The Detroit Lions fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 29-24, on Sunday in a game that only makes their path to the postseason that much more difficult.
While Campbell could have easily attempted to deflect blame for the loss onto the officiating crew that called two offensive pass interference penalties against Detroit in the final 30 seconds of regulation, which took touchdowns off the board, the former player took ownership of his team's shortcomings and the consequences that come with it.
Dan Campbell Refuses to Place Blame for Lions' Loss on Anyone Else
"We weren't able to close it out. And at the end of the day, that's on us," Campbell said of the loss, which likely ended Detroit's playoff hopes, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. "We did that. We're the ones who put ourselves in that position to where we had to try to score on the last play."
By doing this, Campbell is effectively putting his entire roster on notice. This group had lofty goals entering the season, and while the path to get there has drastically changed, hope hasn't been eliminated from the equation just yet. With just two games left in the 2025 regular season, Detroit has no choice but to catch the Green Bay Packers, as the San Francisco 49ers own the tiebreaker over the Lions.
With matchups remaining against the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, Detroit has to win out. Those victories alone won't get them into the postseason, though. Following their loss to the Steelers, the Lions also need the Packers to lose their remaining games against the Baltimore Ravens and the aforementioned Vikings.
This is hardly the scenario that Campbell or the front office expected to be in after starting the season with wins in six of their first nine games. It is the reality that fans in the Motor City are living, though. One can expect that performances over these two weeks could factor into roster decisions this offseason as well. It isn't outlandish in the slightest to suggest that players will no longer be in the roles they currently hold if Detroit goes from a team with Super Bowl aspirations in September to a franchise potentially missing the playoffs altogether entering Week 17.
This is precisely why Campbell's words following Sunday's loss should be an eye-opener for every player on the Lions' roster. A new standard has been set in Detroit, and settling for mediocrity, or worse, is no longer an option. If that isn't enough to motivate the roster to play at its best regardless of the outcome of the next two games, they don't belong on this team moving forward.
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