Following the Detroit Lions’ recent defeat by the Buffalo Bills, Dan Campbell delivered the captivating statement that both players and fans likely needed to hear on Tuesday. In a 48-42 game that was not as close as the score suggested, the Bills ended the Lions’ 11-game winning streak on Sunday. In front of a crowded Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, the Lions came back from a 21-point deficit late in the third quarter, but they were unable to finish the comeback.
Campbell talked about the defeat on the radio show 97.1 The Ticket on Tuesday. To explain why his team needed a defeat like the one against the Bills, the head coach of the Lions provided the ideal analogy (profanity censored by LBS). Campbell explained, “What happens is that you get used to eating fillet, and I’m talking all of us.” “Everything is OK. Life is good. However, you have forgotten what it was like to eat your f—ing moulded bread when you had nothing. It provided you with all you required and was perfectly acceptable. Sometimes, you’ve got to get punched in the mouth and remember what it used to be like to fully appreciate where you are.”
“We have unpleasant taste in our mouths. We were kicked around the other day. We lost a couple men. And you know what? It’s just what we needed. This is just what we needed.
When Campbell claimed that Sunday’s outcome was “exactly what we needed,” he was clearly embellishing. With only a few weeks until the playoffs, the Lions are as shorthanded as ever after losing a number of important players to injuries. However, Campbell is aware that the Lions will not benefit from feeling sorry for themselves.
In the past, the Lions have been in far worse situations. Detroit has not advanced past the Wild Card round in more than thirty years before to their journey to the NFC Championship Game last season. Campbell doesn’t want the team’s goals for this season to be undermined by one poor defeat and a few injuries. Additionally, Detroit has every motivation to advance farther in the postseason since one of the Lions’ wounded stars is hoping to make a spectacular Super Bowl comeback.