Dan Campbell's prediction was far from coming true.
After the Lions defeated the Vikings in Week 18 of the regular season, Detroit's head coach told Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell in a postgame hug, “I'll see you in two weeks,” suggesting that both teams would meet again in the postseason. suggested.
Instead, the Vikings lost in the NFC wild-card round, the Lions were upset by the Commanders on Saturday, and footage of Campbell featured on the Jan. 5 NBC broadcast resurfaced as allegedly backfiring.
“Dan Campbell spotted Kevin O'Connell in a hotel bar in Cancun,” one user wrote. I wrote to X.
“I hope Kevin O'Connell has piña coladas in Cancun.” Another user added.
The Lions defeated the Vikings 31-9 in Week 18, clinching the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. As a result, Minnesota will face the Rams with its energetic offense and struggling Sam Darnold. They will participate in the wild card round as the 5th seed.
In last week's playoff game against the Rams, Darnold, whose 2024 season marks the return of Darnold, the former No. 3 overall pick who left the Jets, turned the ball over twice in the first 30 minutes, and the Vikings were 24 at halftime. They were leading by 3-3. , and didn't have enough time to recover, resulting in a season-ending loss that undone all their progress from a 14-3 regular season.
Less than a week later, the Lions allowed Jaden Daniels and the Commanders a 31-point outburst in the first half, then came as close as a field goal in the fourth quarter, only to concede back-to-back touchdowns.
An emotional Campbell tearfully said after the game, “It really hurts to lose.” “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.”
The Vikings would have needed to beat the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in the divisional round to make the matchup Campbell expected.
But on the last weekend of January, two different teams, the Commanders and the winner of the Eagles vs. Rams, will square off in the NFC Championship for a spot in the Super Bowl and a trip to New Orleans.
