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Kelvin Sheppard: Slumping Lions ready 'to bite somebody's ass'
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- Kelvin Sheppard: Slumping Lions ready 'to bite somebody's ass'
The Detroit Lions have watched their playoff odds plummet with four losses in their past seven games, but defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said the team is "exactly where we want to be" heading into Thursday night's must-win game against the Dallas Cowboys .
"I see an opportunity to where everybody's not looking at us as the class of the NFL, so that's why I say it's right where we want to be, cause it's right where I like to live," Sheppard said Monday in Allen Park. "Right here, just in the back, in the back, just laying in the weeds and waiting to bite somebody's ass. So I'm looking forward to this week and I know our players feel the same way."
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The Lions (7-5) are in third place in the NFC North, haven't led in regulation in three straight weeks, and would miss the playoffs if the postseason started today.
Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard signals before a play against New York Giants during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.
Their playoff chances took a hit with last week's Thanksgiving loss to the Green Bay Packers and wins by potential wild-card teams the Chicago Bears , San Francisco 49ers , Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers .
The Bears lead the NFC North and currently control the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 9-3 record, while the Packers (8-3-1) have a 1½-game lead for second place in the division and own all tiebreakers.
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The Seahawks (9-3), Packers and 49ers (9-4) control the wild-card spots. The Cowboys (6-5-1) have won three straight and could pass the Lions in the playoff standings with a win this week. And the Panthers (7-6) are a game behind the Lions in the standings.
"I told the defense, we're exactly where we want to be," Sheppard said. "And that might sound crazy, but in my opinion, we're exactly where we want to be. You can say backs against the wall, what I see is a great opportunity with everything – when we started this year, we had goals and aspirations. All those goals and aspirations still lie ahead of us but now it's just a more sense of urgency."
Sheppard said he's been "trained and conditioned" to not panic about the Lions' current situation, and referenced the team's defensive success this year in the face of massive injuries in the secondary as an example of overcoming long odds.
Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch (32) tackles Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson (87) during the first half at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023.
The Lions beat the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7 while down their entire starting secondary. Brian Branch was suspended, D.J. Reed was on injured reserve and Terrion Arnold and Kerby Joseph were out with injuries, and their replacements helped hold Tampa's high-scoring offense to nine points.
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The Lions improved to 5-2 at the bye week with that win, and have slowly slipped down the standings since.
"[There] always should have been [urgency], but sometimes we all, it's human nature, you need a little nudge, you need a little reminder of where you've been instead of where you're at or where you think you're owed if you're owed something," Sheppard said.
Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said the team's plight seems especially perilous given the success they had the past two seasons, when they reached the NFC championship game in 2023 and won a franchise-record 15 games last season.
The reality, though, Fipp said, is things don't always come easy in the NFL and the Lions need to refocus on the basics of technique, fundamentals and execution to make a playoff push over the final five weeks.
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"I think ultimately, to me, it's really kind of, well, welcome back to reality," Fipp said. "You live in this world where you win 15 games in a year or something, that doesn't happen very often, back to back, to back to back. So reality says that you're really never as good as you think you are or you're never as bad as you think you are. You're somewhere in between. Most teams have to fight to get 10, 11, 12 wins in a season and that's where we're at."
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky , X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kelvin Sheppard: Slumping Detroit Lions ready 'to bite somebody's ass'
