After the contentious Cowboys loss, Lions coach Dan Campbell says, “I’ve got controlled wrath.”
Two days have passed since the global communication error. Dan Campbell is all set to go.
The Lions coach stated as much on Monday, saying he’s ready to move past the contentious and perplexing outcome of Detroit’s defeat to Dallas in Week 17.
“I’m doing fine. Yesterday morning, I woke up. Man, I’m prepared. I’m prepared to leave because I have restrained my wrath,” Campbell declared. “I’m fully prepared to leave.
“Both the squad and I refuse to turn around. We’re not going to wallow in our own misery and let anything get to us because we are on a mission. We failed to produce the plays that we were supposed to. We failed to make that one additional play in a tight game against a strong opponent in a playoff-like atmosphere. We’ll use this as gasoline, then. I’m using pure octane at the moment. I’m ready, and I woke up. Thus, we’re proceeding.”
This season, Detroit finds itself in a strange position. For the first time in thirty years, the Lions have won their division. Prior to referee Brad Allen’s call, which disallowed a successful two-point attempt that would have given Detroit a strong chance to overcome the Cowboys on Saturday in Campbell, the Lions were fighting for the top seed in the NFC.
Campbell disputes that idea and pushes back against even entertaining the idea that Allen’s decision—which was either an error, the product of regrettable miscommunication, or a combination of both—was biased against the upstart Lions, who have insisted they followed player reporting protocol correctly and didn’t see the results of their process.
“Never give in to that. Man, get out of that world!” Campbell exclaimed. That will just make you feel worse. The NFL, if it helps you feel better, is against every team, okay? Because, well, I was in New Orleans, so I can relate to it. Furthermore, what do you know? We turned to leave. We had opportunities to win that game even before all of that, but that one put a stop to it. That was it, dude.
“We got up, packed our stuff, and headed out. We had a taste of that one, but we still had the opportunity. The playoffs are still in the early stages of the competition. In my opinion, this is a blessing. I would advise fans not to do that. You shouldn’t even accept that. We’ve only just begun.”
In a few weeks, Detroit will host a playoff game at Ford Field for the first time ever. The Lions will play one more home game of the season against a division foe before they get to that stage.
That’s what matters now—not a decision made by an official or any perceived bias, just defeating Minnesota to finish the season undefeated. He is aware that his guys share the same mindset.
To be honest, I’m really happy about it. Because, until you people ask me the questions, I’m pretty much over it,” Campbell remarked. “I’m not even interested in handling it. I’m through. I’m doing fine. All I want to do is get out and prepare for Minnesota. Our players, I’m sure of it, will be prepared to go.