{"id":605054,"date":"2025-12-16T10:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/605054\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T10:50:12","slug":"with-3-games-left-detroit-lions-head-coach-dan-campbell-stresses-discipline-focus-in-playoff-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/605054\/","title":{"rendered":"With 3 games left, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell stresses discipline, focus in playoff push"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALLEN PARK, Mich. \u2013 Dan Campbell<\/a>, head coach of the Detroit Lions,<\/a> said the story of their loss to Matthew Stafford and his Los Angeles Rams was the three series in the third quarter that hurt them both offensively and defensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had three touchdowns in 12 plays on defense,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cThen we had nine plays for six yards total in that kind of third-quarter stretch. That was tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell noted several errors, including technique and fundamentals, that the team must clean up to compete against a strong opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do anything on any one of those series, offense or defense, and it changes the dynamic of the game. That was not good. That\u2019s what bit us,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Despite the setback, Campbell expressed confidence in his team\u2019s resilience and preparation for their next game against Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got the right guys. We\u2019re a resilient team. We\u2019ve got to win. We got Pittsburgh at home. We\u2019re going to get prepared for them. We know they\u2019re a physical team, well coached, and in the hunt. We still got an opportunity, so we got to make the most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defensive performance<\/p>\n

When asked about the defensive performance, Campbell pointed to the Lions\u2019 inability to control the run game as a key factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said going into the game, it was ground supremacy on both sides. We did not own the ground, which makes it extremely difficult defensively to defend those guys,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell described how the Rams used motions and tight end inserts to challenge the Lions\u2019 corners and outside linebackers, forcing them to adjust.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be much crisper on those things. Pittsburgh does that. We got a little bit,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell also highlighted the need to better use defensive help in the back end to limit key players like Puka Nacua and Stafford.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried to limit some of his production, but couldn\u2019t quite get there. We got to use our help better. Don\u2019t go out on your own and try to make it one-on-one. Use the help,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Streaking<\/p>\n

Campbell addressed the team\u2019s win-loss pattern and the need for a winning streak to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t have a streak without winning the first one,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cAll our focus has got to be on Pittsburgh and everything we\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell emphasized the importance of studying the opponent and understanding matchups.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to know exactly who most of your one-on-ones are going to be against, the way they play, the style of play,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell stressed the need for disciplined football and protecting the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a good job protecting the football. We got a takeaway. We got to continue to protect it, and we need more than one takeaway,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell e praised players like Jack Campbell<\/a> for their efforts to go after the ball but noted the team must keep that intensity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s got to stay that way,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Despite frustration, Campbell said the team will not feel sorry for themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have those types of guys. We go back to work,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell\u2019s message was clear: win the first game, then focus on the next.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want a streak, you win the first one, then you worry about the next one after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Injuries<\/p>\n

Campbell provided an update on cornerback Amik Robertson<\/a>\u2019s hand injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmik Robertson had a hand injury. We\u2019ll see where it\u2019s at. I\u2019m hopeful he\u2019ll be able to go,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHe had an MRI. It could affect him a little bit, but we like to believe he has a chance to play. Until we get through practice, we won\u2019t entirely know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell also addressed the challenges faced by the Lions\u2019 boundary cornerbacks in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some things we can do to help,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cWe try to get to some of that later in the game. Wherever you try to reduce stress in one area, you\u2019re putting it on somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained the team\u2019s efforts to ease the load by adjusting defensive schemes, such as stopping the run in a lighter box.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to relieve a little bit of stress off one area and put it on another group and just spread the load. You want to do that on all sides if you can,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Regarding cornerback D.J. Reed Jr.<\/a>, who has struggled to find his flow since returning from injury, Campbell offered encouragement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose guys are put out on an island,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cThey\u2019re like quarterbacks \u2014 nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You\u2019re not going to win all those battles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell expressed confidence in Reed\u2019s ability to work through the challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know him well enough to know whatever it is, he\u2019s going to continue to work himself through it. He went after it last week, continued to work, and he\u2019s going to be all right,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Correct errors<\/p>\n

With only three games left in the season, Campbell said the team keeps trying different ways to communicate and correct errors.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou keep changing it up, trying to address things in a different way. I do believe we\u2019ll get it cleaned up and correct those errors,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell encouraged players to learn from reps even if they were not directly involved in the mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got some guys who have been role players getting significant reps now. They got to grow from them,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Campbell\u2019s message to the team was clear: go back to work and focus on winning.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about the what-ifs. We\u2019ve got to win. Keep putting in the work, the focus, the detail, and trust that the guy next to you is going to do his job. You do your job the best you can, and let\u2019s find a way to win,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Nine-play second half<\/p>\n

Reflecting on a difficult nine-play offensive stretch in the second half, Campbell said he wanted to get the run game going, but penalties and sacks made it tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could not execute in that nine-play stretch. We were not able to overcome the negative plays, the penalty, and the sack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell said in hindsight he might have thrown the ball more, but did not regret trying to establish the run.<\/p>\n

On a controversial touchdown call from Stafford to tight end Colby Parkinson, Campbell said they would ask about it, but the call stood, and that was all he had.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLEN PARK, Mich. \u2013 Dan Campbell, head coach of the Detroit Lions, said the story of their loss…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[9165,68260,6214,146,113,2506,7,16688,147,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-605054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-amik-robertson","9":"tag-d-j-reed-jr","10":"tag-dan-campbell","11":"tag-detroit","12":"tag-detroit-lions","13":"tag-detroitlions","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-jack-campbell","16":"tag-lions","17":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115728864476539874","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}