In the aftermath of the Lions’ shocking exit in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Dan Campbell could only mask his emotions for long.
The head coach, who helped craft the identity of a hard-nosed Detroit team that cruised to the NFC’s top seed with a 15-2 record, choked up and wiped away tears during his press conference while attempting to dissect the Lions’ 45-31 loss to the Commanders on Saturday at Ford Field.
“It just hurts to lose, man,” Campbell said after the end of his fourth campaign in charge of the Lions. “And I don’t care if you’re the 7-seed, 6-seed, 5-seed, 1-seed. Cause I’ve lost at all of them, damn near. And it stings and it hurts. It hurts. You have to get up, body’s beat to s–t, mentally stay locked in and do those things, so long season.”
Then, after a reporter asked another question, Campbell said, “It’s my fault. It’s my fault.”
The Lions have collected a 27-5 record under Campbell during the last two seasons and emerged as one of the NFL’s most embraceable teams attempting to deliver the city its first Super Bowl, but both campaigns ended with a gut-wrenching loss in the playoffs — with Detroit blowing a 24-7 lead to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game last year.
And this time, the Lions allowed the Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to erupt for 31 points in the first half, and Jared Goff threw three interceptions.
They pulled within three points early in the third quarter, but Washington responded with consecutive touchdown drives — a 15-play, 70-yard one followed by an eight-play, 66-yard possession — to eventually build an insurmountable advantage.
Detroit turned the ball over five times, and costly penalties also derailed their push to mount a comeback.
“It’ll probably bother me forever, honestly,” Lions offensive lineman Taylor Decker said, while offensive lineman Dan Skipper added that it “sucks,” according to The Athletic.
Daniels, who threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 51 yards, and the Commanders will now travel to face the winner of Sunday’s divisional showdown between the No. 2-seed Eagles and No. 4-seed Rams for a spot in the Super Bowl.
And Campbell will now enter an offseason that could be filled with major changes to his staff, as both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn have become popular names during the latest cycle of coaching interviews.
Those looming decisions could complicate Campbell’s quest to fix what went wrong Saturday and help the sting of their latest playoff exit fade away.
