‘It’s my fault’ says Dan Campbell following a 41-35 loss to the Commanders

After a 45-31 loss in the NFL Playoffs divisional round, the number one seed Lions found themselves out of the playoffs, after being defeated by Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders, as Lions head coach Dan Campbell says ‘It’s my fault’ after being asked about a game changing penalty.

Following an excellent display from rookie Jayden Daniels, the number one seed Lions were halted in their quest for the Lombardi after their best season in franchise history, and emotions were high shortly after the 45-31 defeat in their opening game. Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who has completely turned the franchise around since his appointment in 2021, almost broke down in his post game interview following the defeat, and stated ‘it’s my fault’ and ‘it just hurts to lose’ when asked about the nature of the loss. Campbell was asked what exactly went wrong for the NFC North champions, in which he replied ‘ we didn't play good enough, we tried, we just couldn't quite get over the hump’. Campbell, who recently talked about how well the communication between his team has been this season, and the close bond the team have with each other, said’ we didn't compliment each other today’ when talking about the chemistry between the defense and offence. It was clear during the game, something was off with the offence, with five offensive turnovers, Campbell believes the defensive displays were not backed up enough by his offence, and believes the belief in one another was what his team lacked in the game, and why they were so heavily defeated.

One key turning point in the game was a too many men on the field penalty on the Lions defense, in which Campbell took the blame for stating ‘it’s my fault’ before almost breaking down into tears. Campbell, who is known to be an emotional head coach, believes it was a misjudgement by himself, and cost the team a vital part of the game. Lions quarterback Jared Goff was later asked about Campbell taking the blame in which he replied, ‘he’s our rock, but he shouldn’t have to do that’. Goff also said how’ extremely disappointed’ the team as a whole were feeling after the loss, and how the team as a whole let down Campbell and the fans. 

During the game, not only did the Commanders defense show off an amazing display with 5 defensive turnovers, but rookie QB Jayden Daniels also stepped up at the most important moment to lead his team to the NFC Championship game. When asked about Jayden Daniels, and his veteran-like performance, Campbell explained how the Lions expected such a performance out of Daniels, and when asked about playing like a 10 year veteran, he replied ‘yes, the film says so’. Goff, who also had a say on the rookie QB said ‘it's hard at this moment, but you have to tip your hat to them’ in response to how the Commanders won the game rather than the Lions losing it.