Everything Dan Campbell Said After Lions Beat 49ers

Dan Campbell breaks down Lions' win over 49ers.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Here is everything Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said after a 40-34 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Opening statement:

“All right. How’s it going? You know, proud of the guys. They were ready to go, and they came out, they competed and we were able to finish that one out. A number of guys played really good for us, played really, really well. I thought (Jared) Goff had a big game, that offensive line, (Jahmyr) Gibbs, (Jameson Williams) Jamo, (Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint. Defensively, there was a number of guys — certainly, Kerby (Joseph) came up with two picks that were big. Anyways, it was just — wanted to play complimentary football and we did that. I was really proud of the guys.” 

On why it was so important to play starters in a game that was meaningless for playoff seeding:

“There’s nothing easy about this. There’s a number of things you’ve got to decide. We don’t get to prepare those other guys, because you don’t know what’s gonna happen. You don’t know what’s gonna happen for first, second down, third down, red zone leading into the week. Like, for example, (Hendon) Hooker’s not getting those reps. Those are Goff’s reps because we don’t know. That’s just one example. I just don’t believe it’s fair to put in a guy that’s not prepared to play, especially a young player. And then, you can only sit six guys, so who are those six? ‘All right, here are the six.’ And then the other guys, that don’t, was it fair to them that we’re not using everything we’ve got? We flew out here, we prepared this way, we came out to win and that’s ultimately what it came to. And yeah, you cross your fingers nobody gets hurt. It’s tough. And we were fortunate, we got out. And now it’s on to the next one.”

On Kerby Joseph's two interceptions and overall performance:

“Yeah. Really proud. That’s what we talked about. When we needed to the most, man, he came up big. We’ve been talking about it. We knew we needed to get takeaways, and it was just another example of playing complementary football, and man, he came up in a big way. Not just the picks, but he had some critical tackles in this game and just really showed up for us. That was big.” 

On how he feels about the defense's readiness for the playoffs:

“For me, it’s, ‘Do you want to play a little bit better?’ Yeah, you do in areas. But we calmed some things down in the second half, (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) A.G. and those guys did a good job, and we talked about, man, disruption and takeaways and we got those. That’s the world we’ve got to live in. So I feel good, because I know that the most important thing is that we do complement each other. And when we need it, offense has got to show up, and defense, if we’re not able to score, then they’ve got to show up and we did that. And then we’ve still got special teams, that we haven’t even talked about yet. We’ll be fine, we’ll be fine.” 

On if he had any thoughts about resting starters after the Vikings beat the Packers:

“Yeah, I’m probably like you guys that were all here. Woke up at 2 or whatever this was this morning (Monday), and yeah, it was on my mind. I thought a lot about it. I thought about it leading up to the game, I thought about it last night, I told the staff, but I ended up settling on — the right thing to do was play these guys, because we owed it to the team. And it was just one of those positions we were in. It’s hard to say who you’re gonna sit and it’s not fair to ask guys to play that haven’t been prepared to play. So yeah, that was tough. I think the biggest thing is there were things we wanted to do better than we did last week, and we did. We cleaned a lot of things up offensively, I thought. Defensively, we talked about getting takeaways, we got takeaways, and so that’ll always serve you well going into the next week. And look, there was never gonna be anything — we knew what this is. You’re out on the West Coast, you go, it’s all good, that’s what we do. This is what we do. We love it hard. This is our deal right now, so we’re looking forward to this, everything about this week.” 

On what it means for the team to finish 8-0 on the road:

“It shows the type of guys we’ve got. It shows the type of players we’ve got. We’re a resilient group. We’re built to handle things that not everybody can do and you go 8-0 on the road, that means you’re a pretty damn good team and you can handle adversity. I’m proud of these guys, I’m proud of the coaches. It takes a village, it takes everybody, so we prepare that way and we play that way.” 

On whether Penei Sewell is dealing with any concern of injury after briefly leaving the game:

“No, shouldn’t be. Should be good.” 

On what injury Sewell was dealing with:

“Thumb.” 

Everything Jared Goff Said After Lions Beat 49ers

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16). / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On what made the team so good on third and fourth downs:

“I mean, we felt good about the plan going into the week. And ultimately it was gonna come down to the execution. So we did feel like we had a really good plan, put our guys in position and ultimately Goff played lights-out today. He’s been playing like this, and I feel like he took another step, which is hard to believe with where he’s been playing because it is such a high level. So that, and then our playmakers showed up. They made plays for us, the o-line protected well, and usually that means you’re gonna have success.” 

On what it meant to come back to San Francisco and get a win:

“Yeah, it feels good. There’s so many things — you want to get a taste out of your mouth that’s been there for a while, and so it feels good to do that. It feels good to come out here and get that win. I’ll tell you what — the night, everything about this was right. It just felt good. It was a great night for football, great environment. That’s a good team with good coaches, and man, they came out and they gave us what they had. And we knew they would, and we had to earn that win and we did. And it got us to 14. So I’m really proud of the guys.” 

On if wins over the 49ers and Cowboys complete a personal revenge tour:

“No, I — it’s not. It was good to get this one. It was good to get this one.” 

On if there was something more behind this win:

“I just think that was tough. Look, ultimately we didn’t earn it last year and they did. So to be able to, even though it’s not the same as last year, to come out to the scene of the crime and get it done, it does give you some satisfaction.” 

On what his message will be to the team ahead of the season finale against Minnesota that will decide the NFC North and the No. 1 seed:

“This is what you’re in it for, man. This is ultimately, this is it. You couldn’t write a better scenario. The fact that both teams are sitting at 14-2, and it’s for the division and the one seed. It just doesn’t get any better than this. This is fairy tale stuff, and so, it speaks for itself. Our guys are excited. I told you, the hardest thing was not to overlook what we were getting ready to do today, and now that it’s here, you’re gonna spend the next, whatever, six hours on the plane like, ‘This is great, man.’ It’s as good as it gets, and so we’re looking forward to this. And it’s early, we just finished the last game.” 

On Jared Goff beating the 49ers for the first time since 2018:

“Really? I didn’t know that. It feels good, I guarantee it.” 

On Goff playing so well in front of family and friends in his home state:

“I know he had a lot of friends and family here. So I know, in that regard, that meant something. There’s a lot that meant something to him. Certainly, what (reporter) Carlos (Monarrez) just brought up, the fact that — to be able to get a win out here when we didn’t last year and then the previous history you’re talking about with the Rams and then to have the family (at the game), but this is a different Jared Goff now. He’s different. This guy has developed, matured, and he’s just stepping into his prime and he continues to get better and better. He’s playing at an ultimate level right now. Find me a quarterback that’s playing better than him in this league right now. I’d love to see it.” 

On Craig Reynolds' performance:

“It’s huge. And once again, that’s Craig. That’s what Craig does. Craig doesn’t get hardly any reps because they go to Gibbs, or David (Montgomery) when we had David. He gets a couple here and there, and so he goes in from the mental work of preparing, and he’s always on point. He knows exactly where to line up. Alignment, assignment, effort, finish. And he shows up once again for us. That’s why we trust him, trust the heck out of him. Normally, he’s been a big special teams contributor for us. Always has silent production. Man, he steps in and you’re right, man, he was a huge help for us offensively.”

On whether the team could get Alex Anzalone back for the regular season finale:

“Well, we’ll see. He’s doing well. He’s close. He’s really close.”