LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
October 28, 2025
Opening Statement: “Felt like I just saw all of you yesterday. I don’t know what’s going to be new today. Obviously, the Vikings, good divisional opponent. Got a lot of respect for what (Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell) KOC has done out there and that staff and that team. They’ve had a lot of success, have always found a way to win and be competitive in this League, in this division, certainly. Good players. (Vikings WR Justin) Jefferson, starts with him. He’s outstanding. Quarterback is talented. Young guy, but he is mobile. He’s got a big arm, and he is accurate. We’ve got a big test there with those guys. Obviously (Vikings WR Jordan) Addison, (Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson) Hock, I mean, they’ve got weapons. And then defensively, what (Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian) Flores has done, it’s always disrupted defense. They force you into errors, they capitalize like they did Cincinnati this year. Forced five takeaways, two of them touchdowns. I mean, that’s what they can do to you, they’ll get on you. Got to stay composed and just handle your business, be patient. But a lot of good players, man. (Vikings OL Jonathan Greenard) 58’s a hell of a player, (Vikings DL Javon) Hargrave, (Vikings DL Jonathon) Allen. We can keep going down the line here. I think (Vikings S Joshua) Metellus is a good player, (Vikings LB Blake) Cashman’s a good player, (Vikings LB Ivan) Pace is a hell of a blitzer, round and round. (Vikings CB Isaiah) Rodgers has made some plays this year, (Vikings CB Byron) Murphy has been there going on three years now. Good crew, special teams is very active, physical, they fly around. This’ll be a big test for us at our place, but once again, we’re looking forward to this.”
On if he believes external expectations helps the team perform better: “Well the first thing that I go back to is when I mentioned this about (Lions T Penei) Sewell in the spring. It’s not about expectations, it’s about our standards. The standards are the standards, and it’s about us playing to those standards, and that’s the most important thing.”
On if the players are aware of what is on the line for the upcoming stretch of games: “I mentioned to the team yesterday, I just kind of put up where everything is stacking in the NFC right now. It’s very competitive, especially at this point in the season for one conference. But all I stated was, ‘Hey, this is where we’re at, this is where these teams are at, and this thing’s about to shake out withing the month of November.’ I mentioned this to you guys last week. You’re going to start seeing some risers and fallers, and a lot of these teams are playing each other. We’re one of them. So, it really is just handle your business, man. And the bottom line is, find a way to win your division. And we’ve got Minnesota coming in here, that’s number one. And then you worry about the next one after that.”
On preparing for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy: “I know this, you watch Chicago and what he did. Had it a little bit rough there early, throws the pick, and then all of a sudden, he comes rushing back and you just see the poise and the confidence and his ability to overcome that, and really lead them to a win. That’s impressive for a young guy. That kind of tells me all I need to know. I know what the talent is, I’ve seen it. So, they’re going to do what they need to do to help him out and try to reduce the stress. Take as much off his plate, but yet allow him to do things he does well. (Vikings WR Justin Jefferson) 18 is a catalyst, 18’s a catalyst. (Vikings RB Aaron) Jones is a hell of a back. They’re going to find ways. They want to try to establish the run, screen game, get it to 18, get this kid on the move. They’re going to do a hell of a job. They’ll have a good plan ready, and so will we.”
On the defensive unit with Vikings DL Jonathan Allen, Vikings DL Javon Hargrave and Vikings DL Jalen Redmond: “I’m glad you mentioned Redmond. I think Redmond’s an outstanding player. I really do, man. I think that guy is disruptive, I think he plays the run, I think he gets an edge in the pass game. Here’s what I’d say, they’re looking for more disruption. More of a penetrating style defense up front is what they’re looking for, and you can feel some of that. For the most part, it’s very much what it’s been. There’s a couple of things that have changed over the last couple of years a little bit, but all in all, it’s very much (Vikings Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Brian) Flores.”
On Lions OL Graham Glasgow and how he has seen his new position at center energize him: “Well Graham, it’s easy to see him energized. You can see it on his face. I love Graham. Graham’s the same guy every day. Get the job done, what do you want, got it, I’m excited, look at me. I’m sad, look at me. Graham has been an ultimate pro, man, he’s a smart guy. He’s headsy, he’s played a lot of ball. He’s thick in there, he can anchor. I feel like he’s kind of calmed us down in there. I think he’s really helped those two young guys and so has (Lions T Taylor) Decker and (Lions T Penei) Sewell. They’ve helped (Lions OL Christian) Mahogany and (Lions OL Tate) Ratledge. But I go back to this, I mentioned this to those young guys too, speaking of the guards. They’re not young anymore. I told them that, that’s done. We’re at the halfway point here, they’re veterans now. And they’re expected to play good ball, and even better every week. And they are improving. Graham’s been great, that was a good move getting him in there. He’s helped stabilize us in there in the middle.”
On if he met with Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy during the Draft process: “I did not. I knew we didn’t have a shot at that one. We weren’t in the market, and he was going to go quickly. Did all the exterior work.”
On what stood out about Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy from his college days: “He’s a winner. That’s number one, he’s a winner. I mean, the guy has won a ton of games. And he has played a pro style offense with (Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach Jim) Harbaugh at Michigan. I think those are two things that you don’t always find is the guy who plays pro style and has played football. Has played, and he has won. That, I mentioned his athleticism. He’s mobile, he’s got a big arm. He’s a good decision maker and he’s like any other young quarterback. The more reps he gets, the better he’s going to get.”
On the difference between this Vikings team and the team they faced at the end of last season: “I think we’re both different teams. I think we’re both about where you – you’re at the midway point and I think, I know for us we’re trying to improve. We’re not where we need to be yet. We’ve got so much room to grow, and I’m sure they feel the same way. I think we’re finding our way, everybody’s trying to figure out the best way to move the football, stop the football defensively, gain an advantage on special teams. So, I think we’re both teams looking to improve.”
On if Lions T Taylor Decker will practice this week: “I see him practicing (Thursday). Not today, he did yesterday. I don’t see it today, but I do see him practicing (Thursday). They’re off tomorrow.”
On the status of Lions EDGE Marcus Davenport and Lions RB Sione Vaki and their timelines to return: “I would say nothing new on Davenport. He is improving, but I can’t give you a definitive, ‘This is when he is going to be back.’ I am just very confident he is going to be back. We’re going to get him back here. So, I can’t tell you an exact date there. And Vaki, Vaki practiced yesterday, he’s going to practice today. He’s going to practice Thursday after the day off, so we’re hopeful. He looked good, he looks good right now, and hopefully we can get him to the game. That’s the plan.”
On the balance of managing players on Reserve/Injured and deciding whether or not to remove them from the roster or keep them on as they rehab: “That’s tough. That’s something that we go through all the time. And that’s what (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) is constantly – the amount of shuffling and thinking and moving that goes into it to try to help yourself and balance your roster as much as possible by where you’re at, but also where you could be in a week, two weeks, three weeks. So, there’s nothing easy about it. I think Brad has done a hell of a job. We talk about it all the time. But I think it’s – look, if you’re not in an immediate pinch and you think this is a four or five-week deal, maybe we hold onto them and we don’t IR them if we can. Now, you only get eight of them that you can put there and bring back, so that’s the other thing. And then just as far as the players, as much as we can, we say, ‘This is where we feel very confident they’re ready to go.’ And a lot of times, not always, it comes back to, ‘Well, let’s give them another week.’ We do our best to try to – man, are they ready? Are they really ready? And then give them some practice time, it doesn’t always work that way, but we do the best we can with it.”
On what Minnesota does so well on third downs: “Pressure and multiple coverages. They switch it up. That’s when you’re getting to get some man, that’s when they play some man. But then they still – their fire zones, their inverts. So, it’s very much, you hit your back foot, now you’re figuring out what they’re doing. If you’re the quarterback, that doesn’t make it easy. Fortunately, we have a veteran quarterback that’s played a lot. But it makes it hard. So, he does mix a lot of things up, and then they’re very disruptive. That’s why we go back to third-and-manageable. It’s a statement that everybody would agree with. Man, you get into third-and-longs, and it gets really difficult. Because they can get on you and force you into an error, and that’s when they get these takeaways or sack fumbles or something happens. So, we’ve got to be really good on first down so that it helps us on third down.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET
October 28, 2025
On his appearance on the ‘ManningCast’ during last night’s game: “Yeah. Felt good. You guys watch it? OK, good. Yeah, it was fun. Those guys keep it light and fun. It was good.”
On what the competitor inside of him sees and feels when looking at the NFC picture: “Yeah, we’re right in the middle of it, sure. We’ve got some games to win and some tough competition coming up starting this week with Minnesota. But yeah, we’re right in that stretch now. You come back from the bye and it’s go time. There’s no time to really fix things or make up for lost time. We’ve done that already at this point and it’s time to go.”
On how he keeps guys engaged during the bye and right when the team gets back as a leader: “Yeah, I don’t think you really have to on our squad. Our guys are focused. And I thought today was one of our better practices all year and we got after it.”
On what he thinks the team’s biggest issue on third down has been: “Oh, just execution. It’s simple execution. Staying in third-and-manageable is certainly the goal. And when you get in third-and-long it becomes harder. But yeah, you’ve got to convert on some of those. And I think last week was a pretty good example of not being good enough in that area. And I think if we had converted a few more of those, the game’s maybe a little bit different. So yeah, just focusing on ways to improve there and we will.”
On if he sees Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores doing anything different with the defense this year or if it is the same: “Yeah, there’s some different, there’s some the same. Well coached, fast, fly around, good hard-nosed players who play hard for him. It’s a good group.”
On the added challenge of the Vikings defense and blitz strategy when they added new interior players: “Yeah, that’s their whole thing. They want to penetrate, they want to get in the backfield, they want to get typically five or six guys rushing, one-on-ones on everybody. In that case, they run some pick games, they run some stunts, they do a little bit of everything. And they want to disrupt your timing and get in the backfield and it’s up to us up front and me to get the ball out and do everything right.”
On where he has seen Lions OL Tate Ratledge and Lions OL Christian Mahogany grow the most in the past two months: “I think they’re both just so much more comfortable now than Week 1. And I don’t think that’s an indictment of where they were on Week 1, it’s just time on task and reps. And I think Christian’s more comfortable next to (Lions T) Taylor (Decker) now and Tate next to (Lions T) Penei (Sewell). And just gelling a little bit and getting comfortable with the way that (Lions OL) Graham (Glasgow) slides to or away from them – that whole thing – and their combination blocks. It’s been good to see and they both are in pretty good rhythm right now.”
On how he feels Lions OL Tate Ratledge and Lions OL Christian Mahogany have grown under center: “Yeah, I think in between plays like in the huddle, there’s no flinch. There’s no deer in headlights and it’s just very focused on what’s the next play. Forget about whatever happened on the previous one and move on. And both those guys have played in big games. I mean Tate certainly at Georgia has played in some really big games so none of this is too big for either of them.”
On if he thinks the team’s statistics dipping on third and fourth down is an anomaly or defenses improving: “I think it’s got all to do with us, honestly. Sure, there’s been some defenses that have given us issues. But if we execute properly on some of these downs, it’s a different story. I think on the one last week to (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo across the middle – he’s open. I put it on his face or put it on his chest, he’s making that catch and that’s another conversion. There’s a handful of those I could think of. But yeah, it’s just pure execution and it starts with me.”
On if he sees Lions WR Jameson Williams continuing to be a big part of the team and how he can get him the ball more: “Yeah, we would love to, of course. We want to win the game, we want to score points and I think that’s the primary for everybody. But of course, yeah, we’d love to get him involved more, get him to rock in a million different ways. And he’s explosive – I know defenses are worried about him at all times and we need to find ways to continue to keep him involved.”
On the stakes of this week’s game against the Vikings: “A division game. We want to win our division, we want to win every division game. These guys are in our division, they’re a good team, they’ve been good for a long time, they’re extremely well-coached, they’ve got extremely good players. They’re going to come in here and give us everything they’ve got. We’ve got to know that coming in and give them everything we’ve got.”
On where he is pleased with his game and where he would like to improve: “Yeah, getting the ball out I’ve been pleased with. Trying to avoid sacks and my completion percentage and just getting the ball into our guys’ hands as often as possible and getting it out of mine really. And just continuing to improve that. Where can I improve? I think there’s some areas of aggressiveness that I can be a little bit more aggressive. And I say that and then I’ll make a poor decision and say I need to not be so aggressive in certain situations. So, yeah, it’s a double-edged sword there. But yeah, maybe there’s some areas where I can do that. But at the same time, if I’m getting the ball in our guys’ hands underneath regardless, it doesn’t really matter.”
On when he ever thinks about breaking records: “No, I won’t think about that. It’s so dang hard every week to try to play well and win games. And yeah, I’ve been able to keep a pretty good percentage there but it’s just a product of me being kept upright and our guys getting open and me being pretty accurate with it. But want to try to continue that and see where it goes.”
On how much of the bye week was spent self-scouting: “I think – yeah, you’re thinking critically and being critical of yourself more so than maybe during a week when you have to turn over so quickly a day later to the next team. You have three or four days to kind of think about what you can do better, how you want to approach the last 10 games of the season, how you want to come back in the building. And certainly that was part of my thoughts.”
On what sort of reception Lions DB Brian Branch had coming back to the building after his suspension: “I’m glad he’s back in here. He looks good. He’s ready to go and ready to go play.”
