Lions' defense could be their fatal flaw again

The Lions have a problem on defense, and it's becoming one that their high-powered offense can't overcome.

The Bills stormed out to a 21-point first-half lead and held off the Lions, 41-31, on Thursday night . Buffalo racked up nearly 300 yards of offense by halftime, as Josh Allen and James Cook carved up the Lions all night. They were largely without top wideout DJ Moore (shoulder) and still faced little resistance all night.

To the Lions' credit, they kept pushing the pedal offensively, three times fighting back to make it a 10-point game in the second half, but they came up short.

The Bills went for blood right away, efficiently moving downfield in an explosive first quarter. Lions penalties wiped out a red-zone fumble and sack on back-to-back plays, and the Bills made them pay by punching it in and making it a three-touchdown lead.

The Lions moved the ball Thursday, but they couldn't stop it. The Bills finished 9-for-11 on third downs and scored on all five of their red-zone trips. Even for a short-week road game against an elite offense, it was a long night for the Lions' defense.

It was telling when head coach Dan Campbell put the spotlight on his offense after the Lions nearly blew a 21-0 lead. It feels like Campbell understands his team's reality.

If the Lions are not on point offensively from the start, they risk falling in too big a hole. If they fail to put a team away, as they almost did in Week 1, the Lions can let a game they were dominating slip away.

The defense has been the Lions' downfall the past few seasons. The way things are shaping up, it appears to be their Achilles heel again.

Detroit 's secondary was in tough shape heading into Thursday's game. D.J. Reed (foot) started, but he and Rock Ya-Sin have been under fire early this season. The depth has been thinned considerably with Brian Branch (Achilles) and Kerby Joseph (knee) on PUP and after waiving Terrion Arnold . Making matters worse, replacement starter Avonte Maddox left Thursday's game with a foot injury.

The Lions started Week 1 on fire defensively, blanking the Saints on their first eight possessions and forcing three turnovers. Then New Orleans scored 30 points on its next six series, with a missed field goal its only empty possession.

From that point on, through Thursday, the Lions have been a sieve defensively. The Bills scored four straight touchdowns to open the game, punted once, then scored touchdowns on two of their next three possessions.

That's 10 touchdowns allowed in their past 80 minutes of football. The question is how it'll get better.

How much defensive hope is there in Detroit?

Branch appears poised for a return in October, which is good news. The forecast on Joseph is less clear. But safety is not the biggest concern — cornerback is. The Lions just can't cover efficiently against high-powered passing games.

Could they try to pry Joey Porter Jr. out of Pittsburgh ? More realistically, they might have to hope former second-rounder Ennis Rakestraw Jr. can work his way back into the lineup. But one way or another, the Lions must upgrade at secondary — or find ways to crank up the pass rush to help mask their back-end issues.

Aidan Hutchinson is off to a hot start, with two sacks in Week 1 and two more Thursday. Derrick Barnes also has made big plays in both games. They're trying. But the front seven hasn't dominated enough to offset the coverage.

To this point, general manager Brad Holmes hasn't quite solved the puzzle of how to field a capable defense with his explosive offense. The Lions overlooked safety in the draft, despite knowing about the Branch and Joseph injuries, and the cornerback room is somehow thinner, even if the Arnold situation can hardly be held too hard against Holmes.

Still, the problem is real. Holmes has built a roster that's very strong almost everywhere but the unit is currently holding the Lions back, and there were opportunities to add help prior to Week 1. It won't be easy to find solutions this season to this multi-issue, multi-year problem — not now anyway.

They have a few manageable games coming up, plus an early bye in Week 6. But time won't heal all their issues.