After his team beat the Cincinnati Bengals 37–24 on the road on Sunday, Dan Campbell told his team that he didn’t want them to feel bad about their success anymore.
As the players crowded around him in the changing room, the Lions’ angry head coach yelled, “Give the defence a hand!” to praise the defence first.
In the win, Detroit forced three mistakes. Kerby Joseph and Alex Anzalone intercepted passes, and Derrick Barnes added a safety that sealed the win.
Campbell changed the subject when he told his team that in the NFL, every win is earned, even if it doesn’t look like it on paper.
“I’m not going to feel bad about a win for another week either.” Campbell said, “I’m not going to do it.” “I have nothing to do, man.” That’s a good win! Was it great? It wasn’t perfect, though. We’re going to clean up what we need to clean up, guys. Things are going to get better. We’re going to clean them up. Yes, that’s four wins in a row.
A team that knows how to finish tough road games let out loud cheers when they reached that line. It was a mix of pride and relief.
Two important lions get game balls.
At the end of his postgame speech, Campbell gave two game balls to tight end Sam LaPorta and linebacker Alex Anzalone. LaPorta had five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, and Anzalone had three tackles, one tackle for loss, three passes defended, and an interception.
These two players showed Campbell what he likes most about his team: toughness, dependability, and leadership. Dan Campbell’s message was clear and powerful: enjoy the hard work and be happy when you win. The Detroit Lions aren’t trying to be perfect. They want to make progress, and right now that progress looks like a team that has won four straight games and is getting more and more sure that they can beat anyone.
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