Once again, the main takeaway from the Super Bowl is that defense (still) wins championships.
This was also the takeaway from last year’s drubbing of the Kansas City Chiefs, in which the Philadelphia Eagles put Patrick Mahomes into a pretzel without sending even one blitz. It was even the takeaway from some Super Bowls that Mahomes, the greatest quarterback of this current era, has won.
And we had our latest and greatest example on Sunday night in Super Bowl 60, as the Seattle Seahawks put the New England Patriots’ offense in a chokehold during a 29-13 romp at Levi’s Stadium.
In watching each of the last two Super Bowls, it’s felt obvious why those teams are still playing while the Detroit Lions are watching from home.
Here are three things the Lions can learn from Seattle’s Super success.
Corners, corners, corners
While much attention will be given to Seattle’s pass rushers after they sacked Patriots quarterback Drake Maye six times, we’re going to start by giving some love to the cornerbacks.
Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon was a force, sacking Maye once and dialing up another pressure that was initially ruled a strip-sack by Witherspoon (before being changed to an interception) to go along with four total pressures, tying a career-high; he was targeted twice on 47 coverage snaps and allowed just 16 receiving yards. Seahawks corner Josh Jobe was targeted 10 times, allowing just three receptions for 11 yards with a pass breakup.
On the other side, it was a lot of the same — especially from third-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who was selected one pick before Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (No. 18 overall) in the 2023 draft. He might’ve been on the short list for MVP candidates had the Patriots found a way to win the game, recording three pass breakups while only allowing three catches for 36 yards.
The Lions should, in theory, have the ability to strike a similar fear into the opposition. The Patriots invested nearly identical resources into their CB1 and CB2, grabbing one with a first-round pick and signing the other (Carlton Davis III) in free agency, just like Detroit’s duo of Arnold and DJ Reed. While both of the Lions’ top guys dealt with injuries this past season — and an ailing safety room didn’t help the pass coverage, either — injuries cannot be an excuse if you’re going to pride yourself on being a physical team.
From Witherspoon and Jobe to Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell (Eagles) to Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed (Chiefs), exceptional cornerback play always seems to be at the forefront of a Super Bowl victory. When’s the last time the Lions’ starting cornerbacks were at the forefront of any victory?
Of course, there’s an argument to be made that a passing defense is only as good as the rush that’s supporting it. To that I’d say: You might be onto something. This debate is always a bit of a “chicken or the egg” situation, but the Lions cornerbacks have simply not been a driving force of production during the Dan Campbell era, and given the resources invested, I would implore them to take a long look at how to get more from that group — even if the answers start up front.
Trenches win championships
The Seahawks and Patriots defenses both led their respective conferences in quarterback pressure percentage throughout the playoffs, which is a huge reason why they got such stellar cornerback play when it mattered most. That does tend to be a driving force in these cornerback story lines: The Seahawks, Eagles and Chiefs all won Super Bowls by being able to win with four pass rushers.
The Seahawks’ pressure rate of 52.8% was the highest of any team in a game during the playoffs, while the Patriots’ pressure rate of 41.5% was fourth.
The Lions are a difficult team to assess in this regard because they finished tied for fourth in sacks (49) and were seventh in quarterback pressure percentage (36.7%), two stats that should imply the Lions were a good defensive team in 2025. But it often took an eternity for the rush to get home, as the Lions tied for 29th in time to pressure.
Under these circumstances, it really doesn’t matter how well the Lions’ cornerbacks are covering. The quarterback will eventually find an open receiver.
So while Lions general manager Brad Holmes has a busy offseason in front of him trying to supplement the existing pass rushers with those who can help take Detroit over the top, the path to successfully doing so is not all that obvious. Sure, find a second quality edge rusher to supplement Aidan Hutchinson and the inside forces.
But again, the biggest problem with the Lions’ defense seems to be schematic — something the Seahawks had no problem with under second-year head coach and defensive aficionado Mike Macdonald.
My big takeaway on the defensive side of the ball — and really, the Super Bowl only reinforced this preexisting thought — is that the Lions need to be quicker to the quarterback next season. I don’t foresee major personnel changes helping that effort, so the Lions will have to get creative to address the issues that have plagued this defense since Day 1.
As we continue to discuss these excellent defenses, my larger, overarching thought about trench play actually comes from the offensive side.
I don’t care how close the Lions were to making the playoffs. Their offensive line never would have been able to withstand the defensive fronts that most playoff teams possess, and especially not the ones fighting for a Super Bowl on Sunday night, over multiple games.
I still think offensive line should be the Lions’ biggest offseason priority when it comes to player acquisition.
Mistake-free football
The Seahawks’ all-out assault on Maye was a good reminder that having a mobile quarterback isn’t some kind of cheat code. It’s a helpful tool, no doubt.
But what Sam Darnold lacked in outright mobility, he made up for with shiftiness and a general pocket presence the Patriots couldn’t quite exploit. Patriots defenders were in the backfield all night, and on a few occasions, it led to their defense getting off the field. But on several others, Darnold escaped the rush and found a way to keep the drive going long enough for kicker Jason Myers to be able to hit a field goal and increase the lead.
Darnold was flat-out terrific in the team’s NFC Championship win over the Rams, going 25-for-36 for 346 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, but his biggest superpower from this year’s Super Bowl run was his ability to avoid the big mistake. He finished the three-game stretch with no turnovers and was sacked just once on 17 pressures Sunday night.
With Jared Goff’s cap hit set to balloon to nearly $70 million next season, there’s a sentiment — both locally and nationally — that the Lions have reached the end of their contending window. That’s too much money to pay a quarterback who doesn’t elevate his team in the same way that Mahomes or Josh Allen does, they say.
But as I’ve reiterated with Goff time and time again, there’s hidden value in a quarterback using his brain as his primary weapon, and there’s a ton to be gained from a quarterback who simply doesn’t make mistakes. Goff’s most recent playoff outing against the Washington Commanders featured three turnovers, but he has shown he can play error-free football for extended stretches; he finished the three-game playoff run to the NFC Championship in 2023 without a single interception.
So while I don’t intend for this to be the obvious, “If Sam Darnold can do it, so can Jared Goff!” point that many have made, I do think it’s worth noting that mistake-free, complementary football is a greater equalizer than a quarterback with wheels.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Three lessons Lions can learn from Seahawks’ Super Bowl win
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
