Film breakdown: How Lions’ defense set up game-winning play vs. Jets

But what the defense showed was closer to the commitments that Sheppard emphasized this offseason .

When asked about his confidence in the secondary prior to the start of the regular season, Sheppard raved about the veteran experience .

"It's at an all-time high," Sheppard said. "So, the time on task that these guys have had, I think, in turn, when you look at this reverse, they're going to allow me to do a lot of things that, quite frankly, that I couldn't do before with younger players."