Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell was left on the verge of tears in his postgame press conference after their shock playoff exit on Saturday night.
Despite heading into the postseason as Super Bowl favorites, Campbell could only watch on as his Lions fell at the very first hurdle in the Divisional round against the Washington Commanders.
The hosts turned the ball over five times in a 45-31 loss at Ford Field, which means their wait for a first ever Super Bowl appearance goes on.
It comes as a major blow for the city of Detroit after a sensational regular season in which they claimed the NFC’s top seed for the first time ever with a 15-2 record.
And during his postgame presser, a devastated Campbell fought back the tears while discussing their elimination.
‘It just hurts to lose, man,’ he said. ‘I don’t care if you’re the seven seed, six seed, five seed, one seed… cause I’ve lost all of them, damn near.’
Lions head coach Dan Campbell was left on the verge of tears after their shock playoff exit
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‘It hurts,’ he continued. ‘At the end of the day, I didn’t have them ready.’
As he became more and more emotional, Campbell later added: ‘What [the players] put into it, a lot of people don’t know what they go through. You have to get up, your body’s beat to s***, mentally stay locked in and do those things. Long season.
‘It’s my fault. It’s my fault.’
The Lions went in at the halftime break trailing 31-21 after an ill-fated first half which saw quarterback Jared Goff throw three picks and lose a fumble.
Overall, the NFC’s top seemed doomed its chances by turning the ball over five times at Ford Field.
Rookie Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, meanwhile, didn’t turn it over once while completing 22 of his 31 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns in another masterful display.
As Daniels was celebrating at Ford Field, an awkward clip of Lions head coach Campbell resurfaced on social media.
Two weeks ago, as the Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings in the final week of the regular season to clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed, Campbell was caught on camera saying to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell: ‘I’ll see you in two weeks.’
Jayden Daniels inspired the Commanders to a shock playoff win over the Lions on Saturday
Jared Goff had a night to forget after throwing three picks and losing a fumble in the game
The defeat means Detroit’s wait for its first ever appearance in the Super Bowl goes on
Campbell was likely just trying to be respectful to his beaten opponents rather than dismissing the rest of the teams in the NFC – but fans immediately pounced on the remarks.
And now, it shows what a difference a fortnight can make.
The following week, the Vikings were blown away 27-9 by the Los Angeles Rams in a game that was moved to Arizona as a result of the LA wildfires.
It was even claimed that Campbell’s comments were pinned up in the Rams locker room as added motivation for Matthew Stafford and his team.
And with the Commanders now ending Campbell and the Lions’ season, those words have truly come back to bite him.
‘Turns out Dan Campbell was talking about seeing Kevin O’Connell in Cancun,’ the NFL Memes X.