SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Should he? Or shouldn't he?
Ahead of the “Monday Night Football” showdown against the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell debated whether to rest or start.
After careful consideration, he decided to join his top guys in a rematch of the 2023 NFC Championship Game, when the Lions swept Levi's Stadium with a 40-34 victory over the San Francisco 49ers while avoiding major injuries.
“Yes, it crossed my mind and I thought about it a lot. I thought about it leading up to the game, I thought about it last night,” Campbell said. “I told the staff, but in the end I came to the conclusion that playing against these guys was the right thing to do because we owe it to the team.”
“It was just one of those positions we sat in. It’s hard to say who you’re going to sit on and it’s not fair to ask guys to play who weren’t prepared,” he said. “So, yeah, that was tough, and I think the most important thing is that there were things we wanted to do better than last week, and we did that. We cleaned up a lot of things offensively.”
Campbell said the Lions are playing to win even though the game has no playoff implications. However, their pride was at stake after they blew a 17-point halftime lead against the same team last postseason and were one game away from reaching the Super Bowl.
This loss still hurts for those who suffered defeat that day.
“I really wanted to come back,” said Lions safety Kerby Joseph, who finished with two interceptions. “I feel like we came here last year and they beat us, so I still had that chip on my shoulder from last year. As they say in the media, this game didn't really mean much, but this game meant a lot. “I feel like we were so close and felt like we could come back here and get a win. I know we started slow defensively, but we got there. “
Lions quarterback Jared Goff agreed.
And upon his return home to California, he threw for 303 yards, completing 26 of 34 passes with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
Campbell made it clear that the starters were playing, so Goff came in with the mindset to compete and said he was “putting.” [the thought of sitting out] I went to bed pretty early in the week.” He threw three touchdowns in the seventh game of that season, tying Matthew Stafford (2011) for the most single-season touchdowns in Lions history.
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“I'm sure it's tough for him, but I think it's the only option we know,” Goff said of Campbell, who plays in the starting lineup. “It's just about finding a way to win and win against the team we played in San Francisco. That's how our season ended last year, and there were a lot of people on this team who were there last year who wanted to get back in. Even though it was meaningless in many ways for them and for us, they were also proud. They also tried to beat us and it was a fun game.
Detroit now prepares to face the Minnesota Vikings at home on Sunday night with the NFC North Division title and No. 1 seed in the NFC on the line.
For Campbell, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Detroit joins the Cardinals, Texans, Buccaneers and Jets as one of five teams since seeding began in 1975 that has never been seeded No. 1.
“That’s what you’re in it for, man. At the end of the day, this is it,” Campbell said. “I mean, you couldn't write a better scenario. You couldn't have imagined that. The fact that both teams are 14-2 and going for the division and 1st place. It just doesn't get any better than this. It's like it's a fairy tale. And it speaks for itself.
