On Sunday afternoon, the pressure was on for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions as they took on the Washington Commanders at Ford Field.
You see, with a loss, the Lions would be off to an 0-2 start with a road matchup against what looks to be a solid Minnesota Vikings team staring them right in the face.
But as we now know, Campbell had his men fired up for the game and they jumped out to a 22-0 halftime lead before eventually winning 36-27 over the Commanders.
Heading into the game, the Detroit Lions were down 60% of their offensive line and they needed somebody to step up and replace injured RG Jonah Jackson, who was not able to give it a go against the Commanders.
Campbell and his coaching staff decided that Jackson’s replacement would be Dan Skipper, who has never played the guard position in the NFL.
“Dan’s been here for two years now, since we’ve been here,” Campbell said. “He knows our offense in-and-out, he knows all the positions, and look, this isn’t the easiest offense to just walk right in and learn.
“We just felt like Skip, man, has a real good understanding of it,” Campbell said. “And we felt like even though he’s never played guard in a game, we just feel like he was going to hold up, you know. We trust him, I trust him. He’s a battler. He’s not going to go in the tank if something happens.”
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Dan Campbell’s best coaching move comes AFTER win vs. Commanders
But Dan Campbell’s best coaching move of the day came after the Lions’ big win over the Commanders when he made the decision to have Dan Skipper be the first player to speak to the media during the post-game press conference.
“My sixth year in the league, I’ve never made a team (out of camp),” Skipper said. “It’s tough, you go in, and you’re never quite good enough. You’re not quite enough. You show up every day, and you think you’re doing the right things, and just for whatever reason, it just doesn’t quite work out.
“I think I’ve had 20 NFL contracts,” Skipper continued, talking about not making the final cut with the Lions earlier this month. “They’re not worth the paper they’re written on, right? So, it’s like, ‘Here we go again.’ Six years, I think things look good, and it sucks, but went home, got things — got to spend a week with the family which was big, got back up here, moved and all that. Just trying to get back to push your best foot ahead every day. It’s not easy. Whether you’ve been fired once or 100 times, it still sucks. It’s tough. You get fired, but just keep on plugging away.”
Campbell opting to have Skipper speak to the media first when he could have chosen Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, D’Andre Swift, or Aidan Hutchinson, just shows how much he cares about his players, and that is exactly why they want to play for him.
