Detroit Lions have signed an old friend to help the defense and special teams.

Because of their tough 48–42 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Detroit Lions have brought back former player Anthony Pittman to help their defense and special teams teams. Pittman, of course, who played for the Lions for five years, from 2019 to 2023.

Pittman has been on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad for the past two months. Now, the Lions have decided to bring him back to add depth at linebacker and help on special teams, two areas where Pittman did very well during his time with Detroit before.

Experience with special teams and linebackers

Pittman had five great seasons with the Lions, where he established himself as a useful special teams star. He made 29 stops for the Lions while he was there, and most of them came on special teams, which are very important to the team. Pittman was useful for Detroit because he could play in all parts of the game and was reliable as a backup defender. This is especially true as the Lions try to strengthen their team for the rest of the season.

Pittman played in all 17 regular season games from 2021 to 2023, showing how durable and reliable he is. As the Lions move into the last few games of the regular season, he gives them more options because he can play both special teams and backup linebacker.

What the Lions Did to Get Him Back

Because of illness and lineup changes, the Lions decided to bring Pittman back. These events have had an effect on their linebackers and special teams. With only a few weeks left until the playoffs, Detroit’s coaches will look to Pittman to provide stability and leadership in these areas, especially since they are going through a lot of illnesses.

Campbell and the coaching staff have talked about how important depth and flexibility are for keeping up a good playoff push. Pittman is a great addition at this point in the season because he knows how the team works and has helped the team before.

A Look Ahead

Pittman will want to make a mark when he comes back to Detroit for the Lions’ last few games of the regular season. He could help the Lions in their quest to make the playoffs because of his knowledge and leadership on special teams. Pittman is ready to help the Lions finish strong as they get ready for the challenges ahead. He works hard and plays reliably.

W.G. Brady

For several years, W.G. Brady has been writing about sports in Detroit for Detroit Sports Nation. He is a writer who lives in Detroit. He is in his early 30s and has worked in the field for a long time. In his long career, W.G. has become a respected and informed reporter who is known for going into great detail about the teams and players in Detroit. Readers and fans of sports look to W.G. for the latest news and opinion on the Detroit sports scene. He has a great eye for detail and a real love for the game. He is well-liked and known in the sports world for reporting on events without bias. W.G. is known for being able to find secret stories and give new points of view on the teams and players he writes about. He writes and analyzes sports stories based on what he knows about the city of Detroit and its sports culture. He is still a well-known and admired reporter in the Detroit sports world.

Detroit’s defense tries to explain the ugly performance inside the locker room

DETROIT — In their Week 15 victory over the Detroit Lions, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills scored 48 points and gained 559 total yards on offense.

Both are new season lows for Detroit’s battered defense. It is also the second consecutive week that the Lions have conceded a new season high in terms of points allowed.

And the hits keep coming, with cornerback Khalil Dorsey out for the season (ankle) and the team anxious about losing veteran Carlton Davis III (jaw) and defensive lineman Alim McNeill (knee).

But the Lions know they don’t have time to waste, with the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings chasing them in the NFC and within the division. The Eagles triumphed on Sunday, matching the Lions atop the conference standings. The Vikings face the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, with the opportunity to join the Lions and Eagles at the top of the rankings.

Allen passed for 362 yards and two touchdowns while also gaining 68 yards and two touchdowns on the run to boost his MVP chances. The Bills quarterback proved lethal while scrambling for additional time, letting the ball fly near the line of scrimmage.

Detroit’s defense struggled to contain the quarterback, whether inside or outside of the pocket, and its coverage labored to hold on for dear life.

“It’s definitely very tough, but we have to do a better job in the secondary as far as plastering,” rookie Terrion Arnold said in the locker room. “We’ve been doing this all year. I believe we need to improve our urgency and communication. It’s just one of those situations where we see it as another opportunity to improve, another chance to evolve, and we just have to go out there and compete harder.”

Arnold stated that the defense is wondering what they did wrong since it didn’t seem like they went out there and lost one-on-one battles. The youngster stated that it is all on them, and that defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has put them up for success and would do it again.

“We’ve just got to do a better job of executing the game plan,” the coach added.

See here for more from inside the locker room.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed frustration with the team’s defensive performance. I assumed we’d get better. It’s not like, you know, some of these things where they make a play, dude; I can deal with that. It’s all over the place, when you realize you have self-inflicted wounds — there are things we did on our own — and you give those folks something to help them have better prospects. That’s the frustrating thing. You just want to know you didn’t assist them, and I believe we did a little.”

Arnold acknowledges the defensive backfield’s struggles: “As a secondary, we can’t give it up.” This defense relies heavily on us, and all we have to do is go out there and perform well.”

On his big day, Lions quarterback Jared Goff admitted, “Yeah, it’s not enough.” That is truly the greatest way to express it. I believe we were able to accumulate some yards and scores late in the game, and if we had done so earlier, it would have been a closer game with less waste time at the end. I know we came close at the end; you get the onside kick, and you have a chance. But, yes, I believe we shot ourselves in the foot offensively early on. In a game like that against that opponent, you go behind the eight ball a little bit, down a couple of points, and it’s difficult to come back.”

Sean McDermott, Bills head coach, said on the game: “To the Lions’ credit, there is no quit in that team.” They’ve come back before, at least once in Houston, and in a few other games, so we need to improve our game-ending skills. But I thought a couple big plays were, clearly, getting off to a strong start, and then the defense forcing a three-and-out, I believe, or a punt — a short punt and a forced fumble, and then Mack (Hollins), obviously Mack’s — I suppose you’d call it a kickoff return. So, there’s a lot of good stuff, a resilient squad, and plenty of room for improvement. I thought we left some out there, a couple of those red zone series that we might have improved on, but listen, when you have 40-something scores and 500-plus yards — but anyhow, excellent team win.”

Lions defensive lineman DJ Reader stated that rushing Allen outside or inside is a difficult decision. We just need to find a method to make stops. We couldn’t do it today. It stinks when it occurs, especially the way it happened, but we’ll start over and be OK.

According to Lions CB Amik Robertson, the team’s motivation is to avoid losing. However, it all depends on how you respond. I am a resilient man, and we have a lot of resilient people on our team. “We’ve got to recover, man.”

Lions tight end Sam LaPorta believes coach Campbell will prepare the team for the upcoming week. He’s already addressed us and said that we’ll be training outside this week, which is excellent. Cannot wait for it. We’ll be ready for the weekend.

Josh Allen, Bills quarterback, says he works on extending plays. Scramble drills have to be one of our most effective plays. Our receivers are aware of this, and they are just finding ways to get open when the play breaks down little, as well as attempting to prolong plays when it is not available, and we have had some success with this. Still, a number of instances, the ball was certainly in danger, but we had some people make great plays tonight.”

Allen commented on ex-Lions RB Ty Johnson’s good day: “I think he’s very smart.” I believe he is the finest third-down back in the game. The way we communicate, the way he perceives protections, is quarterback-like. He simply plays the game the proper way. He’s another player on this squad who isn’t really a running back; rather, he’s a football player who plays the position. He is continuously going toward the ball, helping people up, and saying the appropriate things. Again, he is a major reason we are where we are.

Campbell commented on Allen’s performance: “We knew, unless we were in certain coverages, we had to keep him hemmed in there.” And it was going to need a lot of discipline in the beginning. And then there would be times — especially on third down — when we could let go and go grab him, and we had a few of those. And then someone who is attempting to spy on him has to get him, which we were unable to do. Look, he’s a major problem; I mean, he’s difficult, and we knew that going in, and we certainly wanted to be able to manage it better, but it was just one of those days where we didn’t.”