Dan Campbell says the Detroit Lions will not go into “panic mode” after they suffered a shock 29-22 home defeat to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday.
The Lions headed into the Thanksgiving encounter looking to put pressure on the Philadelphia Eagles at the top of the NFC.
But Detroit were behind from almost the jump, Green Bay racing out to a 20-6 lead within the first quarter and never looking back as the Lions failed to repeat their comeback heroics from a week ago against the Chicago Bears.
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Campbell will not overreact to the loss, though, telling reporters: “We didn’t play good enough. We turned the ball over too much, and we weren’t able to overcome those issues.
“There’s a little uneasiness. We just need to get back to what we do, playing in a little more rhythm.
“This isn’t something where I want to get into panic mode. I’ve got some time here to look at a couple of things and see where we can get a little bit more efficient.
“But at the same time, this is the same team that’s been here all year, offense, defense, [Jared] Goff is still the same quarterback. We clean a couple things up, and I think we’ll get back in a rhythm and be just fine.”
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 23, 2023
The Lions came out of the half looking a rejuvenated side, marching down the field for a quick touchdown drive to cut Green Bay’s lead to 23-14 before forcing a Packers punt.
But the Lions’ next drive stalled, before a fake punt from their own 23-yard line was stuffed. Three plays later, Jordan Love threw his third touchdown pass of the game, and Detroit never seriously threatened to make a comeback afterwards.
Campbell conceded it was a bad decision to go for the fake punt, stating: “[It was a] bad call on me. I shouldn’t have done that to those guys.”
Goff, who was sacked three times and pressured all game by the Green Bay defense, threw his support behind his head coach, explaining: “We trust the hell out of him [Campbell].
“We trust the hell out of him when he makes those calls. Most of the time, he’s right. When he’s not, we’ve got to pick him up and make the plays to help us win the game.
“But yeah, [we] trust the hell out of him and love when he puts us in situations to make him right.”
