With the relief provided by getting a win on Sunday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell suggested the team should have at least a couple more wins thus far.
The Detroit Lions ended a five-game losing streak with a 15-9 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. After the game, head coach Dan Campbell channeled the fan mentality by suggesting he’d go home and have a beer.
On Monday, Campbell confirmed he did have a post-game beer. It’s also hard to envision him having just one.
Campbell confirms he had a post-game beer https://t.co/ukbqabDDjE
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) November 7, 2022
Campbell of course got to more serious football topics during his Monday presser. He specifically dove into the positive of Sunday’s win. Within his comments was a line that stood out.
Dan Campbell suggests the Lions should have at least two more wins
"I just know that I do feel like we’re going in the right direction,” Campbell said. “I know the wins are not there, though we just got one there. I like the improvement. I would like to be in a better place than we are, certainly. I feel like we should have at least two more wins here, and that’s on me."
Campbell won’t, and shouldn’t dwell on past losses. But his sudden loss of aggression on fourth down legitimately cost the Lions in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings. Losses to the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins had other failures beyond specific in-game coaching decisions by Campbell.
But the only of those latter four games the Lions weren’t in right to the end was the game against New England. In a broad sense, a coaching decision here or there can make a difference in close games–even if they don’t stand out.
Campbell took accountability for the Lions only being 2-6 right now, as any head coach would and should. Under his hypothetical they’d be at least 4-4, and the outlook for the second half of the season would be notably different right now.