Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell Takes Responsibility After Tough Loss to Vikings
The Detroit Lions had a prime opportunity to make a statement following their bye week, facing a struggling Minnesota Vikings team and a chance to move up in the NFC North standings. However, they came up short, losing 27-24 in a game where they failed to perform on all fronts, including in the return of quarterback J.J. McCarthy. After the loss, Lions head coach Dan Campbell took responsibility for his team’s shortcomings, admitting much of the blame fell on him.
Campbell Acknowledges Team Wasn’t Prepared
Campbell described the loss as “probably one of the worst games we’ve played in a while,” noting that the team appeared disjointed despite having an extra week to prepare. He admitted that he didn’t have his players ready for the divisional matchup.
“We looked rusty… it’s clear I didn’t have them ready,” Campbell said, according to SI.com.
Known for emphasizing the importance of “complementary football” — where defense, special teams, and offense work together to create success — Campbell said that was nowhere to be found in this game. Instead, the Lions struggled in all areas.
“We did everything we needed to do to lose that game,” Campbell said. “We made every critical error at the worst possible time. A perfect storm. When you don’t perform well in all three phases, that falls on me. I didn’t have them ready coming out of the bye. We made too many mistakes, and some of our penalties came back to haunt us. We never looked comfortable and failed to make key plays. We had chances but couldn’t capitalize. I need to clean some things up.”
No Cause for Panic, But Urgency to Improve
While Campbell was critical of the performance, he remained optimistic and stressed that all the issues were fixable. He pointed to the team’s response after an opening loss to Green Bay, where the Lions rebounded with four straight victories.
“There’s no panic. But we definitely have an urgency to fix things… there’s a lot to improve, and the season is long,” Campbell said.
Quarterback Jared Goff had a solid individual performance, throwing for 284 yards and two touchdowns despite being sacked six times. Running back David Montgomery lost a crucial fumble, and the ground game struggled overall, with Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combining for just 65 rushing yards.
The loss was particularly frustrating for the Lions, as it prevented them from taking the division lead after the Green Bay Packers’ upset loss to the Carolina Panthers. Detroit now sits at 5-3, just behind the Packers at 5-2-1, with the Vikings closing in at 4-4. McCarthy’s return from injury provided a lift for Minnesota, as he threw for 143 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
Next week, the Lions will look to bounce back as they take on the Washington Commanders.
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