One of the big ways in which Matt Patricia put his positive stamp on the Lions as a rookie head coach was in the tackling department. Patricia’s first Lions defense dramatically upgraded from the prior season in tackling.

The team roared up from the bottom five in the NFL to the top five.

Detroit recorded just 63 missed tackles in 2018 per Pro Football Focus, shaving off 39 from the 2017 season under Jim Caldwell and Teryl Austin. The 63 represents the third-fewest in the league, one year after missing the fifth-most.

That is an impressive improvement at one of the keys to successful football. Patricia has emphasized tackling and attention to detail on defense during his first year-plus on the job, and it seems to be working nicely.