Dan Campbell knows his players hear and see it. How couldn't they? The Lions are on the playoff prowl. After Detroit's fifth win in the past six games last Sunday against the first-place Vikings, defensive tackle Alim McNeill admitted "it's hard not to think about" the possibilities moving forward.
"You see all the things online. Trying to keep it one game at a time, but after this game, like, c'mon now, we’re thinking about that, 100 percent," McNeill said.
Campbell's challenge is keeping the team's focus on the present.
"You don’t hide the obvious," he said Tuesday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "You hit it head-on. You talk about what your concern is and you make sure that you get it out there that, 'Hey, look, this has bitten some teams before that were in the same position we’re in.' So we gotta guard against that and just stay the course of where we’re at."
The Lions, 6-7, have about a 20 percent chance of making the playoffs with four games to go. They can boost those odds significantly with a win Sunday against the 7-6 Jets, who are fighting for their lives themselves. From there, the Lions finish with the 5-8 Panthers, the 3-10 Bears and the 5-8 Packers. Hence the optimism in their chances.
But there are no gimmes in the NFL, which is part of why Campbell said he has not addressed Detroit's path to the playoffs with his team.
"Look, I know it’s out there," he said "I’m not naive to that. I know our guys feel that and see it and there will be a time to approach it and talk about it. But if you’re not careful and you start talking about all that stuff, suddenly your focus gets taken off the one right in front of you. You start seeing too much of the big picture instead of just the first step.
"Because here’s the reality and I’ve already heard it, I had somebody text me, 'Man, that’s such a winnable schedule.' I’m like, 'I don’t want to hear it.' Look what Jacksonville just did last week, you have to be locked and loaded every week. This Jets team is very much in the playoff race, this will be one of the best defenses we’ve played all year, so we gotta be ready to go."
Furthermore, the Panthers could very well be playing for first place in the NFC South in Week 16, the Bears will be seeking revenge against a divison rival in Week 17 and Aaron Rodgers and the Packers might be chasing the same wild card spot as the Lions in Week 18. The road looks smooth, but there are more potholes than meet the eye.
For Campbell and the Lions, now is not the time to start basking in praise.
"Just like when things weren’t good, you don’t listen to all that because then you will never get out of hole you’re in, and it’s the same now. Everybody’s taking a little bit of notice and we can’t listen to that because then all of the sudden, 'Well, we’re just gonna walk into the stadium and win,' and that’s ridiculous," said Campbell. "It’s not reality."
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