Detroit Lions Defense Blossoming into Run-Stuffing Machine

Opposing teams are learning the hard way they cannot run against the Detroit Lions. The fearsome Lions defense is getting so good against the run that enemy offenses are reluctant to even try and challenge the top-ranked unit.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the latest victims of Detroit's suffocating run defense. Detroit held the Bucs to just 26 yards on 14 carries. Only one of those carries came in the fourth quarter—this four-yard loss by Charles Sims, where Ndamukong Suh essentially swallowed him alive. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

This was just the latest in Detroit's dominating run defense. Only one team has topped even 50 rushing yards in the last five games against these Lions.

Opp.	Carries	Yards	1st Downs
Miami	19	50	2
Arizona	26	46	3
New England	20	90	4
Chicago	8	13	0
Tampa Bay	14	26	0

Detroit leads the league in run defense and does so by a fairly wide margin. In fact, the Lions are perched atop the league in the three main statistical metrics.

	Avg.	Rank	Next Closest
Yards Per Game	62.8	1st	72.8
Yards Per Carry	3.0	1st	3.5
Attempts Per Game	20.7	1st	21.1

Those are some pretty impressive figures. It's even more impressive to watch how these ferocious Lions achieve them. All three levels of the defense contribute to the top ranking.

It all starts up front with the line. Ndamukong Suh gets the lion's share of the notoriety with plays like the one pictured above, but the entire group is playing lights-out versus the run. This play from the New England Patriots game highlights how well the line works in coordination. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The Patriots are trying to spring running back Shane Vereen with a run where he has two options based on the blocking. The primary design is to have a hole on the left A-gap thanks to the double-team on tackle C.J. Mosley.

There is also supposed to be a cut lane around the outside left thanks to the two tight ends flanking the formation. The Patriots are pulling the right guard to lock up end Ezekiel Ansah after a chip block from Rob Gronkowski on the young defensive end.   

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Detroit blows this up quickly. Ansah ducks a weak effort from Gronk on the chip and infiltrates the backfield before guard Ryan Wendell is within two steps of him. Suh quickly explodes past a similarly feeble blocking effort from rookie center Bryan Stork.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Vereen has no chance. Suh impacts him almost as soon as he gets the ball from Tom Brady. His preplanned escape route has a giant wall in Ansah in the way. Detroit stuffs this run—New England's first attempt of the game—for a five-yard loss. Great individual talent and effort are multiplied by effective coordination between the entire line, including Mosley's effective eating up of the double-team. 

Plays like that help demonstrate how the Lions are third in total run stuffs (tackles behind the line of scrimmage) and first in stuff percentage, according to Team Rankings.

Detroit also gets great run support from the linebackers. Outside 'backer DeAndre Levy is the star of the second level, but his mates are all pretty solid too. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), every single linebacker grades out positively on the season in run defense.

	Run Defense Snaps	Run Grade
DeAndre Levy	290	18.0
Tahir Whitehead	215	5.1
Ashlee Palmer	82	2.9
Stephen Tulloch	53	3.5
Josh Bynes	40	0.8
Kyle Van Noy	18	0.8

Levy's run defense is truly special. He leads all outside linebackers in both run grade and total stops per the game charters at PFF. His range allows the bearded one to make plays all over the field.

"

DeAndre Levy has the best run stop percentage in the NFL stopping the run on 16.6% of opponent's rushing plays

— Detroit Lions (@Lions_Insider) December 7, 2014"

The secondary also contributes to the top-ranked defense. In the odd circumstance where the line or linebackers don't snuff out the run, the cornerbacks and safeties are reliably in place to clean things up. 

Safety James Ihedigbo provides an example from the Tampa Bay game. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Because his assignment on the play is a fullback (circled), Ihedigbo walks down to align in front of the linebackers before the snap. He correctly ascertains the Bucs are unlikely to throw from this formation, and "Dig" aggressively integrates himself into the run front.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

No. 32 expertly plays out the action. Instead of charging willy-nilly, he stealthily camps out behind the fray until the fullback, serving as a lead blocker, clears from him. Ihedigbo then swoops in from behind and wraps up Doug Martin for a short gain on a play where the Bucs runner had visions of a long scamper on a well-blocked play.

It's strong effort from all 11 defenders on every play, which has catapulted Detroit to the top of the league in run defense. Only one team (the New York Jets in a Week 4 Lions win) has run for over 100 yards all season, and no individual runner has topped the century mark against Detroit in 2014. 

There are three games left, and Detroit has already proved it can snuff out all three rushing attacks. The Lions have already beaten all three NFC North rivals, bottling up the run nicely in the process:

• Minnesota Vikings: 69 yards on 18 carries in Detroit's 17-3 win
• Chicago Bears: 13 yards on eight carries in Detroit's 34-17 win
• Green Bay Packers: 76 yards on 22 carries in Detroit's 19-7 win

With those remaining opponents and the roll this Lions defense is on lately, Detroit should finish the season No. 1 in overall run defense. That would mark the first time the Lions lead the league in rushing defense since 1981.