Detroit Free Press

The numbers tell one story, but Detroit Lions linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard saw something totally different on film. Five days after the Lions allowed 216 yards rushing in a season-opening 38-35 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Sheppard touted his unit’s effort in stopping the Eagles’ rushing attack. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ran for 90 yards

I’m still in the Dan Campbell camp. I love his attitude and honesty. Love what we saw on “Hard Knocks,” love his message, love what he’s done with the culture around this team. He’s just so dang likeable. But at some point, you gotta stop talking about grit, and you gotta win. At some point,

Frank Ragnow tried to play through a toe injury before undergoing season-ending surgery last year. Now, the Detroit Lions Pro Bowl center is set to miss time with a toe injury once again. The Lions ruled Ragnow out of Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders because of toe and groin injuries. Ragnow suffered a groin

The Detroit Lions are dealing with enough injuries to one concentrated part of their offense — the running game — that coach Dan Campbell admitted Friday “it changes what we do a little bit.” “Just the style that which we need to play,” Campbell said. “You just, we’ll have to shift the burden a little

What I’m about to tell you has nothing to do with the Detroit Lions’ chances of making the playoffs this season. It has little to do with wins and losses. It doesn’t even have much to do with them being considered a good team. So when I tell you the Lions face a must-win game

Aidan Hutchinson has been hard-wired to hammer ball carriers since he was little, so it’s hard to blame him for what happened on his first play of his first NFL regular-season game. When Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts took a shotgun snap, turned to his left and stuck the football in running back Miles Sanders’

I get it. You want a win. Preferably another, followed by a few more. That’s the point, right? To win? And if the Detroit Lions don’t win Sunday against the Washington Commanders, falling to 0-2 — again! — and then that beginning leads to 0-6 — as it easily could — momentum and curses and

There are a few ways to look at Detroit’s offensive performance in its 38-35 Week 1 loss to the Eagles. Option A: The Lions scored five touchdown drives of more than 70 yards, the only team in the NFL to do so. It’s early proof of concept that the offense does have the balance and

PHILADELPHIA − There might have been a game back when DeVonta Smith was in high school or playing youth league football where he did not have at least one catch in a game. But it sure didn’t happen in four seasons at Alabama, where Smith had at least one catch in every game. Interestingly enough,

D’Andre Swift had more rushing yards than all but two players in the NFL last week, but the Detroit Lions still think Swift has more to offer on offense. “He certainly had a hot start for us we’d like to continue to build on,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said Thursday. “We have a vision

Injury problems keep making their way down the Detroit Lions offensive line. The Lions practiced without 3/5ths of their starting line for the second straight day Thursday, as Taylor Decker returned at left tackle but Jonah Jackson joined fellow interior linemen Frank Ragnow and Halapoulivaati Vaitai on the shelf. Ragnow missed practice for a second

Hank Fraley was not happy. The Detroit Lions had just scored their first touchdown in Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and the Lions’ offensive line coach was glaring a hole through starting right guard Logan Stenberg as he walked off the field. Stenberg committed two false start penalties on the possession, nearly derailing a

The best year of Jared Goff’s NFL tenure came in 2018. The 2016 No. 1 overall pick set career marks in his third season in yards passing (4,688), touchdowns (32), average yards per attempt (8.4) and passer rating (101.1) as his Los Angeles Rams marched to the Super Bowl. That same season, Rams running back

Apple Podcasts | Spotify • Hosts: Shawn Windsor (@shawnwindsor) and Carlos Monarrez (@cmonarrez) • Producer: Andrew Hammond • Editor: Cary Junior • Guest: Michael Cohen, Free Press Michigan beat writer • Executive producers: Anjanette Delgado, Kirkland Crawford • Email: swindsor@freepress.com On this episode: Carlos and Shawn are joined by Free Press Michigan beat writer Michael Cohen as the guys dissect the Michigan football quarterback situation. Did Jim Harbaugh do right by

D’Andre Swift’s career-best rushing performance came on a day he played through a sprained ankle. Swift told the Free Press on Wednesday he rolled his ankle in the second quarter of the Detroit Lions’ season opening 38-35 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Swift stayed in the game and finished with 15 carries for 144 yards,

The Detroit Lions lost a game to the Philadelphia Eagles over the weekend. Now, the Eagles are losing an offensive lineman to the Lions. The Lions signed offensive guard Kayode Awosika off the Eagles’ practice squad Wednesday to help their depleted offensive line. The Lions were without three-fifths of their starting line at practice Wednesday.

The Detroit Lions have their first long-term injury loss of the 2022 season. Halapoulivaati Vaitai had back surgery in Dallas on Tuesday, Lions coach Dan Campbell said, and his status for the rest of the year is now up in the air. “That’s (something) to monitor,” Campbell said Wednesday. “He certainly will be out for

Three days after the best rushing performance of his career, D’Andre Swift did not participate in Detroit Lions practice Wednesday. Swift ran for a career-high 144 yards on 15 carries in the Lions’ season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Swift finished the game and told reporters after he felt “good” physically, but he appeared to

Aidan Hutchinson’s NFL debut was a dud, but the Detroit Lions have no reason to be down on their rookie defensive end. “Honestly, I’m not even worried about him,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday. “He’s going to adjust from this. He’s prideful, he’s a pro. I already know that about him as a rookie,

Sometimes, Week 1 of the NFL season is incredibly meaningful. Sometimes, it’s not. Take last season, for instance. The Green Bay Packers got absolutely throttled in their 2021 opener, losing 38-3 to a New Orleans Saints team playing its first game without Drew Brees. The Saints were considered a middling team entering the season —