Lions Players Absolutely Loved Dan Campbell Giving Out Unexpected Game Ball

Unheralded special teams hero helped Detroit win field-position battle.

Lions wide receiver Tom Kennedy was an unlikely hero in Thursday night's win. / Detroit Lions on X

The usual suspects showed up for the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football with their season on the line. Jared Goff threw for 309 yards without a turnover while posting a 111.0 quarterback rating. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for three touchdowns on just 12 carries as he continued to set a Barry Sanders pace. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson WIlliams reeled in several clutch catches as the offense hummed to the tune of 44 points.

So when it came time for Dan Campbell to deliver his traditional, raspy-voiced locker room victory speech, one could expect to hear some familiar names. After bringing the energy and urgency up to an 11, Campbell sold the quality of his win to his team and shouted that "nobody f---ing tells us who we are."

Detroit, now 8-5 and realistically back in the playoff chase, is being encouraged by their head coach to write their own story. Thursday night's effort wasn't perfect but it'll do as the Lions try to claw their way back into the postseason picture.

It was fairly traditional fare from Campbell, who likes to try to convince his guys to run through a brick wall after they've run through brick walls for a few hours. The only intrigue was who would be getting the four game balls being handed out. Four! In this economy!

Campbell hit Goff and Gibbs first, then shouted out defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad who harassed Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott all night to the tune of three sacks and three tackles. Then, the kneecap enthusiast took the room to another level by uttering a somewhat surprising name in reserve wide receiver/occasional kick returner Tom Kennedy.

And the rest of the Lions absolutely loved it.

We write our own story pic.twitter.com/J9DwriGSq8

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 5, 2025

So much so that you, me and the person responsible for the closed captioning of Campbell's speech could not tell you everything he said about Kennedy.

Kennedy had three kickoff returns for a total of 120 yards, including his last one that set the Lions up on a short field as they drove for the game-clinching touchdown. An unheralded prospect, the Bryant product signed with the Lions after going undrafted in the 2019 NFL draft. He's caught 26 total passes in his 18 games with the franchise and had returned three kickoffs for 51 yards before his breakout performance on Thursday night.

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