Lions’ Dan Campbell Had Fired-Up, NSFW Rant During Local Radio Appearance

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Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell’s latest motivational speech should have all of Motor City revving their engines ready to go all the way to the Super Bowl.

After the Lions’ 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Campbell hopped on a local Detroit radio station, 97.1 The Ticket, and delivered a fired-up rant on his team responding to adversity in the final stretch of the season.

“What happens is, you get used to eating filet… but you forgot what it was like when you had nothing and you ate your f---ing molded bread, you know?” Campbell said. “And it was just fine, and it gave you everything you needed. And sometimes you have to get punched in the mouth and remember what it used to be like to really appreciate where you are.

“We got a bad taste in our mouths, we got kicked around the other day, we lost a few guys, and you know what? It’s exactly what we needed.”

The Lions got more bad news after Week 15 with two more defenders ruled out due to injury, not to mention star running back David Montgomery is also out for the season with an MCL injury. Detroit entered Sunday’s game against Buffalo with 13 players on injured reserve, and more than three quarters of the team’s total injured players have come from the defensive side. 

The Lions’ vulnerabilities showed in Sunday’s shootout loss against the Bills—their first defeat since Week 2—who racked up 559 total yards and put up 48 points. Up until that point, Campbell and Co. had mostly been able to weather the storm and string together wins thanks to their high-powered offense, but their defensive depth will continue to be tested this winter. 

Campbell confidently responded to growing concerns that the Lions’ injuries could derail their once-seemingly invincible season.

“We will play the game any way needed to win,” continued Campbell. “We still got a good offense, we got plenty of defensive players—I can go round them off right now—we’re going to put the best 11 on the field, we’re going to freaking cut it loose, we’ll play with our special teams… We give up 700 yards and we win one point, you’re going to see a f---ing smile from my ear to ear, I can promise you.”


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.