Friday open thread: Will the Lions defense be better or worse vs. Texans?

The future of the Detroit Lions likely rests with how their defense can rebound in the second half of the season. While the offense has been rolling along and providing the Lions with thrilling last-second wins, the defense has blown several huge leads and allowed a handful of go-ahead scores late in games.

This week, the Lions began what they hope is the beginning of a transformation on defense. Detroit made the bold move of trading starting linebacker Kyle Van Noy and replacing him with last year’s starter Josh Bynes. Additionally, the Lions are hoping to get some defensive playmakers back from injury shortly. DeAndre Levy is expected back “midseason”, Haloti Ngata is already starting to return to practice, Ezekiel Ansah has already returned and is likely getting healthier and Jon Bostic is eligible to return from the IR once he is ready to go.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Will the Detroit Lions defense be better this week against the Houston Texans?

My answer: No, not yet. I am very intrigued to see how Bynes will look, assuming he immediately starts for the defense. But even if Bynes plays better than expected, the Lions may be missing their best player on defense this week with Darius Slay healing from a hamstring injury. The Texans may have the worst offense in the league, but every single quarterback has shredded the Lions secondary this year, and without Slay that only becomes more likely this week.

Your turn.