Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is a risk taker. Sometimes it pays off, other times it backfires. Most would advise against going for it on fourth down at your own 31-yard line when it’s a tie game with 43 seconds left, but Campbell isn’t most coaches.
His bold attempt in the divisional game against the Green Bay Packers paid off and not only did the Lions offense convert, it set up a walk-off field goal from Jake Bates. The 34-31 victory extended the Lions win streak to 11 games, most in franchise history, and gave them a ticket to the playoffs. This is the first time the Lions have clinched consecutive playoff berths since 1994-1995.
Detroit now sits at 12-1 and those 12 wins tie a single-season franchise record for most wins. The way things are going, they will likely break that record.
There was a lot to celebrate Thursday night for the Lions and Campbell, who is no stranger to producing electric quotes, delivering a very passionate locker room speech.
Campbell opened the speech with a mighty “Yeah!” which immediately caused the rest of the locker room to erupt in cheers.
“I told you, you’ll never forget this game,” he began. “You will never forget this game. We don’t have to talk about how tough we are. We don’t have to talk about how resilient we are. We live it, man. We’ve been living it.”
Campbell gave shoutouts to his defense and his offense, saying, “That’s a way to step up,” then without missing a beat, turned his attention to offensive tackle Dan Skipper, who was bent over.
“There you go, Skip. Keep throwing up or whatever you’re doing over there,” Campbell said, getting laughs from the rest of the team. “That’s the way to freakin’ lay it all on the line.”
The Lions are dealing with significant injuries, including defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, and the head coach noted that the team is able to pull off more wins even with players down.
“I’m so freakin’ proud of you. That’s the way to show up. You talk about pressure, we live in pressure,” Campbell said. “That’s where we freakin’ thrive. You did it again. You did it again. It doesn’t matter who’s playing for us. Doesn’t matter what’s going on, you always find a way to win. That’s what champions do.”
Campbell never lost an ounce of energy while delivering the speech, ending by calling out the team’s destiny and encouraging his players to continue as they are going.
“This is not happenstance, man. This doesn’t just happen … This has been in the making, all right? We’re all supposed to be here together. Man, we’re destined for this. Just stay the course … You guys are warriors … Good win, break it down.
He gave out two game balls, the first going to Tim Patrick, who took two trips to the end zone in the win, marking his first touchdowns since 2021.
“Thank you guys, man. Thank you for embracing me. It’s been a hell of a ride the past two years and I wouldn’t want to go on a ride with anybody else but y’all,” Patrick said.
“All the stats you need is he won the freaking game again,” Campbell said, before tossing the second game ball to Bates.
Quarterback Jared Goff closed out the locker room speeches with a huddle and a callback to his head coach’s earlier words.
“Hey like he said this don’t just happen boys, we’re different … this group’s different,” Goff said.
Detroit will look to continue the winning streak next week, but will have one of their toughest battles yet. The Lions will head to Buffalo to take on the 10-2 Bills on CBS at 4:25 p.m. ET.
Go to Source
Author: Shanna McCarriston
December 6, 2024 | 11:16 am
