Locker Room Buzz: Lions Lament Missed Opportunities

Here is a collection of quotes from Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings players and coaches after the Vikings defeated the Lions 27-21 at Ford Field in Week 9.

Detroit Lions

HC Dan Campbell

On not being able to handle the Vikings' defensive line:

“Self-induced. Oh yeah. Very disappointing. We knew what we were going to get going into this. We knew there would be some wrinkles, but there was nothing that we hadn’t seen before. We did not – we didn’t handle it. We did not handle it well. I know we got beat on a couple of them, just physically beat on a couple that we expect not to. We expect more out of our guys. But some of it, we act like it was something exotic – it wasn’t. We just didn’t handle it well. We weren’t on the same page. We were not on the same page.”

QB Jared Goff

On what the team could've done differently over the bye week:

“I know he takes a lot of ownership in that, but I felt like we were ready to go. I felt fresh, we all felt fresh. Sure, I’m sure he’d like to do things differently, but from my perspective, we did what we were supposed to do, and we didn’t play well as players. We didn’t in any phase, and they did. They played better than us today, and it’s been a long time since we had this feeling of playing kind of poorly in all three phases, and you do that, you probably lose.”

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

On if he has concerns with the lack of explosive plays in Sunday's game:

“We’ve just got to — I wouldn’t say I’m concerned. I know the guys we have on offense, the capabilities we have. We just have to put it together and continue to get better.” 

On if teams have a consistent plan that has kept their offense in check:

“I’m not sure. I’ve got to watch the tape. Obviously you can play safeties over the top, eliminate deep balls and whatnot. But we’ve just got to be better.” 

What is going on with explosiveness of Lions offense? pic.twitter.com/X8zDU8lQ9d

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) November 2, 2025

WR Jameson Williams

On how the team moves forward after the loss:

"We're gonna do what we're known best for, bounce back. We've got days off. We're gonna come back to work Wednesday, (Thursday) and get ready for our next opponent. There's nothing much extra to it, we're just gonna do what we do."

On if the slow start for the run game impeded their ability to get going on offense:

"It affected us a little bit, I wouldn't say a lot. We left a lot of opportunities out there on a couple of drives, but we lost by three points. We had the opportunities, we've just got to come through on them and do our job. We could've won that game, it's still on the table for us with all the mistakes we had. It's hard. We've just got to win, that's it."

OT Taylor Decker

On if there was an increased level of physicality from the Vikings in Sunday's game:

"It seemed like a lot of that was evident on passing situations. So there's just a lot of bodies and twists and stunts flying around in there on the offensive line. Just a lot of bodies around feet and stuff like that. I don't think anything really happened in the run game at all."

EDGE Aidan Hutchinson

On Sunday's loss:

"We've got to be better than that, all the way around, and that's just the reality of it. But I think this will be good for us in the long run."

On what happened to get the defense out of its rhythm:

"You look at the yards, like I was looking at the yards and they had like 230, I don't know what it ended up being but it was low in the fourth quarter. Obviously, we want to be a little bit better in the red zone, I thought we got a great stop there at the end to give us a chance on that goal line play. But ultimately we gave up the third-down in a got to have it situation. It's just a little bit (of a) lack of flow, all-around, where we had chances here and there and they slipped away."

CB Terrion Arnold

On how it felt to get his first career interception after enduring criticism last year:

“I’m not going to lie, I don’t really feel any type of way. We lost. Criticism — I mean you see I’m a confident person. I don’t even look at stuff like that, it never gets to me. I just look at plays in games like, ‘This is a play that I could’ve made.’ Like even the out-route on the goal line. What if I could’ve undercut that or different types of plays. Me and Amik (Robertson), we’re very critical on ourselves. The pick is one thing, it’s a plus. But we lost, so my mindset is, ‘I’ve got to get better. I’ve got to continue to improve.’ Like even this game, I’ve got to tackle better. Plays like that, they constantly run through my mind because I want to be so great but not only for myself, for my teammates. And I feel like I could’ve done a better job just putting them in better situations or putting us in shorter yardage situations just even with my tackling.”

CB Amik Robertson

On the feeling of a loss at home:

"It's always a bad feeling losing game, especially a game that we gave them. So get back to the drawing board, bro. Sometimes in this league, it's s**t like this. Losses like that, it reflects on how you shake back from it."

CB Arthur Maulet

"You've just got to get better at the end of the day. I put ownership on me. They came at me, I had to make a play, it's just that simple. It's next play mentality, obviously we have a game next week. But I'm gonna look at my technique, gonna look at what I need to do. I take full ownership of it because I needed to get the offense the ball back."

Minnesota Vikings

HC Kevin O'Connell

On J.J. McCarthy's performance:

“We tried to have a plan that he could get into a rhythm. I thought he was really decisive. He made some nice throws early in the game. I thought the throw to J.A. on third-down when they were doubling Jefferson was off some pocket movement, kind of kept his base and gave J.A. a chance to make that play. I’m sure there’s plenty more. Just the feel of him playing quarterback mixed with his athleticism, protected himself a couple of times when he did steal us some yardage. Got us in the end zone again on a critical third-and-goal from I believe the 9. Just his presence. He’s a young player in a heck of an environment. He’s had three starts, two of which were in very difficult road environments. His poise in running the show, I thought, was matched by him making some big-time throws. There’s always gonna be some things that we can go back and correct, but really proud of the way he competed and battled today. The last throw to Jalen Nailor, we were in a similar situation against them a year ago at home and we were able to make the play. Speedy (Nailor) made an unbelievable play and J.J. made one of the best throws of the day when we absolutely needed it.” 

QB J.J. McCarthy

On being back in Michigan playing for the first time since his days at Michigan:

“It meant a lot. I love this state, I’ve shed a lot of blood and tears in this state. And there’s so many relationships that I’ve built over the three years that I was at Michigan, and seeing some of those faces, and making those connecting interactions is really special. And I’m just tremendously grateful for Michigan faithful, and tremendously grateful for all the Vikings fans back at home because I know they were cheering for us, I know they were believing in us, and it means the absolute world to us. We’re going to give it our all every single week for you guys back home.”

WR Justin Jefferson

On earning a road divisional win:

"I felt like the energy was definitely there for us. We had our team meeting last night, and a couple of captains talked and gave a couple of words and I feel like the whole team felt it. I felt like the whole team was ready for this moment and ready to come here in a difficult environment to be in and make the plays. Just executing and the energy and all those things that we've talked about the whole season, we put it out to play today."

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