Lions coach Dan Campbell was fired up after he gambled and won on a crucial fourth down play in a 34-31 win over the Packers on Thursday.
After Detroit secured a playoff spot with its 11th straight win, Campbell gave a triumphant speech in the locker room and praised his team for playing with resilience amid a plethora of injuries.
“I told you you’d never forget this f–king game,” Campbell said after he paced the locker room while his team cheered. “We don’t have to talk about how tough we are. We don’t have to talk about how resilient we are. We f–king live it man. We’ve been living it!”
Campbell went on to praise the Lions offense for stepping up, and shouted out offensive tackle Dan Skipper, who appeared be throwing up in the corner.
“There you go Skip! Keep throwing up, keep doing whatever you’re doing over there!” Campbell said, which drew laughs from players. “That’s a way to freakin’ lay it on the line.
“I’m so freaking proud of you, that’s the way to show up. You talk about pressure? We live in pressure. That’s where we freaking thrive. You did it again. It doesn’t matter who’s playing for us, it doesn’t matter what’s going on, you always find a way to win. This has been in the making, man. This has been in the making. We were all supposed to be here together, man. We’re destined for this. Just stay the course.”
The Lions entered Thursday’s game with 13 defensive players on injured reserve.
Campbell cashed in on a number of gutsy fourth-down calls in the divisional matchup, including two touchdowns.
But the riskiest one came with 40 seconds left in the game, Campbell decided to go for it on fourth-and-one — rather than kick a 39-yard field goal.
The Lions got the first down — despite Jared Goff tripping as he handed the ball off to David Montgomery — and won the game on a 35-yard Jake Bates field goal as time expired.
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“I just felt like we needed to end it on offense, and I did not want to give that ball back, and I believed we could get that,” Campbell said in his post game press conference. “I believed we could convert, and I trust that o-line, I trust David (Montgomery), and they came through for us. It’s a hell of a call by (offensive coordinator) Ben (Johnson). I knew how I wanted to play this game, the team knew it, and everything in me told me, ‘Let’s finish this,’ and so we did.”
Lions quarterback Jared Goff said the team trusts Campbell, who’s got the “stones” to make risky decisions.
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The Lions (12-1) face the Bills in Detroit on Dec. 15.
A loss to Buffalo wouldn’t hinder Detroit’s chances of clinching the top seed in the NFC.