Following the Detroit Lions’ 41–34 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, head coach Dan Campbell addressed the media with honesty, frustration, and a clear message about where his team must go from here. Below is everything Campbell said, including his full quotes from each postgame answer.
Opening Statement
Campbell opened by detailing the turning point of the game:
“The third quarter was rough on us. They got a jump on us that we couldn’t overcome. Nacua had a huge day — we couldn’t slow him down. Stafford played at a really high level, which we knew he would if we couldn’t disrupt him and stop the run. We weren’t able to do that. They broke through, ground it out, and made it very difficult on us. We left three out there on the field goal, and we could have scored touchdowns. In a game like that, you know you’re going to need points, and we weren’t able to get enough in the third quarter. We have to be able to stop the bleeding offensively, and we never got our run game going.
I thought Goff, Saint, and Jamo played their tails off. They played at a high level and gave us a chance, but we weren’t able to overcome some of those things. We knew that team doesn’t make mistakes, and it cost us. We just couldn’t do enough.”
On Not Knowing Playoff Scenarios
Campbell was asked whether he was aware of the Packers’ loss and other NFC results. He made it clear he wasn’t following the scoreboard:
“I don’t even know what happened. I just found out after the game about Green Bay. My message is: don’t go numb when you get these losses — the win-lose, win-lose. We have to get out of that rut. It should burn at you. Don’t go numb to losing.
We’re going to come in tomorrow and watch this as a team — all three phases — top down. Players and coaches. Then we correct it and move on. We have to get better with Pittsburgh coming in. Now we have firsthand knowledge of what the top of the NFC looks like right now. That’s them. We’re not there right now. It doesn’t mean we can’t be, but now we know what it looks like. We have to get better. We have to move on. We can’t sulk or feel sorry for ourselves. Make the corrections and move on.”
On Why the Offense Stalled in the Third Quarter
Detroit’s scoreless third quarter was a pivotal moment:
“We really just couldn’t get our run game going. That was going to be important, and that hurt us. We got a holding call that made things difficult. You’re trying to get into third-and-five, and instead you’re in third-and-10. When you run the ball and get two yards, it makes everything difficult. We weren’t able to overcome that. You can go back and say maybe we should have just thrown it and quit trying some of those things. Those are things I’ll look at myself and ask if I could have done something better to help these guys.
Bottom line: we weren’t able to convert. That stretched the defense out, and all of a sudden it flips — you’re up 10, you’re down 10. It was a rough quarter for us.”
On Defensive Inconsistency
Campbell didn’t hide his frustration with allowing 41 points:
“It’s frustrating because we’re better than that. I knew we’d need to score points — that’s a good team, good offense, good quarterback, good weapons. Nacua is a hell of a player. But we’re better than 41 points. Now, they earned it — they put it on the scoreboard. But there were little things: run fits, perimeter issues — everybody had a hand in it. Once they’re able to run the ball with what they have, it makes it extremely difficult.”
On the Decision to Not Attempt an Onside Kick
Detroit opted to kick deep instead of attempting an onside kick late in the game:
“I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for you right now. I just felt like with two timeouts in the two-minute, we could play it out.”
On the Failed Challenge and Lost Timeout
A rules miscommunication cost Detroit a timeout even though Campbell ultimately won the challenge:
“They said I couldn’t challenge it because it wasn’t a line-to-gain play, but that was wrong. They corrected it, so I won the challenge, but I lost my timeout.”
On the Touchdown Review
Campbell kept his response short:
“I said it was down. They said the call stands.”
On Relying Heavily on St. Brown and Jameson Williams Early
The Lions leaned on their star receivers when the run game disappeared:
“When you can’t get the run game going, it limits what you can do and what you’re trying to do off it. I don’t regret one bit getting the ball to St. Brown and Jamo — zero regrets. But we have to get the run game going. We can be better.”
On the 4th-Down Call at His Own 29
Campbell’s signature aggressiveness stayed intact:
“I felt really good about it. I knew we’d get it. I felt confident, and I knew the players would execute. I felt like we’d have the right look, and it worked out. If it doesn’t, then I’m in trouble — that’s the story every week.”
On Locker-Room Mindset
Despite the loss, Campbell said the locker room’s core attitude remains strong:
“They’re frustrated — they don’t like losing. But the core of this group is the right guys. They’ve been through this. They know what the dumps look like — back-to-back-to-back losses. You don’t ever want to get a taste of that again.
It’s important nobody gets that way, especially young guys who don’t know any different. You can’t just play for the next week or go through the motions. It has to burn at you. You have to have urgency to correct your errors.”
On Believing They Can Finish 3–0
Campbell closed by reaffirming his belief in his team and the remaining path:
“I believe in the guys on this team — the character, our captains, the core. We needed to play close to perfect tonight, and we weren’t perfect enough. We made too many errors. Against some other teams, it might have been enough — not against that team. But I know we can do it.
Nobody’s lost confidence. We take care of the ball. We’re getting takeaways. But we have to play four quarters at a high level — not three. We’ve got three to go, and we don’t control our destiny, but we need to win these three. It starts with Pittsburgh at home.”
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