Dan Campbell had a two-word message for his team Monday, Dec. 22.
“Move forward,” the Detroit Lions coach said.
The Lions are on the brink of being eliminated from playoff contention after Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Campbell said he wants players to focus on their game against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday (4:30 p.m. Netflix) rather than where they stand in the postseason race.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) runs for a touchdown against Detroit Lions during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.
At 8-7, the Lions need to win their final two games (at Minnesota on Christmas and at the Chicago Bears next weekend), and have the Green Bay Packers (9-5-1) lose their final two games (against the Baltimore Ravens and Vikings), to make the playoffs.
“We’ve got three days here of practice for these guys to get the mental work, to recover, make sure they get rest when they leave here and get back to work,” Campbell said. “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us, nobody cares. We got a game plan ready for them, they’ve got to go out there and digest it as fast as they can and be ready to go, man. Emotionally, psychologically, physically by the time Thursday hits.”
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The Lions lost to the Vikings earlier this year, 27-24, in one of their most stunning outcomes of the season.
The Vikings were 3-4 at the time and Michigan alumnus J.J. McCarthy was making his third career start at quarterback and coming off a long injury layoff.
Minnesota (7-8) lost four straight after that victory, but has won its last three games to pull within a game of the Lions.
Campbell said Sunday it’s “frustrating” for the Lions to be this close to elimination given their expectations entering the season and said he wants the Lions to play “our style of football” to finish the season.
“Try to play four straight quarters of good football,” he said. “Clean football, efficient football. That’s what I want to do. And we’ve got a short week now. We’ve got Minnesota, we’re back in [Monday]. I’ve got to have a game plan ready for these guys and we’ve got to be ready to go out to Minneapolis and put it all together and execute.”
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All the King’s men
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff hugs center Kingsley Eguakun before a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.
Kingsley Eguakun made his first career start at center against the Steelers and played well enough that he could stay in the rotation going forward.
“I thought it was really encouraging,” Campbell said. “For his first game to go out there, I thought he competed, I thought he fought, I thought he played fast. It was very encouraging.”
An undrafted rookie out of Florida who initially signed with the Lions last spring, Eguakun has spent most of the past two seasons on practice squad. He had played three offensive snaps and appeared in two games earlier this year before starting in place of an injured Graham Glasgow on Sunday.
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Glasgow was listed as limited on the Lions’ estimated practice report Monday.
“I thought Kings did a good job,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said Sunday. “There’s some young errors that are going to happen, but honestly I thought he operated pretty well and was pretty level-headed for most of the game.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions get 2-word demand from Dan Campbell: ‘Move forward’