Dan Campbell 'Expects More' from Lions' Reliable Players
The Detroit Lions' defense struggled to make key plays against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday.
The defensive line was held without a sack, and the secondary, which was expected to execute at a much higher level, was gashed repeatedly by Seahawks' receivers.
As a result, the Lions were unable to secure a win, and eventually lost in overtime in front of a raucous Ford Field crowd.
In close games, stars shine the brightest. In the home opener, Detroit didn't have a player step up to push the team to victory. Moving forward, Dan Campbell wants more from the players he feels are the most reliable on his roster.
"We've gotta get back to the discipline and just doing your job," Campbell said during his Monday media session. "Transition off a rush and the other thing is, and there's a number of these that came up, a guy's got a one-on-one, he's got to win. We're getting chipped on this side, you may be getting chipped, getting doubled, this guy's gotta win and we're not winning our one-on-one's. You could really say some of that on the back-end, too. Our guys that have their one-on-one's, we've got to win those.
"The other thing I think, just defensively, we need our most reliable players to be reliable. That was a big thing that came out of that game. But, look, it certainly looks and tastes a lot worse when you lose that game. But, ultimately you could argue we spotted them 14 points on offense, and that's hard on your defense."
More: Lions Defensive Linemen Grade Extremely Poorly Against Seahawks
The Lions struggled to execute at times defensively, failing to limit the effectiveness of a growing rival that has been able to win its last three matchups with Detroit.
Moving forward, the staff knows that can't be the case if the team is to reach its lofty goals.
"I just expect more," Campbell later clarified. "I expect more reliability out of those guys. They know who they are, and we hold them to high standards."
Injury updates
James Houston will miss significant time for the Lions with an injury to his fibula, Campbell announced Monday.
The injury was one of several sustained by Lions players in Sunday's loss. Running back David Montgomery was characterized as day-to-day with a thigh bruise, while offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai will miss time, as well.
Campbell currently doesn't believe Vaitai will be headed for a stint on injured reserve, but could miss time with a knee injury. However, the lineman will continue to be evaluated in the coming days. He missed all of 2022 with a back injury.
"Yeah, it was physical, and we knew that. That's a physical team, and we knew that," Campbell explained. "They came out, and they played hard. They played physical. They had a good gameplan. We got some injuries out of it."
Offensive tackle Taylor Decker, who missed the matchup with the Seahawks dealing with an ankle injury, is continuing to progress.
Sunday's game was the first for the Lions on their new turf at Ford Field. The coach believes that the injuries are purely coincidental and not a byproduct of the new playing surface.
"I don't believe that," Campbell said. "Injuries, I mean, you can go and everything's good and you get out pretty healthy. And then, all of a sudden, it just, they come on and you get the bug. We got a rash of them yesterday. That's just kind of the ebbs and flows of the season."
