The defense has made considerable strides in recent weeks. The Detroit Lions defense has taken considerable strides forward in recent weeks. After starting their first seven games as an historically bad defense, things have really turned around with the defense giving up just 19 points per game in the three weeks since. That change coincided with a few things — most notable was the departure of Aubrey Pleasant, but with it came the return of John Cominsky, Aidan Hutchinson’s clean bill of health, the return of Jerry Jacobs, and the emergence of Derrick Barnes. It has been a small sample…