Jamaal Williams: Lions 'Don't Accept Losing'

Running back Jamaal Williams says Detroit Lions "don't accept losing," have mindset necessary to be winners.

The Detroit Lions' 2022 season, once full of promise, is starting to look a lot like the team's dismal 2021 campaign. 

The losses have begun to pile up yet again, and subsequently, the fanbase is starting to turn on Dan Campbell's squad.

And, to add insult to injury, the latest defeat suffered by Detroit -- a 29-0 loss to the New England Patriots -- was its worst of the season.

Things aren't exactly looking great for Campbell & Co., heading into their Week 6 bye.

Yet, there's still a chance that the organization turns its season around before it's too late. And, if it plans on doing so, one thing is certain: The team must play with a better sense of urgency, starting with its Week 7 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.

It's something that Lions running back Jamaal Williams harped on during his media session Monday.

"The urgency is going to happen," Williams told reporters. "And, I feel it from everybody, and I'll be one of them to step up and be a leader, making sure I keep everyone on the same path."

Williams has been productive during his second season in the Motor City.

The sixth-year back has rushed 77 times for 332 yards and six touchdowns, good for a yards-per-carry average of 4.3 yards. 

However, he accumulated just 56 yards, on 15 carries, in Detroit's Week 5 loss to the Patriots. 

It was another disappointing loss for Williams and the Lions, dropping the franchise to 1-4 on the season.

Even though the losing has become a common theme for Detroit in 2022, it remains unacceptable to Williams.

"I sense the disappointment," Williams said. "No one likes (losing). We don't do this, to work every day for us to come out and then be 1-4. We don't accept losing. I don't accept losing. I'll never get used to losing. Losing will never be anything, that I feel like in this locker room right now, that we'll ever get used to. And, we're not trying to get used to it. 

"I understand the status of how this team has been in the last few years. But, for me, I've only been here for two years. And, for me, I feel like this team can be very great. It can be good. We can have a good, winning season. We can go to the playoffs. We can win the whole Super Bowl."

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Although Williams and his teammates have struggled to be competitive on a weekly basis thus far this year, he believes they have the mindset necessary to be winners.

"I see so many of my teammates working extra after practice. You know, they don't have to, but they do that and that's the mindset that I love about this team," Williams said. "We have the mindset of working hard and being champions, and having that standard of winning. We just got to get over the hump."

Lions center Frank Ragnow isn't all doom and gloom about Detroit's poor start to the 2022 campaign, either. And, he's already moved past Sunday's loss. 

"I know things might seem gloomy right now, but it's a long season," Ragnow expressed Monday. "And, we, as a team, importantly need to realize that. We can't allow ourselves to get down in the dumps. We have to feel and acknowledge what happened yesterday.

"But, then, we got to have that 24-hour rule, and we got to learn from it. And really not let it carry over and tumble like it has in past years."

Ragnow, like a number of Lions players, isn't fully healthy right now. He's still recovering from a foot injury that limited him to just four games a season ago. It's one of the reasons why the 6-foot-5, 311-pounder is looking forward to this week's bye.

"Yeah, personally this bye week is good timing, just the foot and everything, get me a true, whole week to relax it," Ragnow said. "And, I think as the team, there's a lot of injuries. I think, timing-wise it's good. ... it's a long season."

Remember, Campbell said he thought the Lions hit "rock bottom" after losing Sunday. It was an anemic offensive performance and an all-around weak showing from the team. 

Now, it's back to the drawing board for Campbell and his coaching staff during the bye week, which he views as a time for self-evaluation. 

"Everyone has to look in the mirror over the break," Campbell said after Sunday's game. "How do you get better individually. Just like I'm going to do. And, we find a way to win the next one. Just win the next one out of the bye. That's all you can do."

The second-year Detroit head man hasn't lost faith in his team. He remains confident there is enough talent presently on the roster to not only beat the Cowboys in Week 7, but also to turn around the season. 

"I think we’ve got plenty here to win with. On this roster, on the practice squad, we’ve got plenty," Campbell expressed Monday. "And, man, there’s a number of combinations we haven’t even tried yet. So, we’re going to look at everything, we’ll take a peek at everybody. There again, we’ll adjust what we need to as coaches. But, yeah, I think that across the board, our FBI (football intelligence) has got to become much more important, and I do think that’s got to be an area that we really focus on moving forward with our guys.”