Lions HC Dan Campbell Assigns Blame After Rough Vikings Loss
The Detroit Lions had a chance to make a statement after their bye week, facing a struggling Minnesota Vikings team with an opportunity to make a move toward the top of their division.
But the Lions fell flat in the 27-24 loss, struggling through all three phases of the game and losing in quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s return to the field. After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell assigned blame for the team’s failures — saying much of it fell on him.
Dan Campbell Says He Didn’t Have Lions Ready
Campbell called the loss “probably one of the worst games we’ve played in a while” and noted that the team looked lost after a week of extra rest. He put the blame on himself for failing to get the team ready for their division rival.
“We looked rusty… that’s evident that I didn’t have ’em ready,” Campbell said, via SI.com.
Campbell often praises “complementary football,” saying that team successes on defense and special teams set up the offense for success, and vice versa. He said it was the opposite on Sunday, with the team struggling through all three phases of the game.
“We did everything we needed to do to lose that game. We made every critical error you need to at the right time to lose it. Perfect storm,” Campbell said. “When you don’t play well in all three phases, that falls on the head coach. I did not have them ready coming out of the bye. We made too many critical errors, man. Some of our discipline, our penalties caught up to us. We never looked comfortable and we just didn’t make enough plays. We had multiple opportunities to and we made none of them, really. I gotta clean up some stuff up.”
Dan Campbell Not Sounding the Alarm
While Campbell was critical of his team’s performance in the loss, he wasn’t giving in to panic and said all of the issues are fixable. He made similar statements after the team’s season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers, with the Lions responding by winning their next four games.
“No concern, there’s certainly an urgency with fixing things. … There’s a ton to fix and a ton of things to get better at. It’s a long season and we gotta get to it,” Campbell said.
The Vikings hounded Lions quarterback Jared Goff, sacking him six times even as Goff threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Running back David Montgomery lost a critical fumble and the ground game struggled overall, with Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combining for just 65 total yards on the ground.
The loss robbed the Lions of a chance to jump into the lead in the NFC North after the Green Bay Packers suffered an upset loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Lions fell to 5-3, just behind the Packers at 5-2-1. The Vikings also jumped into the mix in the division at 4-4, getting the added boost of McCarthy’s return after an extended injury.
McCarthy completed 14-of-25 passes for 143 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
The Lions get a chance to bounce back next week against the Washington Commanders.
Commanders' nightmare loss to Seahawks continues to get worse with more unfortunate injury updates
The season is officially over for the Washington Commanders, and the nightmare somehow continues after the worst night in recent memory for this franchise.
The Commanders got blown out at home in primetime during a night that was supposed to be special with the throwback uniforms and Art Monk jersey retirement, but it turned into fans leaving in the middle of the second quarter, and a gruesome injury. You can move on from a loss, but seeing Jayden Daniels go down with a severe elbow injury was gut-wrenching.
Daniels' injury wasn't the only significant injury last night, as the hits continue with two more season-ending injuries
Luke McCaffrey suffers a season-ending injury
The game barely started before the Commanders suffered yet another injury, and wide receiver Luke McCaffrey went down after returning the opening kickoff. He went down awkwardly on his left side, which is now being diagnosed as a broken collarbone that will have him out for the rest of the year.
McCaffrey was starting to really find his role in the offense and special teams, and now his season comes to an end. He was second in the league in kickoff return yards with 769, and also averaged 18.5 yards per catch. The Commanders turned to McCaffrey after injuries to Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown, and he was showing a lot of promise with multiple tough catches.
He should be part of the offense next season, but another injury just shows even more how badly this team needs help at the position. The Commanders added Treylon Burks and hope to get a roster win from him, but major changes need to happen with McLaurin and Brown injured, and Deebo Samuel not under contract next season. The defense is another conversation, and they lost another starter for the rest of the season.
Marshon Lattimore is feared to have torn an ACL
The defense was an embarrassment once again, with the Seahawks blowing the team out before halftime, and it never got any better. Busted coverage and wide-open explosive plays were all over the field, and major changes need to happen on and off the field. It got even worse for Marshon Lattimore, who went down with an injury that is feared to be a torn ACL.
There's no easy way to put it, but it was a nightmare night for Lattimore. He played really well last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, but it's time to admit that this trade was a massive swing and a miss by Adam Peters. It's unfortunate to see the season go down like this for Laittmore in what is very likely his last game with the Commanders. He's under contract for next season as well, but I don't expect him to be here after the defense faces an overhaul this offseason, if not sooner.
Injuries have been the biggest headline of the season with multiple starters suffering long-term injuries, and the roster honestly needs an overhaul as well. It will be a long rest of the season, with a massive offseason coming up.
