Dan Campbell: 'This is Not the Time To Freak Out and Panic'

Dan Campbell discusses disappointing Lions loss to Bills at Ford Field.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell talks to guard Graham Glasgow (60) after a play against Buffalo Bills / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions certainly did not play up to their capabilities against the Buffalo Bills.

The defense was simply unable to limit the offensive production of the Bills, led by quarterback Josh Allen.

Following Detroit's 48-42 loss to the Bills, several offensive players noted that starting slowly made it increasingly difficult to win the game. After spotting Buffalo a 14-0 lead, the team was always playing from behind.

Dan Campbell shared with reporters his reaction to the loss and to losing four more players to injury with three games remaining on the schedule.

“I don’t think you get caught up in it. Most of the time, you’re so focused on getting yourself prepared for the game and your unit prepared for the game that that’s where your focus has got to be," Campbell said. "We acknowledge the fact that we’ve lost players, we’ve lost really good players, but nobody cares. Nobody cares, and nobody is gonna give us a pass or put an asterisk next to your record."

Detroit has deployed a "next man up" mentality in a year that will see over 20 players be placed on the injured reserve list.

"What (it) means is some guys are gonna have an unbelievable opportunity. Because of what has happened, that means now, you’re a guy that’s on the vet squad or you’re a young player or someone that’s been dying for an opportunity, you’re about to get it. That’s a pretty cool thing, that’s a pretty inspiring thing," said Campbell. "What are you gonna do with it? It’s up to us to give them a plan to where they can succeed. And, I’ve said it before, we play with three units here. We’ll do what we have to do to win a game, and that’s all that matters. That’s all that matters. That’s all that matters from here on out. You’ve just got to have one more point than the opponent, period.” 

More: How Will Lions Recover as Devastating Injuries Mount?

Ahead of their next divisional contest, the Lions are hoping to clean up the issues that prevented them from winning against a quality AFC opponent Sunday.

Detroit's popular head coach did his best to downplay the issues facing his team. He indicated this was not the time for his team to overreact to one game, especially with three crucial games left in the regular season.

“I think for us, man, what do you want to do about it? That’s how I view it. This is not the time to freak out and panic and start acting like things are worse than they are," Campbell said. "We lost a game, we didn’t play well. And, you know what, why don’t we go back to work and clean up those things that we talked about that hurt us yesterday in that game? You know what? We do that, then we’re gonna have a chance to win the next one.”