The Detroit Lions did, in fact, beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. It could be hard to know that based on the general reaction of fans and even the national media.
The Lions raced out to a quick 21-0 lead before half of the first quarter had been played, looking completely dominant on the road against a fellow NFC division leader. The Saints, however, were the better team the rest of the way and forced the Lions to hang on for dear life in a 33-28 win.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell understands the negative sentiment even though his team came up victorious. Campbell summed it up very succinctly near the end of his Monday afternoon press conference.
“It was a good win,” Campbell stated. “But not good enough.”
The head coach talked about some of the real positives, like the linebacker play and the tour de force that was rookie tight end Sam LaPorta. He didn’t back away from the negatives, such as the asleep-at-the-wheel offense or the coverage lapses on defense. But his one-liner was perfect.
It was a good win, but not good enough. Well said, coach.