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Lions news: Dan Campbell's take on Kelvin Sheppard's defense in Year 2
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- Lions news: Dan Campbell's take on Kelvin Sheppard's defense in Year 2
Lions news: Dan Campbell's take on Kelvin Sheppard's defense in Year 2 appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Detroit Lions had a strong preseason performance on Saturday. Detroit defeated Washington 17-13 thanks to a strong showing by their defense. Lions head coach Dan Campbell sounded thrilled when talking with reporters after the game.
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Campbell heaped plenty of praise on defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard after the preseason win. He explained why Detroit's defense could be a lot better under Sheppard in 2026.
"Here's what I would say with that, because we had all this up last year, and we used quite a bit of it. The difference now is that these guys are in the system. A lot of these things we want to do now, that we've been doing, so we're much more evolved, man," Campbell said after the game, per John Maakaron of Detroit Lions On SI. "I know they weren't playing, like Jack (Campbell) wasn't playing, but Jack's got even a better understanding. And then the guys that did play, man, (Malcolm Rodriguez) Rodrigo is another year in this. (Derrick) Barnes is another year in this. Freaking Now is (Trevor Nowaske). Tyleik (Williams) is. Wonnum is understanding this system."
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Detroit limited Washington to 244 total yards on offense. The Lions help the Commanders without points in the red zone, forced four punts, and managed two sacks as well as a fumble recovery.
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The Lions played some good defense in 2025 but they struggled with inconsistency and injuries. Campbell seems confident that everything well gel together in Year 2 under Sheppard's leadership.
"Man, our DB's have got this thing. You know, (Avonte) Maddox is in there, and (D.J.) Reed's in there. We are smarter, man. We're more evolved," Campbell added. "We have a better understanding of time on task with these, why we're calling them, what we're trying to take away, where the offense wants to go with the ball, when you're calling this stuff. And so, I think that's where we've really grown. And I know it's early. It's a preseason game. But that's that's the biggest evolution. (Kelvin Sheppard) Shep has done a really good job. And the staff."
Next up for the Lions is their preseason finale against the Colts on August 29th.
Related: Lions' Dan Campbell's feeling 'pretty good' about RB depth after beating Commanders
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