LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
December 17, 2025
Opening Statement: “Steelers, man. Got a lot of respect for this team, got a lot of respect for (Steelers Head Coach) Mike Tomlin, been doing it for a long time, hell of a coach. Their brand of football, same style, always competitive. And once again, they’re in the race for this division over there. They do it the right way, they do it the hard way, and they make you try to earn it at the end of the game. So, we know this’ll be one of those physical battles. We’ve got to play smart, take care of the football and be very efficient. But he’s always run a good program, and we know we’ve got our hands full.”
On if he has had a chance to get to know Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin: “Yeah, I do know him, but I wouldn’t say it’s something where I call and we talk all the time or anything like that. I’ve just got a ton of respect for him. I know what he’s about and the way he goes about his business. Anybody that I know that’s ever come across Coach Tomlin speaks so highly of him, so he’s one of one.”
On the difficulty of defending a running back who is a proficient pass catcher like Steelers RB Kenneth Gainwell: “It just gives another element, right? Gives them another element. If you’re able to get the running back out and he’s a good route runner, then you get isolated on the linebacker. We’re fortunate we’ve got some pretty good backers here, so that helps. But yet it’s still a matchup that I would say most offenses are always looking for in general, is can you find that? And I like Gainwell, he’s a good back. And he is, he’s versatile. He’s got vision, he’s pretty sneaky that way, shifty. And he is a good receiver. And then (Steelers QB Aaron) Rodgers has done a great job of finding those throws, getting the ball out. He’s got some big targets. (Steelers WR DK) Metcalf is still a load, he’s a weapon, his run after catch has really shown up this year. I mean it’s always been there, but a lot more underneath throws and letting him make something happen. They’ve got three tight ends over there that can block and run. (Steelers Offensive Coordinator) Arthur Smith’s doing a hell of a job, he’s running his system, and it fits what they’re about. It fits what they do.”
On unlocking the deep ball against the Rams and if that decision was opponent-based: “A lot of that was opponent. We were going to be able to get some opportunities with what they do, and we hit at the right time. (Lions QB Jared) Goff saw it, felt it. (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo was outstanding, so was (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint down in the red zone. It just all – it all lined up really well. Those guys really executed at a high level, so it was everything working the way that you want it to work. That was good. Doesn’t mean that those are not – that you don’t want them to show up again, but it was kind of the perfect situation.”
On how Lions RB David Montgomery is handling his reduced role this season: “I mean, David is a pro. David’s a pro. He goes about his business, he handles it. I know that’s not easy. That’s not easy. You’re a guy who – he’s a damn good back. Every good player wants their chance to help the team win and get some production, so I know it can’t be easy. I know it’s not easy, but he’s a pro. He handles his business and goes about it, and whenever you call his number, he’s ready to go. And it’s something I think about a lot, is how do we get them all involved? He’s one of those, when they’re all involved, we’re just better. We’re a better offense. Where do we get him touches? Where do we find them? So, I do. I think about him a lot.”
On how to go about getting Lions RB David Montgomery more touches: “Well, the more plays is always going to help, but I think it’s some of those – what series do – it’s one of thing to bring him in, but maybe before that do we start tagging some things for him to get him involved early in (Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs) Jah’s series, and get Jah a breather? And then we view of these two-back, the two-back with three receivers, we’ve done some of that. But that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
On what Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is doing so well to have sustained success: “He plays fast. He plays fast and he’s accurate. I mean, he’s always had the accuracy. He’s got such a quick release. I mean, he can process it like that. And it’s with a flick of the wrist, the thing is in the receiver’s hands at a perfect location to where they can do damage once they get it into their hands. So, that has gone nowhere, his ability to get it out and play fast is still there, very much there.”
On Lions LB Jack Campbell’s flexibility and the external attention he has gotten this season: “Well, we’ve known it. I mean, we have. We know how valuable he is for us and what he does. He’s a rugged player for us. He’s a durable, rugged, productive player. And I mentioned this, I think last week and it’s still the same thing, he’s taken more reps than anybody on our team to this point. And those are not easy reps, but fortunately he’s built well. He’s built to handle it. And so, I’m happy for him in that regard because he is getting noticed, and he deserves credit for the way he’s playing. But we’ve known it here in this building, what he’s about.”
On the team giving up 30-plus points in the past few weeks and how that reduces the offense’s margin for error: “A ton. This goes back to last week, it is minimal. And when you struggle to run the ball, then to keep up or to stay ahead of them, you have to be perfect in the pass game. We have no margin for error to not have a completion, or miss on a shot play, or give up a sack. Like, we don’t have that. And that’s very difficult if you’re asking that of your pass game in today’s game and the League, the way it’s set up. So, it does, it puts a lot of strain on you. But at the same time, you find the run game like I talked about the third quarter, you reduce the stress off the defense. And now you make their offense one-dimensional because you’re up two scores late in the third. So, that’s why it all goes hand in hand and offensively we can help the defense, and in turn the defense helps the offense, and then you gained a little confidence, you find your way.”
On Lions OL Christian Mahogany and the chance that he can return this week: “Full-go walkthrough today. I mean, we’re hopeful. We’ll know a lot more tomorrow. I know by last week, certainly was, ‘OK, that looked pretty good.’ But also knew he wasn’t ready. So, we’re hopeful. I don’t – it’s a good question. I mean, I’m kind of hoping. It looks pretty good. I hope he feels good, but we’ll know more really by Friday. So, full speed tomorrow, Friday he’ll go through, and then we’ll see if he can go.”
On the defense struggling against the Rams’ 13-personnel and what they learned about facing it schematically before playing against the Steelers’ heavy usage of 13-personnel: “Certainly, there’s some schematic things we will do a little different, and that we know we can do a little different that we think can help. And I’m not going to dive into all that, but then there again, some of our fits, some of the keys, some of those little things just got a little dirty on some of our guys. Gave our guys, ‘It’s a little muddy, and stay focused on what your keys are and what you’re supposed to be looking at. And it doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it’s going to help significantly.’ A lot of that goes a long way. And if you don’t see a ton of it, it can get on you. So, I think seeing it actually was probably one of the best things getting ready for this game, as we just came out of a full game with it. And so, I think everything. I think we can help them a little bit here, I think seeing it last week is big, and I think we focus on those guys and their keys, man. Your eyes, where your eyes belong, where’s your fit? That’ll all help.”
On how the team’s pass protection has evolved the past few weeks despite the heavy rotation at the left guard position: “I’m always going to want more, that’s me, because I don’t ever want (Lions QB Jared) Goff getting hit. So, I’m always going to – you’d love to come out of the season and say there’s no quarterback hits. Well, that’s not reality. But you’re always going to want more. And look, it’s not the easiest thing to roll guards in there. You get an injury, now it’s a new guard. And now it’s this one, (Lions OL Trystan) Colon’s in, now (Lions OL Miles) Frazier’s in. And so, that’s not easy. But I think we’re doing the right thing, and doing what we feel like is giving us the best chance at this point. It’s not perfect, but I think it’s where we’re at and what we need to do.”
On what he is looking for out of Lions OL Giovanni Manu after starting his practice clock this week: “I think for Gio, he needs reps. Practice reps, get out there against our defense, against (Lions EDGE Marcus) Davenport and (Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch in real time practice. There’s not a ton of them, and it’s not like training camp, but he just needs reps, man. He cannot get enough reps. And if we’re able to use him or there’s something there this year, that’s a bonus. It’s really about getting him – will this set him up better for next year? Training camp, going into that next year. That’s really it.”
On what goes into the recipe of stacking wins: “Well, you’ve got to win the first one. Like I mentioned the other day, we’ve got to win this one to have a chance to win the next one. So, that’s really where it all starts. Man, it’s – like I told the team, it’s one week, it’s one game, and it’s one win. That’s all we can focus on. Let’s go back to the drawing board, go back to the fundamentals of the things we talked about, man, urgency out here. And let’s go, man. We’ve got to get ready. This is a rugged team that’s coming in here, physical team, and they’ve always been that way. They play bully ball. We just came out of a game where they play physical, and we lost that game. And so, I know what that tape says. I know what Pittsburgh’s looking at, so that’s what we have to be preparing for and understand the attitude that you’re going to have to have.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET
December 17, 2025
On if scoring 34 points last week against a good team gives him confidence in the team’s ability to play similarly this week and put points on the board: “Yeah, no, we’ve been moving the ball well and certainly this past week scoring there a little bit. And again, not enough to win the game so that’s all that matters to us. And we need to find a way to score one more touchdown or two more touchdowns, whatever it may be to win.”
On if he is in a similar mindset as Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell of being sick of answering questions about the team not losing consecutive games in years: “Yeah, no doubt. I mean I think if we want to stop getting that question, we’ve got to string something together. So yeah, we’ve got to bounce back this week and then string them together.”
On if he agrees with Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell’s assessment that the Steelers play ‘bully ball’: “Sure, yeah. I think that’s kind of been the hallmark of who they are for however long they’ve been successful there – which is a long time – and they’re a tough, physical team. They’re AFC North, they play downhill, they’re strong and that’s what they pride themselves on.”
On what it is about Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers that has made him the excellent quarterback he is: “His ability to put the ball wherever he wants and at whatever speed and pace he wants to and the mobility, all that stuff.”
On what his relationship with Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers has been like over the years: “It’s good, yeah. We’re friendly and see him every once in a while.”
On if he wants to play football as long as Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers has been playing: “How long has he been playing? What year is this for him, 21? Yeah, alright. I’m halfway there.”
On if he likes this time where there is a bit of desperation and a must-win situation: “Yeah, sure – I mean I think yeah you’d much rather have the division locked up and be looking towards other things, but yeah. No, I think it gets an opportunity to find out who we are and our character. Our players’ characters, our coaches’ characters going to shine through in moments like this – adversity – and see who we are. I know who we are, so I know what I expect to happen. But yeah, it’s a good opportunity.”
