After the Lions' shocking loss in the divisional round of the playoffs, Dan Campbell could only hide his emotions for a long time.
The head coach, who helped create the identity of a stubborn Detroit team that rose to the NFC's top seed with a 15-2 record, choked up during a press conference while trying to analyze the Lions' 45-31 record. I wiped my tears. They lost to the Commanders on Saturday at Ford Field.
“Losing just hurts,” Campbell said after his fourth stint with the Lions. “And I don't care if you're a 7th seed, a 6th seed, a 5th seed, a 1st seed, because I'm losing in all of them. And it stings. It hurts. You have to stand up and get your body pumping and mentally lock yourself up and do things like that.”
Later, when a reporter asked another question, Campbell said: That's my fault. ”
The Lions have gone 27-5 over the past two seasons under Campbell, emerging as one of the most favored teams in the NFL as they look to make the NFL's first Super Bowl, but missed the playoffs in both campaigns. It ended in a heartbreaking defeat. Detroit blew a 24-7 lead over the 49ers in last year's NFC Championship Game.
And this time, the Lions allowed their manager and rookie quarterback Jaden Daniels to explode for 31 points in the first half, while Jared Goff had three interceptions.
The teams pulled within three points early in the third quarter, but Washington fought back with back-to-back touchdown drives (a 15-play, 70-yard touchdown drive followed by an eight-play, 66-yard possession) and eventually He built an insurmountable advantage.
Detroit turned the ball over five times and costly penalties also derailed any momentum toward a comeback.
“Honestly, it's probably going to haunt me for the rest of my life,” Lions offensive lineman Taylor Decker said, while offensive lineman Dan Skipper added, “It sucks.” According to The Athletic.
Daniels, who threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns for an additional 51 yards, and his coaches will face the winner of Sunday's district showdown between the second-seeded Eagles and fourth-seeded Rams, and a spot in the division. They will compete against each other. Super Bowl.
And with both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn becoming popular names in recent coaching interviews, Campbell could be filled with major staff changes going forward. We're going into a certain offseason.
These impending decisions could complicate Campbell's quest to fix what happened Saturday and help ease the sting of his recent playoff loss.
