Everything Dan Campbell Said After Lions Defeated Vikings

Dan Campbell breaks down thrilling win over Vikings.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Here is everything head coach Dan Campbell said after the Detroit Lions defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 31-29, at U.S. Bank Stadium Sunday.

Opening Statement

"That was a good win. That was a good win. I told the team to say that I was proud of them was a massive understatement. We knew that team; they were playing good football and have been now for five weeks coming off the bye, and we knew they were going to be ready. It was going to come down to the wire. The team knew this. We talked about patience. Patience. Keep your composure. Communication. Attitude. Our guys did that. We hung in there, and we didn't bat an eye. Things appeared to go, start going a little south there at the end. Got the ball back. We stopped a two-point conversion, which was huge defensively. Then Goff, the O-line takes us right down the field with Gibbs and St. Brown. And Bates, how about that? What a kick. What a kick, man. Great team win. Complementary football across the board. Offense, defense, special teams when we need it most. Really proud of these guys. It's a huge road on the road, tough environment. First one -- don't want to say must-win, but we needed that in a lot of ways."

Speaking of confidence in Bates, sending the kicker out there, game on the line...

"I think I said it, right? I think that's what I said. He felt good about it. When you -- we had five games with him, NFL games. And then when you see him every day in practice and you give him the crowd noise and you move the spot and I'm yelling at him, and you just apply pressure, you watch him, he continues to make these kicks. You feel pretty good when he gets thrust into it. It's not the same, but it is. We felt like his confidence has grown. He can go out there and get the kick. He did that. Really proud of him; really proud of him."

What about Jared today? Down in performance because he didn't reach 150 passer rating like he did the past two weeks. But he was 140, 22-of-25 today. Every week, it seems like he's making all the right decisions in the right place to put you in a place to win. 

"He's a stud. I just got asked a question, like, what did you see? This goes back to what did you see in '21, when Brad and I acquired him? What makes it? And the guy's got arm talent, there's no question. But it's what he's got here (pointed to head) and what he's got here (points to heart). That what makes him a dangerous player and it's what makes him really one of these guys that you can build around because he's a winner, man. He will find a way to win. He'll find a way to put the offense in a position to win the game. He doesn't get frazzled. He's tough. He's competitive. And he's just -- he's reliable. He's reliable. And I love the guy, man. And once again, he steps up huge for us there on the road, division game."

After that rough start, you didn't have a first down until the last minute of the first quarter. In terms of having four straight touchdown drives, does it turn like that? Does somebody say something? 

"No, look, some of that early, that was our own doing a little bit. Look, they were playing well, believe me. They were playing good defense. But there's a couple things we felt like we should have gotten some conversions. We should have made some plays there that were our own errors, especially two different series there. So once we felt like we got it cleaned up, we just needed a conversion. Once that happened, we got to rolling there a little bit. And that's sometimes all it takes. Just get that first first down, and now you're going to move the ball."

Can you talk about Brian Branch, what he has been up to the past couple weeks as well? 

"Confidence is going sky high. He's getting better and better. He's still kind of young and new to the safety position for us. Sometimes you forget that. You can tell how fast he's growing in the position. And I'm telling you, the sky's the limit for him. He’s the ultimate football guy. He understands how to play the game. He's instinctive. He's tough. He's smart. He's a great tackler. He's a ball guy. He's got radar. He's one of those guys who can change the game for you. I thought it was a touchdown. Anyway, you felt like even after that, he's going to get another one of those. Like he's going to find a way there to make another one happen. That's just the type of guy he is, type of player."

The defense got big stops. How would you evaluate their effort?

"Man, they battled. Those guys fought, and we were very well aware of what's over there. And Jefferson is not easy to contain at all. You have to constantly think about him, and you've got to roll to him. You've got to shift to him. You've got to double him. Oh, and don't let him run the ball either, by the way. That's not an easy task. I thought A.G. put together a damn good game plan. I thought those guys executed. I saw a couple things. But man, I tell you what, when we needed a critical stop there at the end of the game to get that ball back. And then to finish it out after we kicked the field goal, our defense did that. Situational football. Big play, man. I just thought the end of the day, they stepped up when we needed it. I thought the secondary played pretty dang good, you know. Because those receivers have eaten some people up. And Jefferson always does. I thought they were competitive. I thought we challenged, and those guys stepped up."

Gibbs had two touchdowns and the block on the other touchdown as well. How big was he for you today? 

"He was huge. He was huge. Whatever it was, 160 all-purpose yards. Came to life. We felt like Gibby has been so close to just exploding, and we felt like this was the game. He really came to life when we needed it most. He helped across the board. What a smart play. That may have been the best play on (Kalif Raymond’s). His run was the best. His second one, what a smart play to kind of shield him, you know. Otherwise, you're going to get a penalty. Play comes back. It was really good. And then Leaf takes it in. So he's a weapon for us. Played really well."

I was going to ask about the cut he had too. Two things. David was obviously fighting through some things after he left. Did that contribute to the fumble at all? 

"No. No, no. I would not ask him that. No, look, none of us want that to happen. Certainly he doesn't. He's sick about it. But that's why you teach it, work it, and he'll come back stronger than ever. Unfortunately, sometimes those happen. That's why you just keep making an emphasis." 

And then you mentioned A.G. and the defense. Obviously, the job they did. Do you think you got enough pressure from your edges? Can you tell that in real time? 

"I need to watch the tape to digest that. There were a couple times things felt a little long, like we're covering for a bit, but I can't say that that caught my eye, so I need to watch the tape. I know we battled in there. And Mack and Levi and Reader, Paschal, O'Conner came in a little bit. So I thought by committee, those guys in there, really we did what we had to do. Did what we needed to do for today, for that win."