Getty Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
The Detroit Lions lost their second straight division matchup in Week 14. In both cases, the Lions’ opponent entered the NFC North showdown with a losing record.
The most recent loss, a 28-13 defeat to the Chicago Bears on December 10, left Lions head coach Dan Campbell in a bad mood in his postgame press conference.
Campbell was particularly frustrated with his team’s discipline in the Week 14 loss.
“I thought we played hard. I thought we did some really good things at times,” Campbell told reporters after losing to the Bears. “But honestly, it was the discipline.
“The penalties cost us today. That’s really the story of the game.”
The Lions had 8 penalties for 59 yards in the loss to the Bears. It was the most penalties and penalty yardage Detroit had posted in a game since Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers.
Furthermore, the Lions committed 3 giveaways and didn’t force a turnover on defense against Chicago.
Dan Campbell Rips Lions for Lack of Discipline Against Bears
The Lions didn’t do all that much right in Chicago. They only recorded 267 yards on offense and allowed the Bears to rush for 142 yards.
Quarterback Justin Fields had another big day on the ground against Detroit. He rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
But Campbell circled back to the team’s lack of discipline with just about every response to the media on December 10.
“We can go through all these numbers that you want, it was the disciplined part of it,” Campbell said. “You don’t turn the ball over down there in the red zone off the snap.
“The minute we make some hay, we have a huge penalty that costs us. It’s too hard to overcome in this environment.”
Campbell cited the weather as an issue for his passing offense. The head coach didn’t use it as an excuse, but rather, explained why it was more important than usual to have first-down efficiency.
The Lions weren’t particularly efficiency on first down. As a result, they faced a lot of passing situations on second and third down.
The Lions converted just 6 of 15 third-down attempts. They weren’t good on fourth down either, going 1-for-5.
On the play that proved to be the turning point of the game, the Lions defense showcased undisciplined play. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson jumped offside on fourth-and-13 with the game tied in the third quarter, which gave the Bears a free play.
Fields targeted D.J. Moore deep down the field, which resulted in a 38-yard touchdown. The score gave the Bears the lead for the rest of the afternoon.
“The coaching point [on the fourth down] is discipline,” Campbell told reporters. “It’s discipline across the board. And that’s why I bring that up.
“We’ve been a disciplined team, and we just weren’t enough today, and they were.”
Campbell Not Overly Concerned Discipline Problems Will Continue
Despite the obvious frustration he expressed with his team’s discipline, Campbell ended his press conference with a little more calmness. He argued that the team would bounce back as it has at other points this season.
“All we’ve got to do is get our discipline back, continue to fight like we fight,” Campbell said. “Look, it wasn’t our day today, man. We didn’t handle it. When you do that to yourself against a good team, that’s what happens, and this is a good team.
“We’ll clean it up and move on.”
Campbell emphasized that he wasn’t going to change who he is. But he did say he was going to be “a little bit more irritable” at practice in order to get his discipline point across to his players.