Detroit Lions Built to Handle Pressure, Execute in Fourth Quarter
The Detroit Lions have demonstrated they are built to succeed and execute at a high level, even in pressure-packed moments in the fourth quarter of close football NFL games.
Detroit's front office and coaching staff have targeted players that are resilient and have persevered through the difficult struggles.
Dan Campbell's regime started off on a losing note, losing close game after close game.
This week, Detroit's third-year head coach has been asked about the tough loss suffered in 2021 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Recall, Justin Tucker nailed a 66-yard game-winning field goal at Ford Field that stunned everyone.
Despite the turbulence, ownership, the front office, Campbell and his team continued to trust their process. Eventually, once the team learned how to win, confidence grew.
Detroit has won their last four games by a double-digit margin, a stretch of play that has impressed supporters and the NFL world.
"We’ve been talking about it for three years. The core group here is -- this is what they’ve been bathed in," Campbell told reporters. "So, we talk about it, we’ve preached it, we’ve lived it and we constantly try to put ourselves in those type of situations. We talk about it. That’s when your heart rate should start to level out when everybody -- the perceived pressure goes up and it’s high stress, your stress levels should go down and focus on the moment.
"And our guys have done a good job of that, man, they believe in that. And I think it’s one of the reasons we’re having success on the road and – but ultimately, this team is built to handle these things. I believe that. It’s built to handle adversity and anything that comes," Campbell continued. "And look, this season isn’t over. I mean we know that. We’re going to hit a tough patch at some point here. I don’t know when it’s going to be, but we’re going to hit one and we’re going to have to get back through and get back on our feet and that’s fine. We’ll be ready for that.”
Alim McNeill explained to All Lions this week how the team's preparations during the week has made executing on game day almost feel like second nature.
"Oh yeah, 100 percent because that’s what we’re built for. We’re trying to work on those situations. Obviously you can’t work on those exact situations with the pressure and everything, but we’ve worked on situations like that," McNeill said. "Yeah, that’s just us, that’s how we’re built. We’re built to last in the fire like that, so that’s just us. That pressure makes us play harder, play better honestly.”
Detroit's coaching staff has been empowered to instill.a mindset in the roster that has paid dividends.
“Absolutely, I would say it’s about second nature, that’s the way it feels. When we get in a situation like that, we realize it and we ID it, we know what type of situation we’re in and we’re like, 'This is go time, this is the moment.' This is what we’ve been working all week for."
During the offseason, one of the points of emphasis was finishing and developing a "finishing mentality" throughout the course of a game.
"We worked on this past offseason, working on our finishing," said safety Kerby Joseph. "Having a finishing mentality. And like I always say, 'Pressure makes diamonds.' So, it’s just more time for us to go out there on defense and make plays out there and hold our ground."
When asked if the week of work helps the roster execute, Joseph noted, “I’m not gonna say it’s necessarily easier to execute, but it helps with anticipation and knowing what the offense is finna do next.”
