You see it, when the offense is on, when the defense is on, when the special teams is on, man, we have a chance to do something special this year,” Sheppard said.

rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18