LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
September 29, 2025
Opening Statement: “I think really what we said yesterday kind of holds true. The stats of the game were third down. They were three-of-14, we were six-of-14. Red zone efficiency, we scored three times down there, touchdowns, they were one-of-two. Yards rushing, we were plus-two in the turnover ratio. Had two takeaways, we gave one away but we were up two on that early, turned that into 10 points. I mean, it’s 17 points, but they were able to net three off of that. But ten 10-point swing. Man, (Lions P) Jack Fox net punting average was big. We were over 10 yards more than they were. Our return yards, (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf got going, got us that big return. He was aggressive all day. Field goals, I thought (Lions K Jake) Bates, those were two big field goals. Field goal protection team was good. And really, the bottom line, we talked about the takeaways, our defense was two-of-two on sudden change. We had the pick and they’re already in field goal range, our defense holds, forces a field goal. That’s big. The other one is, we go for it on fourth, we don’t get it, defense forces a stop, they have to punt to Leaf, Leaf turns it into a touchdown. That’s huge defensively. Our offense and special teams. End of half, minus 16-yardline, one timeout, we get into field goal range, leave them no time, get three before we go in at half, make it a two-score game. And most importantly, found another way to win. We found another way to win. I mentioned this before, the more ways you figure out how to win, how to play the game, how to stay competitive and find a way to finish it off, you get better at it and better, and better. And then you’ve been in every one of these different types of games and you know what it takes. And so, we did that again. And that’s that most important thing is winning the game and finding ways to win, and we did that. Game balls, guys who played well – (Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch, (Lions DL DJ) Reader, (Lions LB) Jack Campbell, (Lions LB) Alex Anzalone, (Lions S) Kerby (Joseph), (Lions CB) D.J. Reed. I thought D.J. Reed played lights out, man. Unbelievable. All these guys did. That whole D-line I thought showed up bigtime. (Lions DL) Tyleik (Williams), (Lions DL Pat) O’Connor, (Lions DL Tyler) Lacy, and (Lions EDGE Al-Quadin) Muhammad. Offensively, (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs, that was a good game, man. He had the look in his eye, and I thought he ran hard and made some plays. And then (Lions WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown and Leaf and (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta were big. Certainly the O-line, you get over 100 yards and you don’t allow a sack, we needed to shut down (Browns DE Myles Garrett) 95, we contained him. So that was good. Special teams, Leaf, obviously, big return. Pat O’Connor, (Lions LB) Grant Stuard, (Lions CB Khalil Dorsey) Dorse, (Lions LB Trevor) Nowaske, and (Lions RB) Craig Reynolds all made plays for us. So listen, found a way to win, proud of the guys. We had some stuff to clean up, which we’re doing right now, and then it’s on to Cincinnati.”
On an injury update for Lions CB D.J. Reed and what he showed when he kept trying to make a tackle despite getting injured: “It’s the way he’s wired. That’s the type of guy he is. Look, you can see the type of player on the tape. You have a pretty good idea of what he’s made of. You do enough leg work. But his style of play, when you watch him play, you know that he’s a great fit for us, and that just shows everything you need to know. That to him is more important to him than his own body, is making a play for his teammates. He doesn’t want to let the guys down, he needs to make a play, and something comes of that. I know you’re already going to ask, he’s going to be down for a while. But the good news is this is not a season-ender. We will get him back it looks like, so that’s the good news. He’s a stud.”
On the lessons he learned last year about patching holes on an injured defense and what can be applied if they are down a few cornerbacks: “The lesson is – really, I don’t even know if last year was necessarily a lesson as it was – listen, we had a slew of injuries in ‘21, ‘22 early and we knew this could be an issue. So, we’ve always preached next man up and getting the next guys ready to go, getting them reps in practice, which we’ve been doing from camp to even now during the season going on four weeks. Man, our next guys up get reps. They get real reps. They get our scheme, our work, running our plays. They’re expected to step in, and we don’t lose a beat. They know that, that’s the expectation here and that is the standard. Whether it’s (Lions CB Khalil Dorsey) Dorse or (Lions CB) Rock (Ya-Sin), they’re going to be ready to go. They’re going to step up and we’re not going to miss a beat. That’s the whole point.”
On if the team needs to add another cornerback to the active roster or practice squad: “Yeah, I think we would look for somebody for help. I haven’t talked to (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) yet about all of this, so we will discuss this, but we may need somebody for help for practice at a minimum. So, we’ll discuss it. You mentioned (Lions S Erick) Hallett, Hallett gives us versatility. He can kind of do a little bit of everything, nickel, corner, safety. But we’ll see.”
On an injury update for Lions CB Terrion Arnold: “I don’t know. I don’t think this is a huge thing, but the question is, is he going to be ready for this week? That would be really the question. And if it’s not this week, he should be back by next week for sure.”
On if Lions CB D.J. Reed could be headed to Reserve/Injured: “Could be. It’ll be close I think. Could be in that range.”
On if there are any injured players that could be close to returning to practice: “We’re close on (Lions DL Alim McNeill) Mac. There’s a good chance we may start Mac’s clock this week. So, that’s good. We want to make sure we check all those boxes before we say that’s what we’re going to do for sure, but it’s trending in the right way. Mac, he’s about ready to go. I think he’s tired of training. He’s trained all he can train. He’s done everything you can do, he just needs football. He’s done an unbelievable job. And those guys, (Lions Director of Player Health and Performance Brett Fischer) Fisch and (Lions Director of Sports Performance) Mike Clark and all of them, the whole crew, have done an unbelievable job. And obviously the work that he’s put into it has been pretty special.”
On why he reemphasizes the team’s win total in his postgame locker room speeches: “I don’t know, that’s a good question. I guess I’ve never noticed that. I just think the name of the game is winning. And the most important thing, and what can’t ever be lost, and I’ve got to tell myself this too now, is you find a way to win the game. It doesn’t matter – yeah, you want to play better, you need to be playing better every game. Man, you find a way to win that game and then you go from there. Every game’s different, every game’s special. And the more we can start stacking wins on top of each other, the better you’re going to get. Teams that win multiple games at multiple times in a season are good teams. So, we’re trending in the right way.”
On what he is most proud of from the team at this point in the season: “What I expect from them, and that’s our resiliency. We don’t get caught up in things that don’t relate to us or have any bearing on what we control, if you will. Man, our guys stay locked in on what it takes to win a game, and/or why you didn’t play well, and it really is as simple as that. That’s not an easy thing to do, I don’t think, in today’s age. I think that’s hard. Our guys are constantly – you can’t escape it. The social media, the critics, the fans, all of it. So I think, man, that’s hard to do. But I think our guys are pretty locked in, pretty disciplined. They come in this building, and they barricade themselves in and they look at it for what it is, ‘The most important thing is what my teammates and what my coaches are saying, and this where we have to get better and where I can get better.’ And that small little – that one little step, that one little hand placement, man, the release. That makes all the difference, not the, ‘Are you good enough anymore?’ You don’t get caught up in all that. We have a very resilient bunch, and the core of our team is very strong, it’s very strong.”
On if a mentally weaker team would not be able to bounce back from a Week 1 loss: “I don’t know, we’re not mentally weak. I think maybe you go ask another team.”
On Lions QB Jared Goff and Lions WR Jameson Williams not being able to connect in yesterday’s game: “Yeah, just a little bit off. There’s a couple of them, it really is just a couple things here and there. Eyes back a little sooner, Goff just misses on one, he kind of gets hit on one when he’s trying to release the ball. We’re just a little bit off, and I go back to this, we go back to the drawing board. And I hate to make excuses, but some of these we really wanted to push the ball down the field. And we weren’t able to practice on Wednesday, it was more walkthrough, so then you’re trying to grab some reps on Thursday but yet still get your third down in. Sometimes it’s a reminder for me, it’s like man, we may need to just – let’s make sure that either we try to find a way to get some reps to where we get a good flow on Wednesday, or maybe we don’t put some things in, and that’s fine. But there’s been enough work and there’s going to be more work, and those guys are going to be fine. Jamo’s going to be fine, Goff is a stud, so we’ll be good.”
On if he has enjoyed seeing special teams impact games in the League this season: “I do, but I hate watching. I hate it. Because I can put myself in the shoes of the field goal protection team more than the other. Man, you can appreciate the guys who go for the blocks, but most of the time it’s the protection. Most of the time. Man, is it your own doing? When I see it man, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ To lose that way, that’s tough. But it’s a reminder as to how important it is and how important special teams – you battle your tail off for three hours, and that one time you didn’t quite take the right step, or your pad level wasn’t good, or you lunged, or you didn’t, or you were too high, and the guy runs through and makes a block, and it’s all for naught. And then you go back, and you say, ‘Man, if I just would’ve been lower. If I would’ve locked in on that play. If I really would’ve treated it like man, everybody’s watching and we’re going to lose this game if I don’t block this guy.’ If you really treated that way, then it wouldn’t happen. So, we’re not going to let that happen here.”
On if he has ever given up a field goal block: “No. But only by luck.”
On where Lions OL Miles Frazier is in his recovery: “What I would tell you is he is progressing, not as fast as we had hoped. And I can’t say that we won’t get him back at some point here, but it’s not as clear as say like (Lions OL Christian) Mahogany was last year. It was very clear at this point that OK, he’s getting healthy, he’s starting to feel better. We’re not quite there, but he is improving.”
On what happened during the field goal that was almost blocked during his playing days: “Basically, (former NFL DE) Julius Peppers had a free run, and it just happened to go by his hand. And then it ran into the kicker, we missed the kick, and so we got a re-kick because it was – ran into the kicker because I missed him. So, worked out.”
