Dan Campbell, head coach of Detroit Lions’ football team, was not shy in his assessment of their 27-24 loss against the Minnesota Vikings.He said, “We did all we could to lose the game.” “We committed every mistake at the perfect time for us to lose.” Perfect storm. Head coach is responsible if you don’t perform well in all three phases. That’s me. I didn’t have them prepared when I came out of a break. … We were out of sync. We never looked comfortable. Just didn’t play enough.Jared Goff was not going to blame Campbell for everything.Goff stated, “I understand that Coach Campbell likes to take responsibility for what happens on the field. But I thought we were prepared to go.” “I’m certain he would prefer to do a few things separately but we did what was expected coming off a break.”We didn’t do well as a team.Goff had some good numbers on the surface. He completed 25 of his 37 passes without a single turnover for 284 yard and two touchdowns. He opened the game with Sam LaPorta’s 40-yard touchdown on fourth-down, and gave the Lions another chance with Jameson Williams’ 38-yard score. With 1:55 remaining, he then hit Williams for a final 38-yard score.Goff explained that the key to success is first and second-down conversions. Third and short is always helpful, but we must convert third-and-long. It keeps us in the game, allows us to enter the red zone, and helps us score more points.”But it is tough sledding in third-and-seven-plus.Campbell believes that it is easy to place blame on a quarterback when a team plays badly.”Look, on offense, it takes all 11 guys to get it right — it really does,” he said. “One man can kill you. That’s exactly what is happening right now. We are in a bad situation and can’t escape it.Over the last few years, Lions players have become experts at following up a bad play by making a good one. This didn’t occur against the Vikings.Campbell said, “We can get out by making a good play at just the right moment.” “We just don’t do that. The fact we had 17 third downs is crazy — that’s a high, high number of third downs.”The Lions were also struggling in the running attack. Vikings’ blitzes are a headache for quarterbacks, but they can be run against. David Montgomery, Jahmyr, Gibbs and others managed 65 yards in 20 carries. The longest run was 11 yards.Campbell said that when you can’t move the ball, an offensive explosion is difficult. Now the quarterback has a duck on his back.Goff took part of the blame as well.He added, “If we are more efficient on the first and seconddowns, then some of those runs will probably hit for more yardage.” “It all works together — the running game and the passing game aren’t exclusive from each other.The Vikings were a major factor. Even Detroit’s renowned special teams struggled. Minnesota averaged 32.8 yard kick returns and returned a blocked goal 41 yards during the final seven minute.Goff stated that it had been a while since the team felt like they were playing badly in all three phases. “We still have many things to do, but this is what we’re best at.”The Associated Press contributed this report. Want the best stories delivered to your mailbox? Sign up for a FOX Sports account or log in. Follow leagues, players and teams to receive a daily newsletter! FOLLOW FOLLOW your favorites to customize your FOX Sports experience
2025-11-02 23:56:00
Lions HC Dan Campbell, QB Jared Goff Both Take Blame for Loss to Vikings
