Much of Detroit lion ineffectiveness against the pass was due to……

The Detroit Lions advanced to the NFC Championship Game in 2023 after winning the NFC North with a 12-5 record, but they did so in spite of a glaring weakness: their pass defense.

Detroit gave up an average of 311.3 yards per game in their three postseason games, while the Lions allowed 247.4 yards per game passing (twentieth in the league). In addition, Detroit gave up six touchdown passes in the postseason and 32 touchdown passes in the regular season (also a 27th rank).

Among the final four teams, the playoff touchdown passes were by far the most that were allowed. The Baltimore Ravens gave up one touchdown pass in the postseason, while the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, who played in the Super Bowl, each gave up three.

A large portion of Detroit’s pass-blocking inefficiencies were caused by poor cornerback play and premature mistakes at free safety. But matters were made considerably worse by the absence of a potent pass rush. The second most reliable pressure, behind Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (11.5 sacks in 2023), came from safety and cornerback blitzes.

Someone who hasn’t played consistently for Detroit since 2022 may have some insight into the pass-rush problem.

James Houston, an outside linebacker, was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft (217th overall), however he didn’t enter the starting lineup until halfway through the campaign. In the previous seven games, he had eight sacks.