A preseason win is easily brushed off as no big deal, but Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell thinks Saturday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts is important.
After failing to close out a victory in the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, the Detroit Lions held on to beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-26 on Saturday. It was the their first preseason win under head coach Dan Campbell, and the franchise’s first preseason win since 2018.
No one cares what your preseason win-loss record is, and it’s not always predictive of regular season success. The 0-16 2008 Lions went 4-0 in the preseason.
Some coaches place great importance on winning preseason games. There’s certainly a case to be made that it’s better than losing them, and the situations presented in a close game you win are beneficial.
Campbell doesn’t come off as someone who sees preseason success or failure purely in the black and white of wins and losses. But he isn’t dismissing the importance of getting wins either.
Dan Campbell sees preseason wins as part of Lions’ winning formula
Via Ben Raven of MLive, Campbell talked about Saturday’s win over the Colts and the roots of establishing a winning mentality for the Lions.
It’s important. It’s very important. Especially with a young team and where we’ve been, where we’re coming from, and where we began to go at the end of the season,” Campbell said. “It has got to be part of our DNA, it has got to become part of who we are, and we have to embrace every moment and treat it like it’s your last moment because if you don’t and you just kind of accept it, then you’ll just be average or above average and that’s not good enough in this league. So, that’s a step in the right direction. I thought we got better these two days and I thought we got better today so this has been a good week for us.”
The Lions had two joint practices against the playoff-caliber Colts before Saturday’s game, and improvement on the defensive side from the first day to the second was clearly seen by those on the ground at Colts’ camp. Campbell noted how good a week it was for his team, capped by winning the game on Saturday.
A preseason win on its own is not a spring board to anything. But as Campbell tries to change the Lions’ culture, Saturday’s win over the Colts is something he’s not going to automatically dismiss.