There was a definite sense of cathartic relief in Lions coach Dan Campbell after Sunday’s win over the Washington Commanders. The 36-27 triumph capped a trying week for Campbell as he shuffled personnel due to injuries and tried to manage expectations with his team favored for the first time in his NFL coaching career.
“Listen, that was a good win for us. We needed that, that was number one,” Campbell said at the beginning of his postgame press conference.
Campbell quickly turned to how well his team came out and treated the Ford Field fans to some good football.
“I thought the defense set the tone for that game, which we felt was going to be critical this week. We needed special teams to make a play. I thought we did with (return man Kalif Raymond) Lif and I thought our coverages were good.
Man, our offense, I thought was steady and reliable, and when we needed it, man, we answered back when those guys made some plays. We did exactly what we needed to do. We were much more detailed and disciplined.”
Campbell’s defense did not allow Washington to pick up a first down until the Commander’s sixth offensive possession. When the Commanders did get their offense rolling late, the Lions own offense was able to step up and keep the lead at a safe distance. The special teams were very good all afternoon, too.
It made the head coach a happy man. The reinforcing invigoration of the win was something Campbell talked about, a topic his coaching mentor, Sean Payton, also brought up on FOX Sports after the game.
“Listen, it feels good to win. That’s what it does, it feels good to win. Because there’s a lot of hard work that’s put in it across the board. I think the best thing about it is our guys, they trust in the system, they believe in what we’re doing as coaches and the schemes, and they believe in how we’re setting them up for success and they believe in the plan and they execute the plan. That’s a credit to those guys. They never gave up. They never lost hope and they won’t ever. That’s how we assembled this team, so they know what we’re capable of. It’s a step in the right direction, but that’s one. That’s
one.”
Campbell’s 1-1 Lions take to the road in Week 3 to face the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings.
