Dan Campbell brutally collapsed the Lions after an incredible season by self-destructing.
This is where you have to start from the beginning. You have to go back to Dan Campbell’s initial news conference a few years ag
o, when he was announced as the Detroit Lions’ rather unexpected coach.
I take it you recall? thus it’s so difficult to forget.
On January 21, 2021, he declared, “This team is going to kick you in the teeth, and when you knock us down, on the way up, we’re going to bite a kneecap off.” We also intend to stand up, and should you knock us down once again, we’ll climb back up and bite off your other kneecap.
He neglected to bring up the fact that if you support the Lions and have been waiting for a football team to save you for over 66 years, you bought into what Campbell was selling and gave this exciting, fierce, and generally brave football team your all.
The 49ers stunned the Lions 34-31 on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, ending the Lions’ fairytale season. He was going to stomp YOU in the — well, every other place where you’d want to never get kicked.
Look, Campbell’s belief in his team and his demand that it believe in itself carried through the entire season, leading the Lions to 12-5, first place in the NFC North, back-to-back home victories in the NFC playoffs, and a 24-7 lead over the formidable 49ers at halftime on Sunday. In fact, Campbell is arguably the main reason the Lions were even participating in this game. And a large portion of that was represented by his unorthodox handling.
It was amazing to see for 19 ³/₂ games spread across 20 ³/₂ weeks.
It was like seeing a stand-up comedian slowly pass away on stage during the last 30 minutes on Sunday—jokes after jokes, awkward quiet after awkward silence.
At the end, Campbell would comment, “We knew they wouldn’t go away and they made the plays today.” They created the plays and have lived and seen it firsthand.
It’s challenging. They claim it’s hard to lose. It feels as though your heart is being torn out. With that gang, I’ll travel anyplace since I’m proud of them. Today, we got a lot done. We weren’t proactive enough.
