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Head coach Dan Campbell has a habit of being super positive while motivating his Detroit Lions. November 27 was no different for the Lions head coach.
Campbell was obviously passionate about the adversity the Lions will be facing in Week 13 after losing to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving. He challenged his team to embrace the moment as well.
“I love this. I’m serious. I love this. I love that, man, it’s doom and gloom outside our building,” Campbell told reporters on November 27. “We’ve got six [games] to go. We’ve got an unbelievable opportunity. Man, I love it. I really do.
“This is when we find out what we’re made of.”
The Lions sit in first place of the NFC North with an 8-3 record. However, Detroit didn’t play well in its last two home games against division opponents. The Lions lost to the Packers, 29-22, in Week 12 and needed a 17-point fourth quarter to defeat the last-placed Chicago Bears in Week 11.
On December 3, the Lions will visit one of the toughest places to play — the Caesars Superdome — to face the New Orleans Saints.
Lions’ Dan Campbell Stresses the NFL’s Approaching Crunch Time
Sometimes it seems like NFL fans aren’t pleased with their teams unless they win 35-0 every week. But in reality, even great teams win a lot of close games and suffer adversity throughout the season.
That’s what Campbell says the Lions are going through at the moment. And as good as Detroit has been to start 2023, posting an 8-2 record for the first time since 1962, Campbell argued the Lions will show what they really are this season in the next several weeks.
“There’s teams that will begin to rise, and teams that will fall out of this, and I love our team,” Campbell told reporters. “I love where we’re at, and I know the guys we have in our locker room. I know these coaches. So, it should be good.”
About a month ago, it looked like the Lions would have one of the “easier” stretches of games to end of the 2023 season. But several of Detroit’s final six opponents played much better in November.
Furthermore, four of Detroit’s final six games will be on the road. That first road test will be in New Orleans.
“It’s a tough place to play,” Campbell said. “It’s going to be an unbelievable environment. You know, and it’s hard to win there. But it’s exactly what you want. This is exactly what you want.
“There’s nothing sweeter than this if you come out with a win out in that environment.”
Campbell Identifies Turnover Ratio as Biggest Problem
The other major theme of Campbell’s last two press conferences was his lack of panic. He expressed confidence that the Lions will fix their problems from the past two games.
Campbell emphasized that the biggest problem has been turnovers.
“The basic level of this, man, it’s turnover ratio,” Campbell said. “We’re turning the ball over too much offensively. Special teams, we had one against Chicago. Giving up four against Chicago, three against Green Bay, and only got one back.
“That’s the major issue right now. We can talk about all these other things, but until we clean that up, the other parts of this are a little bit irrelevant.”
Quarterback Jared Goff accounted for six of those seven giveaways Campbell referenced. Goff has 3 interceptions and 3 lost fumbles in the last two games.
Campbell said he talked to Goff about the turnovers. The coach added that the team is also working on ball security in practice.
The Lions will kick off against the Saints at 1 pm ET on December 3.
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Dan Campbell Issues Challenge to Lions Ahead of Week 13