Lions coach Dan Campbell was fired up after taking a gamble and winning on a key fourth-down play against the Packers on Thursday.
After Detroit won 11 straight games to qualify for the playoffs, Campbell gave a victory speech in the locker room, praising his team for bouncing back and playing despite a rash of injuries.
“I told you I'd never forget this damn game,” Campbell said after walking around the locker room as his team cheered. “We don't need to talk about how tough we are. We don't need to talk about how resilient we are. We're really living it. We've lived it!”
Campbell went on to praise the Lions offense for stepping up and gave a shoutout to offensive tackle Dan Skipper, who appeared to be throwing up in the corner.
“So Skip! Keep throwing up and keep doing whatever you're doing over there!” Campbell said, drawing laughter from the players. “That's a risky way to do it.
“I'm so proud of you, that's how you show up. Are you talking about pressure? We live under pressure. That's where we thrive in amazing ways. We did it again. It doesn't matter who is playing for us. No matter what's going on, you always find a way to win. This is in the works, dude. We were all supposed to be here together. That's what we're destined to do. Just stay the course.”
The Lions entered Thursday's game with 13 defensive players on injured reserve.
Campbell benefited from a number of gutsy fourth-down calls in the district matchup, including two touchdowns.
But the most dangerous moment came with 40 seconds left in the game, when Campbell decided to go for it on a fourth-and-1 rather than kick a 39-yard field goal.
The Lions got a first down despite Jared Goff stumbling while passing the ball to David Montgomery and won on a 35-yard Jake Bates field goal as time expired.
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“I felt like we needed to finish it off on offense. We didn't want to give the ball back and we believed we would get the ball,” Campbell said in his postgame press conference. “I believed we could convert, and I believe in that line, and I believe in David (Montgomery), and they were successful for us. (Offensive coordinator) That's a crazy call from Ben (Johnson). Let's end this,' and we did.”
Lions quarterback Jared Goff said the team trusts Campbell, who has “the stones” to make risky decisions.
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The Lions (12-1) will play the Bills on Dec. 15 in Detroit.
A loss to Buffalo won't hurt Detroit's chances of clinching the NFC's top seed.
