On Sunday, December 14, Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions took a step back in their quest to get to the postseason with a 41-34 loss to Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. The game was critical for the Lions’ chance of getting to the postseason, and following the loss, they have just a 41% probability of getting to the playoffs, according to NFL research.
To make things even worse, the Chicago Bears won their game against the Cleveland Browns, which was expected, but because the Green Bay Packers fell in their showdowns against the Denver Broncos, former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and his Bears are once again on top of the NFC North.
After the loss to the Rams, Campbell spoke to the press about the deflating game. The Los Angeles Rams are on top of the NFC standings, so they’re simply one of the best teams in the league this year. Losing to one of the strongest teams isn’t so bad, but looking back on the season and seeing games that should have go the other way hurts more. Now, it’s a season of should-haves, but Campbell isn’t giving up yet.
Dan Campbell Gets Real About Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford
After the loss to the Rams, Campbell spoke to the media and was open about the team needing to win out their remaining games. In order to make it to the postseason now, the Detroit Lions have to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, it’s a cakewalk for both the Bears and Packers to get there.
Campbell summed up the fate of the remainder of the Detroit Lions’ season in four words: “We can do it.”
It’s true that the Detroit Lions can do it, but this is when some of those losses to weaker teams earlier in the season come back to bite a team. Save those losses for teams like the Rams. Still, the Lions are a talent team, and yes, they can do it.
“It can’t be OK. It should burn at you,” Campbell said of the loss. “It should eat you up. Do not go numb to the losing.”
Campbell also admitted that Stafford and the Rams are at the top of the NFC for a reason, noting, “Now you have first-hand knowledge of what the top of the NFC looks like. That’s them. So now you know. You know what it looks like you know what it is, and we’re not there right now. Doesn’t mean we can’t be, but now we know what it looks like. We’ve got to get better.”
He also said that the team “can’t sulk about it” and “can’t feel sorry for ourselves.” They just have to “make the corrections and move on.”
He continued, “The core of this group, man, they are the right guys and they’ve been through this,” adding that he believes in the team, players and captains.
Detroit Lions Quarterback Jared Goff Talks Loss to Rams
“We have a resilient group, man,” Goff said after the team’s loss. “We’ve bounced back after things like this and got a home game in front of our fans and expect them to bring it for us and find a way to win that one and go on to the next.”
So, the Lions still have a 41% chance of making the postseason, but they have to win out the rest of their season to get there. The one good development over the weekend is that the Green Bay Packers lost to the Broncos a final score of 34-26, which helps the Lions. But, what will really help Detroit is if they start winning again.
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