LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
October 8, 2025
Opening Statement: “Real good opponent here. Got a lot of respect for what (Chiefs Head Coach Andy) Coach Reid has done. (Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spagnuolo man, outstanding defensive coordinator. They’ve been intact, that staff, these players have been intact for a long time. They’ve got a really good system, they’re good at it. They’ve evolved to the point now that they’ve kind of seen everything, they kind of do everything. They’re very good at it, very disciplined. Offense starts with the quarterback, man, they’ve got speed on the perimeter. This back is a violent runner and he’s got juice. This is a good offensive line. And then defense. They’ve got (Chiefs DT Chris Jones) 95 there in the middle, he’s disruptive. I think (Chiefs LB Nick) Bolton is an outstanding linebacker. Key diagnose, he’s all over the field, smart as hell. (Chiefs CB Trent) McDuffie’s a good player, (Chiefs S Bryan) Cook’s a good safety. I mean, they’ve got a number of guys. (Chiefs DE George Karlaftis) 56 can get on you. So, it’s a big challenge. Special teams, they play hard, man. They play fast over there. We’ve got our work cut out for us out at Arrowhead. Great environment, Sunday night against a champion. This is a big-time opponent. These guys know how to win. And so, man, we’re looking forward to this. This is another one of those this is why you do it, this is why you’re in it. Man, we love this stuff. But it all starts today.”
On what he took away from the experience of playing Week 1 in Kansas City in 2023: “Well, the first thing I notice, you go back and watch that game you can tell it was the first game of the season. There were a number of things. They would probably say the same thing, too. There was a lot of things that, boy, you wish you would’ve done better. But at the end of the day, man, we hung in there and we really played – we talked about it – great complementary football. That’s what won us the game. Between special teams, offense, defense, we all – when we needed it most, each unit picked up the slack. And we were able to hold on there and pull out a big win. That was big, I felt like that kind of kicked our season off. Guys really believed we could go out there and win and played their tails off. That was good, but that was also two years ago.”
On Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson and how important he is to the defense: “I don’t know if I can really put a value on that, because I don’t know if there’s a big enough number. I mean, he’s extremely valuable. The number of things that he’s able to do for us in the run and the pass game. Man, it takes up – he pulls a lot slack, man. You talk about pulling your weight, he pulls his weight and then some. He requires a lot of resources offensively, which helps everybody else out. Guys like him, he’s in that rare world of man, you don’t get the easy way out. He’s got to beat the nudges, he’s got to beat the back chip, then the tackle’s on him. Or he’s got to beat the nudge, sometimes the back, the tackle, and the slide’s coming to him with the guard also. So, sometimes you may have to beat three, sometimes four. But if that’s the case, somebody else is winning. They’ve got to win. So, what he does is not easy, and I go back to this. He is a complete football player, he does it all. And he’s disruptive, he’s violent, he’s high motor, he’s crafty, he’s explosive, he’s tough, he’s competitive. And he does it all. He does it all.”
On the report that the team reached out to the NFL regarding cut blocks on Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson: “That’s bogus. That’s a bogus report. I don’t know where that came from. Nobody from here ever did that. That’s bull.”
On if he has noticed a difference in the hits made on Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson: “No. No, man. Nope. Game’s played a certain way, that’s the way it goes, man. It doesn’t matter whether we’re doing it or someone else is doing it to our guys. We know that, and we play accordingly.”
On if there is good news on Lions CB Terrion Arnold’s injury and the timeline of his return: “It sounds like we got a different report. There’s a second opinion that came in, and so now it’s, OK, let’s see if we can strengthen a little bit. Get a little bit of the inflammation out. I don’t know how long that’s going to be, though. I still may kind of go back that he may be out a while. But yeah, the second opinion came back, and it sounds like it could be promising, but that’s no guarantee either. So, we’re kind of in this wait and see, and we’ll hold off here a little bit and just see where he goes.”
On if Lions CB Terrion Arnold can avoid surgery for now: “Yeah, I guess that’s the best way to say it.”
On Lions CB Amik Robertson and the value he adds to the team’s secondary: “He’s more than a security blanket. This guy is – it’s one of the reasons why we wanted to get him here as a free agent, because he’s so feisty and competitive. One of the things he really majors in is man coverage. He’s a sticky cover guy. Very confident, he’s got great hips, movement skills, and he’s got ball skills. We are completely comfortable with him playing outside and playing in the slot. So, he’s another guy. Thank goodness we got him, because we don’t feel like there’s a drop off with Amik. He’s going to go out there and compete, man. We’re not worried about him.”
On if they would consider moving Lions T Penei Sewell to the other side if Lions T Taylor Decker misses an extended amount of time: “We’ve talked about it. I think a lot of times what happens with – Sewell could easily go over there. He’d just want reps. He’d want reps for the week, just, ‘Let me get a few reps.’ But he’d go over there and handle it just fine. It’s really more about if it’s not Decker, the other guys, and where are they most comfortable? Sewell, by default, will go away from that because he can do it all. So we’ve talked about it. I don’t want to say that’s off the table, but that’s probably not the first thought, being honest with you.”
On what he would like to see from Lions DL Mekhi Wingo to get back in the mix on the defensive line: “It was good to get him in there for a game. And then we just felt like, ‘Hey man, lets give this guy some more time just to get his legs under him, get him a little more seasoned.’ I mean, he’d only had really a week of practice, if that, coming off of that. Had no training camp. But we do feel like, man, he’s getting better and better every week. Look, we like where he’s at. We’re fortunate, we’ve got pretty good depth in that room right now. (Lions Executive Vice President/General Manager) Brad (Holmes)’s done an unbelievable job. We’ve got some length, we’ve got size, we’ve got a little speed. We’ve got some versatility. So, I’m glad he’s here. It’s not his own doing, it’s like any of the rest of the guys, man, you just keep working. Our eyes are always open in practice. I watch those all the time. I watch both sides of the ball. I’m looking at the scout team. You can earn your right to get back up just by the way you practice.”
On the challenges of defending Kansas City’s speedy wide receiver room: “This goes back to you can do everything right. You can be disciplined, you can play the coverage. You can, ‘OK, we’ll top some of this stuff. We’ll be disruptive on the releases.’ And then all of a sudden, man, you missed on one. You missed, or you didn’t quite get to your landmark in the backend. And all of a sudden, man, there’s 60 right over the top of your head. Or, you get a catch and run, we miss a tackle, and they’re through it. The good news is our defense has faced speed. I mean, they got a full dose of that in the spring and training camp with (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo and (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf. And (Lions WR Dominic) Lovett’s not a slouch, either. We’ve got some juice here, too, and our guys have seen that and have had to face it. But man, you’ve got to be on point. You’ve got to be on point because when you have that kind of explosiveness, it only takes one play and all of a sudden, they got seven out of it.”
On if Kansas City has evolved offensively from what they have been historically in the past few years: “I think a lot of – man, they’re no different than anybody else. And it’s like us, quite frankly. You’re still trying to – you’re tweaking things, man. You’re still trying to figure yourself out a little bit. Even though they’re as good as they’ve been, and they’ve got that quarterback, and the coaching staff, and those players – they’ve still got (Chiefs TE Travis) Kelce over there who can get open. He’s a third down weapon for them. You’re still trying to figure out, collectively, where do you hang your hat? And what are you really good at? And what can guys really do and excel at? And so, I think that’s where they’re at, no different than us. What can we really get a little bit better at? And I think you’re seeing a couple little tweaks every week as to what they want to be and where they’re going. And even though it didn’t work out for them the other night, man, they put up some yards, now. They were able to move the football. They just had a couple of critical errors at the wrong time, and it cost them. But as far as the potency they have, it’s there. I think they – to me, they’re getting better every week. I see a team that’s getting better every week. We’ve got to be ready, man. I mean, this is the same team that I remember. They’re just tweaking a couple of things.”
On if they have to adjust the defensive strategy and disguise blitzes when going against Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes: “You’ve got to do a number of things with him. First of all, he can smell a rat from a mile away so if you’re going to disguise, boy, it better be worthy of a Grammy. This guy sees it all and he smells immediately. He can alternate protections, he can get to different things in the pass game. So, I think you’ve got to do a number of different things. But you’ve got to be careful that you don’t – you don’t want to become something you’re not, either. You’ve got to still hang your hat on what you do well. And so, that’s always going to be the challenge. Because 15, man. I mean, there’s clip after clip of it looks like they’ve closed it down on him, they’ve got him, the lane’s not there. And all of a sudden, man, he skipped out of one and he’s going to the ground, he flicks it through two defenders. I mean, that’s him. And he’s always that type of player, he’s dangerous. I always say this for somebody like him, you think you’ve got a blind shot on him, you’re running free? He knows you’re there. So, he’s going to get ready to spin out, he’s going to duck, he’s going to dip, he’s going to dart. Don’t ever leave your feet, don’t ever jump in the air. He’s going to pump. You have to just continue to keep a base, run at him, close the distance, and wrap him up. Because this guy’s – I mean he’s as elusive as there is in our game.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET
October 8, 2025
On if the team treats the Chiefs the same as any other opponent: “Yeah, of course. It’s the same every week, no matter who you’re playing. And got another tough opponent this week, another one on the road Sunday night. It’ll be fun at their place, it’ll be loud, it’ll be ruckus and it’ll be a good one.”
On playing at Arrowhead Stadium: “Love it. We love it. We love being a part of it. Being able to silence the crowd is always the greatest feeling ever and you try to do it every time you get in these environments.”
On why he thinks he has been successful against the Chiefs in his career with the Lions and Rams: “Oh yeah, I mean those were two down to the wire games that went my way, very far apart too, so very different teams. I was playing for another team and then here in Detroit. But yeah, I don’t know. I mean they’re a really good team and I’ve been on the right side of two of them.”
On if close wins on a primetime stage like his two career games against the Chiefs are important for the foundation of a team: “Yeah, I thought that was big. And certainly, because they were coming off of winning the Super Bowl and we were coming off of missing the playoffs really that 9-8 season. So, yeah, that was big and being able to come out and get the W – I think I’m doing that math right, that was the year before, right? Yeah, so coming there to get that W and feel like we beat a team that’s towards the top of the League at that time. And now we hope that teams feel that way about us and we are having to prove ourselves every week still.”
On what he admires most about the success of the Chiefs franchise: “Yeah, I mean that’s certainly number one is the consistency over time. I don’t know how many in a row, AFC Championships or – yeah, it’s incredible. And it’s hard to reload every year after playing a long season like that. So I think that’s what you respect most is their ability over almost a decade now to reload every offseason and come back ready to go. And always a tough team, always a tough defense for me to face. And obviously on offense they’re explosive as well.”
On what the key to creating consistent, long-term success is for the Lions like the Chiefs have done: “Consistency. Yeah, it’s hard. It’s really hard. You’ve got to show up to work every day and try to get better every day and work hard, hold your teammates accountable, hold yourself accountable and really have to prove it every single day in practice.”
On the scouting report for the Chiefs defense: “I mean they’re good. They’re good at every level, they’ve got good players at every level. Obviously (Chiefs DT) Chris Jones is kind of the game wrecker up front and then their linebackers are young and fast. They’ve got (Chiefs CB Trent) McDuffie on the outside, those safeties I think are really good. They’re good. They’re good at every level and present a ton of challenges.”
On the hallmarks of Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense: “Good question. I mean I’ve only played him twice. I don’t even know if he was the coordinator. Was he the coordinator the first time I played them? That was a long time ago. Had to have been. I think that they do a really good job of being very multiple in what they do. And oftentimes you can watch a ton of tape and defenses have certain tells or when they’re in this formation, they do this. They don’t really have much of that. You kind of have to figure it out when you’re out there to some extent. There’s tape we can watch, but they do a good job of making different things look the same and same things look different type of thing. And they’ve got good players too and that makes it really hard.”
On Lions RB David Montgomery’s homecoming game in Cincinnati: “Yeah that was cool. That was a cool moment all day for him, and you could tell it was special to him to have his sister there to see it in person. And a lot of his family and friends, I think, were there to watch it. And to have him score twice the way he did, it’s awesome. Yeah, and it makes you kind of appreciate those little moments and look at what really matters. And I was happy for him.”
On if he had any doubt that Lions RB David Montgomery was going to throw the football when he made a comment about throwing the ball at the wall if needed in Cincinnati: “No, I kind of said that knowing that he wasn’t going to like – because part of me is like if there’s no one there, you should probably run it because he is a running back. But I was just reminding him, if it’s not open, it’s not the end of the world. We’ve got second down or whatever down we were on there to still score. No, but I had a good feeling he was going to throw that and make it work.”
On if he appreciated in the moment how epic his first win against the Chiefs was: “I don’t think so, not in the moment. There was so much around that game too. I remember with the fires in L.A., and it was supposed to be in Mexico and we had actually flown to Colorado earlier in the week to get adjusted to altitude on Wednesday, Thursday. And then they were like, ‘Hey, the game’s actually going to be in L.A.’ So, we flew back to L.A. on Friday. Nowhere to practice on Friday or Saturday because of the fires, and went out there Monday night and it was an epic one. It was amazing. (Chiefs QB) Patrick (Mahomes) and I kind of got to midfield and giggled like, ‘Holy smokes. 54-51. It could’ve been anyone’s game.’ It kind of seemed like whoever got the ball last was going to win that one. But yeah, looking back now it’s obviously an epic game and one I’m proud to have been a part of.”
