Lions HC Dan Campbell admits he “won’t lose sleep” after Bears scare
The Detroit Lions defeated the Chicago Bears 23-20 on Thanksgiving Day, thanks to a dismal clock management by the Bears.
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Dan Campbell amid the Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears game at Ford Field. (Image via AP)
On Thursday, the Detroit Lions delivered a long-awaited Thanksgiving Day triumph, their first since 2016. With an impressive 11-1 record this season, the Lions edged out their divisional rivals, the Chicago Bears (4-8), in a 23-20 victory.
The Lions started very well putting up 16-0 at halftime. In the second half, quarterback Jared Goff’s second touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta, a 1-yard throw, alongside a Jake Bates field goal added seven points. On the other hand, the Bears rallied to add 20 points, falling short of a win. Although the Lions secured the win, the game came uncomfortably close. A penalty, a sack, and a peculiar clock management sequence played a crucial role in saving Detroit. Adding to the drama, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus chose not to use their final timeout — a decision that has drawn criticism, even from his players.
The Chicago Bears who traveled to Ford Field were close to snapping the Lions’ nine-game winning streak. With the win, the Lions have tied their franchise record for most successive wins. Tampa Bay Buccaneers handed the Lions their only loss in this season in Week 2.
Speaking to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions head coach expressed his thoughts on how close they came to losing on Thursday. He noted that while it’s good to have high standards and expectations for how one plays, if one overanalyzes every win, one might forget to appreciate the victory itself.
If you’re not careful, you start grading your own wins, and it’s good because you have these standards, the way you think you should play, by your own standards, by what you have, it has nothing to do with the opponent. If you’re not careful, you start going too far down that thing, then you start taking the wins for granted.
Dan Campbell stated
The fourth-year head coach emphasized that the final result is what matters. He went on to add that they did what they had to do and he’s happy with taking the win.
And ultimately, man, that’s a good win against an opponent that has fought every week, and this was the third game in a row, division game, that those guys have brought it over there. So we did what we had to do to win. And we’ll clean up the other stuff that cost us some points. I’m not worried about that. But I will take this W and I’m not going to lose sleep over it.
Dan Campbell added
Dan Campbell has led a change in culture in the Detroit Lions
A huge chunk of why Detroit has emerged as a major contender for the Super Bowl could be attributed to the winning culture fostered by their current head coach Dan Campbell. Hailing from Texas, Campbell started his coaching career in South Florida as a coaching intern in Miami Dolphins eventually becoming the tight ends coach there.
For a short term, he served as the interim head coach before moving to the New Orleans Saints. The coach made his way back to Detroit, where he played as a tight end from 2006 through 2008, in 2021. In his four years as a head coach has a 35-27-1 record.
In the last two years, he transformed the Motor City team with a 23-6 record in the regular season and 2-1 in the postseason. Campbell’s never-say-never attitude has gained instant recognition with the Lions making their first NFC Championship game last year.
The rabbit foot that rolled onto this year hasn’t changed how Campbell is as a coach. The high-energy aggressive play caller has formulated a mechanism where a huge trail (Week 10 vs. Houston) did nothing to scare him off. As the Lions look to create new records and potentially win their first Bowl, Campbell would be at the center of it all.
Related: DJ Moore seemingly throws Matt Eberflus under the bus for not calling a timeout
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Mohammed Bazim
(405 Articles Published)