The Lions are off to their best start (10-1) since 1934, is Super Bowl favorites and the best team in football.
They are also a complete team, dominating in all three phases. They are the only team to rank top 10 in EPA per game on offense, defense and special teams.
The part about their defense might surprise you because you’ve probably heard about their 50-point games, perfect performances from Jared Goff, or ridiculous stretches with more touchdowns than incompletions.
However, the defense is also devouring the competition. They allow the second fewest points per game (16.6) in the NFL this year and that number is slightly lower (15.3) because Aidan Hutchinson broke his leg in Week 6.
They also have the hottest defense in the league. Going into Thanksgiving, they…
- Allowed fewer than seven points in back-to-back games
- Allowed zero points in the second half in three straight games
- Has allowed no touchdowns in 10 straight quarters.
All of those streaks are the longest in the NFL this season. Who would have thought the Lions had a shutdown defense?!?!
But it’s true, and they have two stars patrolling the middle of the field to thank: safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.
You may remember Joseph for picking off Aaron Rodgers twice in the 2022 regular season finale at Lambeau Field to keep Green Bay out of the playoffs. You may also know Branch for his pick six of Patrick Mahomes in his NFL debut last year (thanks to a Kadarius Toney drop), but both are so, so much more.
They are the NFL’s best safety duo since Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, who headlined one half of the “Legion of Explosion” in the early to mid-2010s.
Thomas and Chancellor are the only safety duo under age 25 to make a Pro Bowl in the same season in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). They did it in 2011, the year before Seattle went for four straight seasons leading the NFL in scoring defense.
Joseph (age 24) and Branch (age 23) are well on their way to joining the club with stellar seasons so far in 2024. They have two of the three highest grades at safety this season by Pro Football Focus. Joseph is first (91.3), followed by Kyle Hamilton (88.9) and Branch (88.1)! Collectively, Joseph and Branch allowed zero touchdowns in coverage while intercepting 11 passes.
It’s the most interceptions by a duo (11) under age 25 through 11 games since Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy hit that mark in 1998 for the Patriots.
They are the only defensive players allowing a passer rating of 20.0 or below in coverage this season (min. 20 targets). Remember, you get a 39.6 rating for just hitting the ball into the ground.
Yes, these guys have a nose for the ball. They both rank in the top five in the NFL in ball-hawking this year, according to NFL Pro insights.
They also both rank in the top four in interceptions, plus passes defended in 2024.
Joseph showed his range by picking off Mac Jones in Week 11.
Branch scrambled to catch Sam Darnold earlier this year.
Both have been praised for their versatility lining up all over the field, especially Branch’s ability to plaster receivers in the slot. Quarterbacks are 5 of 13 for 53 yards targeting Branch in the slot when he’s in man coverage this year.
And they wouldn’t be elite safeties unless they could pack a punch. Both can line up in the box and stuff the run.
Joseph and Branch both set the edge against the Jaguars in Week 11 and made nice plays against the run.
This blow by Branch was ridiculous. Take cover!
The mix of ball-handling and big hits puts them in a club of one.
Joseph is the only player since 2000 with 200+ tackles and 15+ interceptions through 40 career starts.
Branch is the only player in the last 20 seasons with 125+ tackles and 25+ passes defensed through 25 career games.
unreal It’s no wonder both are Defensive Player of the Year candidates this season.
Credit Lions GM Brad Holmes for hitting home runs with both players in the draft. Joseph was a third-round pick in 2022 and Branch went in the second round in 2023.
Now, like Thomas and Chancellor, they are setting up a no-fly zone in Detroit.
The Lions are vulnerable outside still, allowing 14 completions thrown 20+ yards outside the numbers this season, bottom 10 in the league. But they allowed only one completion thrown 20+ air yards within the numbers, tied for the fewest in the NFL. Here’s a look at the location of the Lions’ completions allowed this season.
TruMedia Sports
If the Lions are going to make their first Super Bowl this year, they will have to keep winning in all phases. One of the most promising, young safety duos ever is doing their part.
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