Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn gave his defense a big challenge heading into the season.
The Lions are most well known for their offense and the explosive playmakers on that side of the ball.
Glenn challenged his defenders to be the focal point of the conversation.
"That's the emphasis AG put on us this offseason," defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike said Monday. "The offense is our focal point and he wanted us to be the focal point. Everybody took that into their hands, and you see our linebackers flowing when the D-line is holding the gaps. You see the DBs playing better than they've ever played.
"It starts with AG and how he wanted us to play, and we've all grown through this defense. We are just growing and continuing to grow."
Through two weeks of the regular season – a win and a loss for the Lions – the defense has stepped up and played the more consistent brand of football for the Lions. They're playing better than we've seen recently, and they were definitely the better of the two units Sunday against the Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers had just 216 yards of total offense, averaged only 3.0 yards per carry in the run game, and the defensive line accounted for all five sacks on Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Aidan Hutchinson looks like an MVP candidate with 5.5 sacks through two games. DJ Reader and Alim McNeill have a chance to be the best defensive tackle duo in the NFL. And both Marcus Davenport and Onwuzurike have been playmakers the first two weeks of the season.
"That D-line, like Levi (Onwuzurike) played out of his mind," head coach Dan Campbell said Monday of the film study from Sunday's loss. "Levi played outstanding and having (DJ) Reader made a huge impact. He was in there 25 snaps, but they were impressive, valuable snaps to have.
"Those guys work in stunts, because that's one thing, that takes care of the – you want to nudge Hutch, then we'll just – you can work him back in the middle a little bit and push the line outside Levi or Reader or (McNeill) Mac and then bring Hutch back around."
The Lions' defensive front has been the catalyst for the unit to start the season, and we still haven't seen all the parts together yet.
Davenport, who had a sack and four quarterback hits in the Week 1 win over the Rams, missed Sunday's game against the Bucs with a groin injury. Sunday was the debut of Reader, who missed Week 1 rehabbing a quad injury.
"I'm excited for that," Onwuzurike said of getting the whole group together soon. "DJ came back and it's already looking more dangerous. We already know once Marcus comes back, we saw what he does Week 1. It's only going to get more and more dangerous ... we have a squad upfront."
Onwuzurike has recorded a half sack in each of the first two weeks of the season and also has six tackles and a forced fumble. He also played on nearly three quarters of the snaps on defense as a versatile piece playing both inside and on the edge.
"It feels good to put full games together," Onwuzurike said of moving past a back injury that nearly cost him his career. "It feels good to feel good after the game and be ready to go again. It's how I felt in college. It's how I felt before that. It's a blessing 100 percent."
Detroit's defense has been good to start the year, especially up front, and they'll be tested again Sunday in Arizona against a Cardinals' offense that put up 41 points on the Rams this past Sunday with 489 total yards and 231 rushing yards.
