The margin for error is razor thin for the Detroit Lions offense right now. That’s because the Lions defense is ranked dead last or near the bottom of the barrel in most significant statistical categories.
But there’s one person who doesn’t really care — Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
The head coach didn’t mince words during his weekly Tuesday radio appearance on 97.1 The Ticket. Campbell appears to see his offense has having unlimited potential. So with the Lions defense struggling, Campbell challenged his offense Tuesday to reach another level.
“Man, if you want to be great, they should want to score 35 points a game at a minimum. That’s what greatness is,” Campbell said. “That’s what they’re charged with. We’ve got plenty of weapons on offense, and if we’re going to accept mediocrity, then no. Then yeah, we can make all of the excuses in the world.
“But if we want to spit and sputter and be average, that’s one thing. [But] we’re not going to be average. We’re going to raise the floor on these guys. Man, we’re going to push them.
“We’ve got too much offensively right now. Our quarterback’s too good. Our playmakers are too good, and we’ve got a young, hungry offensive line that’s got a ton of room to grow.”
Campbell provided that answer with a lot of passion and energy in his voice. Actually, 97.1 The Ticket co-host Jon Jansen even began asking the next question, and then Campbell continued to answer with the last part about how much the Lions offense has going.
The Lions averaged 29.8 points per game in the first four weeks. After four games, they are ranked fifth in points and sixth in yards around the league.
Dan Campbell Challenges Lions Offense
Campbell fired that answer to a question from radio co-host Jim Costa asked if the Lions offense feels any pressure about having to be nearly perfect to win. Despite nearly scoring 30 points per game, Detroit has a negative point differential.
It was a very fair question. The Lions posted 452 yards, averaged 6.6 yards per play, scored 26 points and didn’t turn the ball over in Week 4. Yet, they still lost by six.
But Campbell flipped the script on needing to be perfect and challenged his offense to be better.
While that’s a tall order, it’s a pretty great coaching tactic. The Lions are trying to navigate the often complicated NFL situation with one side of the ball playing significantly better than the other, which can often fracture a locker room.
With his comments, though, Campbell should have his offensive players being focused on themselves. And the head coach appears to be right. With Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and a growing offensive line, the Lions offense averaging 35 points per game the rest of the season isn’t an unrealistic goal.
Dan Campbell Puts Lions Offense on Notice Amid Defensive Struggles