Lions' Dan Campbell gets emotional after Commanders loss: 'It's my fault'

01/19/2025 01:17 AM

Although the Detroit Lions  were the team Eli Manning predicted would hoist the Lombardi Trophy in the 2024-25 season, their Super Bowl chances got crushed following a 45-31 divisional-round loss to the Washington Commanders. Fresh off the playoff loss, Lions head coach Dan Campbell was justifiably emotional, explaining to reporters why this loss hurts so much, per ESPN on X.

“It just hurts to lose, man,” Campbell said following the divisional-round loss. “And, I don’t care if you’re the seven seed, six seed, five seed, one seed because I’ve lost all of them, damn near, and it stings and it hurts. So, you know, it hurts. It’s hard, you know, when you lose these games, man. It’s like, the players, you know, what they put into it, a lot of people don’t know, you know, what they go through. You have to get up, bodies beat to s**t, and, you know, mentally stay locked in and do those things. Long season.”

After this emotional statement from Campbell, a reporter asked what happened on the 12 men on the field penalty, which Campbell kept very brief, trying to hold back tears.

“It’s my fault,” Campbell said. “It’s my fault.”

Dan Campbell was visibly emotional during his postgame press conference after the Lions' loss to the Commanders. pic.twitter.com/NIREn7qgRv

— ESPN (@espn) January 19, 2025

So, while Campbell took complete responsibility for the late-game blunder, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this Lions team came up short of their goal to win the Super Bowl. After their NFC Championship Game loss in 2023, this season felt like the year that Campbell’s team would go the distance.

However, Jayden Daniels and the Commanders had other plans for their matchup against the Lions.

Although Campbell talked about biting kneecaps and kicking teeth out in his introductory press conference after being hired by the Lions, he’s still a human with real emotions. And as a coach who wears his emotions on his sleeves, he was clearly upset about how this season ended.

“At the end of the day — after all this, the loss today — I still love the guys, I respect them, and I appreciate everything they’ve put into it. But, it’s not the time to talk about what a great year or how many wins … because at this moment, I don’t think any of us feel that way, you know? The whole point of doing what you do is to get to the show, man. It’s why you play this game. And we fell short.”

Coach Campbell following the loss pic.twitter.com/6DmvSMNAlh

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 19, 2025

With a long offseason ahead of Campbell and the Lions — one that could result in them losing both their offensive and defensive coordinator — this felt like a pivotal season for Detroit. And although their playoff journey ended earlier than they would’ve liked, there’s no doubt that Campbell and the Lions will enter the 2025 season even hungrier than they were entering this season.

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