Detroit Lions' NFL-best run defense wants revenge on Carolina Panthers: 'We owe them one'

The Detroit Lions were marching towards the playoffs late last season when they ran into an unexpected road block — a Carolina Panthers team that was one of the worst in the NFL but somehow found a way to steamroll the Lions for 320 yards on the ground.

With the Panthers headed to Ford Field for a rematch Sunday, the Lions still haven't gotten over the bitter taste that game left in their mouth.

"Big game for us," linebacker Derrick Barnes said. "We owe them one."

The Lions were in the process of digging out of a 1-6 start when they went to Carolina last Dec. 24 to face a Panthers team clawing for life under then-interim coach Steve Wilks.

In the coldest game in Bank of America Stadium history, the Panthers ran the ball on all five plays of their game-opening touchdown drive and never strayed from that plan of attack. Chuba Hubbard and D'Onta Foreman each topped 100 yards rushing in the first half and the Panthers averaged 7.4 yards per carry for the game.

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It was a butt-kicking of epic proportions, and it essentially cost the Lions a playoff spot.

"That was bad," defensive tackle Alim McNeill said. "It was a really bad taste in our mouths after that and obviously we remember that coming into this week."

Now 3-1 and one of the best teams in the NFC, the Lions can't afford another letdown against the bottom-feeding Panthers, the last winless team in the NFL.

Wilks and Foreman are gone, but Carolina, with rookie No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young at quarterback, still leans heavily on a ground attack that linebacker Alex Anzalone said is "a different operation" than the one the Panthers embarrassed the Lions with last season.

Playing out of more three-receiver sets, Carolina entered the week ranked 22nd in the NFL at 95.3 yards rushing per game after finishing 10th (130 ypg) last season. New lead back Miles Sanders leads the Panthers with 158 yards rushing, but his 2.9 yard-per-carry average is fourth-worst among players with at least 50 attempts.

"Miles is obviously a good running back," Barnes said. "We played him last year (when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles). A very explosive player, so we know what he’s going to bring to the table. (They) kind of do the same thing. I know we watched a lot of the same side stuff, runs and downhill runs, which is good. So as long as we be sound as a defense, hold our gap responsibility I think we’ll be good."

One of the NFL's worst run defenses last season, the Lions are now statistically the league's best at 60.8 yards per game.

They haven't allowed more than 90 yards rushing in a game this season and have gotten progressively stingier as the year's gone on. Since quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran for half of Kansas City's 90 yards in Week 1, the Lions have allowed 82, 44 and 27 yards rushing in games against the Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers.

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Running backs are averaging just 2.9 yards per carry against the Lions this season. And the Lions' 243 rushing yards allowed is the fewest in franchise history through four games, with records going back to 1945.

“We take the run game as you’re trying our manhood and we take it personal, so it’s worked out for us so far," Anzalone said.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said the Lions' remarkable turnaround as a run defense is all about "players playing well."

The about-face started in the second half of last season, long before the Carolina game, when the Lions made some minor tweaks to personnel and scheme. The Lions held five of their final eight opponents last season to 103 yards or fewer on the ground, and Lions coach Dan Campbell said their slip-up against the Panthers was his fault for not having players "emotionally ready to go."

"We got strung out on a couple of things. We got knocked down on a couple of these down blocks that now we open two gaps and your linebacker’s trying to fill two holes and it just — it was a collective (failure)," Campbell said. "It just didn’t feel like we were ready for the fight."

Not only have the Lions been ready for every fight they've been in this year, they've taken the fight to most of their opponents with upgraded defensive personnel on all three levels.

Rookies Jack Campbell and Brian Branch have been valuable contributors to the run defense, though Branch has been ruled out for Sunday's game because of an ankle injury. Third-year players Barnes and McNeill are playing the best football of their careers. And the Lions run defense has been so stifling that it's fueled a pass rush that's racked up 12 sacks the past two weeks.

"I don’t think there’s too much secret sauce to it," defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said. "I feel like teams have been leaving the run game a lot early against us because we’re stopping it so well, so it’s very beneficial for our pass rush, too, when you can stop the run. So it really, all around the board I think we’re just executing at a high level and everyone’s doing their job."

The defense has been so good even offensive players have taken note, and quarterback Jared Goff said everyone shares in the desire to exact revenge on the Panthers for last year's butt-kicking.

"It’s a game that we kind of needed last year and they kind of kicked our ass in some ways at their place," Goff said. "And obviously, different coach, different players, but a lot of those guys are still there and, yeah, we’d like to get our chance back now and I know they’re going to come with it. They need a win and so do we, so it’s going to be a good battle.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' NFL-best run defense out for revenge vs. Panthers