Derrick Barnes improvement gives Detroit Lions chess piece they've been missing

The Detroit Lions defense has another tool at their disposal ready for any curveball an offense throws out. And he is ready for a third matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in less than a year after playing hero in January's NFC divisional playoff game .

Linebacker Derrick Barnes is treating the playoff rematch with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the same as he would any other regular-season game, but is excited to take the field in an expanded role, seven months after his game-sealing interception off Baker Mayfield sent the Lions to their first NFC championship game in 32 years.

"Obviously, I got a little bit of thought of last year but I'm a next year, next play type of guy," Barnes said Thursday. "So, I have to go out and try to have the same expectations for myself and try to make more big plays."

Barnes, 25, played the second-most plays of any Lions linebacker in Week 1 over the Los Angeles Rams as a part of the defense's approach to stop the Rams' running game and force the offense into throwing. He recorded four tackles and one quarterback pressure while rotating between linebacker, edge rusher and nickelback.

In his 61 defensive snaps according to NFL Next Gen Stats , he lined up 21 times as an edge rusher from his strong-side linebacker position, 28 as a traditional off-ball 'backer, 10 against a pass catcher in the slot, and two over a guard as a stand-up rusher.

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"(Barnes) is just seeing things so much faster, and so, the mental side of the game has grown so much and physically he really has all the tools," head coach Dan Campbell said Monday. "I mean, he’s a run-and-hit linebacker that can play on the edge, so he gives us a lot of flexibility and as you could see last night, that flexibility showed up. We kept him on the field and he essentially played like our nickel, and I felt like we made that team one-dimensional."

Barnes, fourth-round pick out of Purdue in 2021, is embracing the honor that defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn trusts him in every game situation from any role.

"It's a blessing that my coaches once again believe in me to go out and do that," Barnes said. "It's amazing to just be all over the field and see different aspects of the field. I just think it's fun to be able to go out there and do all that — play inside, play outside, set the edge a little bit, make plays in the backfield."

Three examples of Barnes' versatility in Week 1: Barnes lined up as the slot defender opposite Rams No. 1 receiver Puka Nacua on the second drive and got contact with the Pro Bowler during his break five yards up the field, messing up Nacua's timing as the ball was thrown elsewhere.

Two plays later, Barnes was on the other side of the formation rushing against left tackle Joe Noteboom.

Later, he lined up over a guard and dropped to cover running back Kyren Williams releasing out of the backfield to the other side of the field on the play Brian Branch dropped an interception.

Barnes is No. 55 over the left guard below.

"One thing that he’s improving on is being able to match these guys in the flat and match the guys that run these little routes and things like that," Glenn said. "We’re asking him to do a lot right now. ... So I have to give him a lot of credit on just his mental capacity to pick up everything and be able to execute like he’s executed."

The Lions’ defense planned to make the Rams' offense one-dimensional. They used base defense with an extra player in the box more than nickel (five defensive backs) to induce more passing looks from LA.

The Lions changed the look and number of linebackers on the field for most of the game with Alex Anzalone playing every defensive snap, Barnes playing 82%, Jack Campbell playing 56% and Malcolm Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin filling in the rest.

“There are certain runs that they have that’s tough — you go across the league and watch how they play against these other teams — that are just tough to stop with true nickel defense," Glenn said. "So we actually did what we wanted to do and forced this to be a finesse game and for him to pass because we knew he was going to pass. I take that from coach (Bill) Belichick, make a team left-handed and force them to do something else.”

The Rams obliged and had a dropback on 51 of their 74 offensive plays. Matthew Stafford completed 34 of 49 passes for 317 yards and one touchdown. Stafford averaged 6.5 yards per attempt due to a combination of the pass rush vs. a hobbled offensive line, and the Lions' approach to keep everything in front of them. The Lions also held the Rams to 83 rushing yards on 23 carries.

The result: The Rams scored 20 points despite four red zone trips.

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Part of why the approach can be effective, Barnes said, is the talent available in the linebacker room. He said the overlapping skills help the team be unpredictable with different players taking on different responsibilities from snap to snap.

"I think that's what separates us from a lot of linebacker cores in this league," Barnes said. "All of us can do a variation of a lot of things from covering to pass rush to getting downhill."

Barnes' ability to set up near the line of scrimmage and rush the passer or drop into coverage is a valued piece of that front seven. The changing fronts are a part of the philosophy to stop the run, carrying over from last year when the Lions ranked third in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing 3.7 yards per carry.

He expects his role to change slightly against Tampa Bay's offense, lining up more on the line of scrimmage versus the amount of off-ball snaps against the Rams.

"It'll be kind of different from last week," Barnes said. "I was off the line of scrimmage more than I probably will be this season. ... Obviously, everyone schemes for different teams in different ways, but I'm definitely preparing to play more on the edge this game."

Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press covering the city's professional teams, the state's two flagship universities and more. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22 , and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Derrick Barnes improvement gives Detroit Lions chess piece they've been missing