‘It’s all my fault’ – Dan Campbell brought to tears after crushing playoff loss ends Lions’ Super Bowl dreams
Dan Campbell fought back tears after the Detroit Lions were stunned the Washington Commanders in the divisional round.
After a record-setting 15-2 regular season run, the NFC's top-seeded team are one-and-done in the NFL playoffs, suffering a 45-31 upset loss to Jayden Daniels and co at Ford Field.
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Detroit and Washington combined for a massive 52 points in the first two quarters, the highest scoring first half in any game since the 2019 divisional playoffs between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans.
And it was Dan Quinn's Commanders, led by their rookie quarterback Daniels, that went on to secure victory and reach their first NFC Championship Game since 1991.
The Lions, meanwhile, gave up five turnovers as they became the first team in league history to lose a postseason game when having 300-plus pass and 200-plus rushing yards.
Speaking after Detroit's magical season came to a crushing end, head coach Campbell's emotions got the better of him as he discussed what his players meant to him.
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"It's hard. You know. When you lose these games, man. It's like the players," he said, voice cracking, pausing to fight back tears.
"What they put into it. A lot of people don't know what they go through. You have to get up, bodies beat to s***.
"You know, mentally stay locked in and do those things. Long season."
Campbell, who has been the architect of Detroit’s recent success, then shouldered the blame for the shock playoff defeat.
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"It’s my fault. It’s my fault," he concluded.
The Lions entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time in team history after recording a franchise-record 15 wins.
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With the first-round bye and home-field advantage, they went into Saturday night's game as the heavy favorite against the Commanders.
While they were firing on offense, Detroit were banged up on defense having lost a number of starters, and gave up 481 total yards to Washington.
Four of their five turnovers came from quarterback Jared Goff, who threw three interceptions and one lost fumble.
Speaking postgame, he admitted that losing in the playoffs is the 'worst part of the job'.
“Unfortunate, obviously. It sucks,” Goff said.
“Worst part of this job. You hate it when you feel like you let guys down. You want to win these types of games at home.”
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Watch as Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is almost unrecognisable in his playing days
While the Lions will be left to pick up the pieces of another shattered playoff dream in the coming days, the Commanders move on to the NFC title game, and will play either the Philadelphia Eagles or Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
And their quarterback, Daniels, will be looking to do something no one has ever done - reach the Super Bowl in his rookie season.
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