Hutchinson, Campbell Rip Lions’ ‘Terrible’ Defense: ‘There Will Be Changes’

The Buffalo Bills’ offense ran roughshod on the Detroit Lions’ defense on Thursday night, and it had an immediate impact on Detroit’s stars. “They [the Bills] got after us today, for sure. That was not good enough. Things will definitely be changing,” Lions star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said in a postgame press conference following the team’s 41-31 loss to the Bills. “I don’t know what that is necessarily, but I know there will be changes. We’re not going to keep banging our heads against the wall. … Something’s got to change … It was not good enough, and it was bad ball out there.” Buffalo scored a touchdown on each of its first four possessions and reached the end zone on six of its eight complete possessions; Tyler Bass missed an extra point with 2:52 remaining in the second quarter, and the Bills took a knee to end the game on their ninth possession. The Bills tallied 446 total yards, rushing for 203 yards — 135 of them coming from running back James Cook — and three touchdowns on 5.6 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns, posted a 121.4 passer rating and rushed for 69 yards and two scores. “Hats off to them, [but] we played terrible. It starts with me,” Lions linebacker Jack Campbell said in a postgame press conference. “I feel like it’s on me. I got to be better, and I don’t have anything else to do other than look in the mirror and be better, so that’s really where it starts. It starts with us, but they did a good job.” Campbell, a 2025 All-Pro who logged 176 combined tackles, three forced fumbles and five sacks in said year, finished the night with six combined tackles. Hutchinson, a two-time Pro Bowler who racked up a career-high 14.5 sacks last season and had two sacks in the team’s Week 1 victory over the New Orleans Saints, finished with one sack and three combined tackles. Thursday night’s performance continues a discouraging start for Detroit’s defense, which is in its second year with Kelvin Sheppard as defensive coordinator. Last week, the Lions gave up 469 total yards and a combined 30 points in the second half and overtime of their win against the Saints. Detroit stopped a would-be, game-winning two-point conversion with 1:34 remaining in overtime to escape with a victory. Last year (2025), the Lions’ defense was 22nd in the NFL in opponent points (24.3 per game), 20th in opponent passing yards (217.4 per game), 18th in opponent total yards (331.9 per game) and 14th in opponent rushing yards (114.5 per game). Hutchinson, Campbell and the Lions host the New York Jets, whose head coach is the Lions’ former defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn, in Week 3 (Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX).