Dan Campbell Sums Up NFL’s Cold Hard Truth After Lions’ NFC Title Game Loss to 49ers

This is honest talk from the Detroit Lions head coach.

The Detroit Lions had their spirits crushed in the NFC championship game Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium, as they blew a 17-point lead to the San Francisco 49ers, who bested them, 34—31. 

The stunning defeat, which robbed the franchise of a chance to advance to its first Super Bowl, hurts enough as it is. But what might hurt even more is the harsh reality of the NFL, something that Lions coach Dan Campbell reminded his team of after the loss.

Indeed, the Lions have seldom contended for a Super Bowl berth. Sunday’s trip to the NFC title game was the franchise’s first in 32 years.

“This may have been their only shot,” Campbell told reporters at his postgame press conference. 

The full Dan Campbell quote here is important, before bits go viral:

"I told those guys, 'This may have been our only shot.' Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how hard it is to get here. It'll be twice as hard to get back to this point," he said. pic.twitter.com/uUYAvOdV1T

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) January 29, 2024

“I told those guys, ‘This may have been our only shot.’ Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how hard it is to get here. It’ll be twice as hard to get back to this point,” Campbell said. 

The Lions coach explained that if the team doesn’t maintain the same “hunger,” they won’t get back to this point, given that they won’t be “hiding from anybody.” 

It likely hurts for the Lions, one of the younger teams in the league, to hear this. But such is the reality of the NFL.

Detroit, which went from six consecutive seasons of missing the postseason to advancing to the NFC title game this year, will now go from being the hunter to the hunted. 

Their 2024 success likely will hinge on how well they handle this fact. 

And Campbell knows it.