After two straight weeks of home playoff wins in Detroit, it feels like most of the city -- if not all of it -- is all in on the Lions. After the team's 31-23 Divisional Round win over Tampa Bay, head coach Dan Campbell explained why he feels like this year's team has such a kinship with the city, and in a video released on the Lions' Twitter, you can see how passionately he cares about this group:
Do you understand what we're capable of?#AllGrit pic.twitter.com/ZvFbs7Crwi
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 22, 2024
"You guys are unbelieveable, man," he says, while fighting back tears. "I'm telling you, we talked about it all year. This started a long time ago. You're built for this. You're f---ing built for this. And look what you guys did. We went out there, and it's another f---ing hot team that we knocked off. It's the next hot team that you knocked off. Do you know how hard win in this f---ing league? In the playoffs? Do you understand what you're doing right now? What we're capable of? That's two, alright? That's two. With a bye in the middle. I'm unbelievably proud of everyone in here ... "
You can see why so many Lions players speak so highly of Campbell. Every single person in that locker room is dialed in on what he's saying, a testament to how widely-respected Campbell is. Quarterback Jared Goff even called him 'the greatest leader I've ever been around' in his own post game press conference, and even Baker Mayfield had nothing but good things to say about him. And now, three years after Campbell was hired -- and two after he lost 10 games in his first season -- the team is one win away from their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. You're probably going to see that kneecaps video a whole bunch this week.