In a recent team meeting, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell took a powerful approach to remind his players of the heartbreak they endured last season. According to defensive tackle DJ Reader, Campbell showed the team the emotional ending of last year’s NFC Championship Game loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The team watched as the cameras captured every angle of the players' raw emotions during that crushing defeat.
The Raw Emotion of Defeat
“We watched, earlier in the team meeting, and just kind of watching the end of it, everybody’s emotions. The cameras catch every single angle. They can throw some music behind there, and it really describes the emotion that you was going through,” Reader explained. “As a player, that’s when it’s real. Because you work so hard, and felt like you got to the end, and just came up short. You can’t hide that raw emotion you feel.”
DJ Reader Reflects on Past Losses and the Drive to Redeem
For Reader, the sting of a big game loss is something he knows all too well. Reflecting on his own Super Bowl loss, he added, “I remember losing the Super Bowl, and that feeling never goes away. Every time it comes up, you’re always gonna re-live it.”
The message from Campbell and the display of the NFC Championship loss are clearly having an impact on the team. Reader believes the Lions are now driven by the desire to redeem themselves. “I think that’s a taste that guys want to get out of their mouth and get off their mind,” Reader said. “Obviously you’ll never forget it, but you can pave the way to go out there and redeem yourself.”
With this emotional reminder, the Lions are poised to take their playoff chances seriously, knowing the stakes are higher than ever. As they gear up for a crucial playoff run, the memory of last year’s loss serves as the fuel to drive them forward. For Detroit, redemption is not just a goal, it’s personal.
