The Detroit Lions’ hype train came to a screeching halt on Sunday as they were blown out 38-6 by the Baltimore Ravens. As ugly as the loss was, coach Dan Campbell saw a rather surprising bright side.
Campbell said after the game that the Lions “probably needed” a game like Sunday’s to help them refocus after a 5-1 start to the season.
“You don’t want these to happen, but when it does, it recenters you, it refocuses you. And that’s all I know,” Campbell said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “I don’t want it to happen. Nobody wants it to happen. Nobody likes to look over there and watch them having a great time because they kicked our a–. Nobody thinks that’s fun, but I know that motivates me for next week, it motivates our team. You’ll do any and everything you can not to have that feeling again. That’s all I mean by that.”
The loss came at a time when national focus on the Lions was as high as ever. Their 5-1 start had people mentioning them as a potential Super Bowl contender, and quarterback Jared Goff was getting MVP buzz. That may not necessarily change now, but some people will pump the brakes on that, and it might not be a bad thing.
The Lions remain 5-2 and still lead the NFC North, and they have a winnable game against the Las Vegas Raiders coming up in Week 8. As long as this does not snowball into a losing streak, they should be fine, and Campbell might be proven right in the long run.