The Detroit Lions aren’t in a bad situation right now. They are 8-3 on the season, hold the third spot in the NFC, and lead their division by 2.5 games. Only the Miami Dolphins now hold a larger division advantage than the Detroit Lions.
However, the Lions’ performance over the last two weeks has created considerable concern among fans and some skepticism among analysts. It required a last-second, ferocious rally to defeat the Chicago Bears.
Throughout it all, the Lions defense has looked incredibly suspect. Starting from their Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Lions defense has ranked 30th in DVOA and 32nd in expected points added per play. Meanwhile, the Lions offense has turned the ball over 10 times in the past four games. Quite simply, they are not playing their best football right now, despite winning three of their last four games.
But Lions coach Dan Campbell isn’t sweating it. In fact, he’s embracing it.
“I’m not getting worried. I love this,” Campbell said. “I’m serious. I love this. And I love that, man, it’s doom and gloom outside our building and we’ve got six (games) to go. We’ve got an unbelievable opportunity and man, I love it.”
It’s not surprising to hear from Campbell. He seemingly thrives on adversity. He helped navigate the team through a 1-10-1 start to his first season in Detroit, leading to a 3-3 finish. The following year, Campbell held the team and vision together through a 1-6 start, leading to a 6-2 finish and a near playoff run. It’s been over a full year since the Lions have lost back-to-back games.
The one constant from those first two years is that the Lions have played their best football in December, something which Campbell believes this team can do again.
“There’s teams that will begin to rise and teams that will fall out of this. And I love our team,” Campbell said. “I love where we’re at and I know the guys that we have in the locker room, I know these coaches, so this will be good.”
But Campbell did admit it’s hard to know how long adversity will last.
“You don’t know when it’s going to hit. Sometimes it’s September, sometimes it’s October, sometimes it is December. And I don’t think that’s going to happen to us, but who knows?” Campbell said.
“This may just be the beginning of it, and we may have to get through a couple of games before we find our footing again. I don’t think so, but it wouldn’t surprise me either. That’s the nature of this league. So, man, you hit adversity, you reach it, and it either makes you a little bit better of a team or you just crack under it. So, I like where we’re at, we’re going to be good, we’ve got one loss, we’ll respond. This team will be ready to go play in a great environment.”
That rebound opportunity begins this week with a tough road trip against the 5-6 New Orleans Saints. Though the Saints have lost two in a row—and four of the past six—it’s never easy to play in that environment, and New Orleans does one thing that could directly impact one of Detroit’s current struggles: force turnovers.
But, once again, Campbell sees the situation as a magnificent opportunity rather than a frightening task.
“They’re excellent. It’s also a difficult spot to play. This is going to be an incredible environment, and it will be difficult to win there, but that is exactly what you want,” Campbell remarked. “I mean, this is precisely what you’re looking for. Another one of those—you start talking about these places where you get to play. We talked about Arrowhead, you mentioned going to Lambeau, and now you get to travel to the Superdome. There’s nothing better than this.”
