When Dan Campbell gave that speech, this is what he was talking about. He became a punchline, but his point was that the Lions will keep punching. It was easy to mock the meathead with a taste for kneecaps, while missing the most meaningful line of Campbell's fiery first message to Detroit: "When you knock us down, we're going to get up." On Sunday, in the biggest game of his life, Frank Ragnow was knocked down again.
The Lions' star center has played through a crippling toe injury for the past two seasons. He's also battled back and knee issues this season. He once played through a fractured throat. Ragnow says his toughness comes from his parents; the pain of losing his father is still raw. Ahead of Sunday's game against the Bucs, Ragnow said his body was finally feeling good, the best it's felt since the start of the season. Late in the second quarter, he was rolled up on at the end of a play and fell to the turf with a twisted knee.
"To me, the pain, I’m not trying to sound like some brute tough guy here, but I was just more frustrated than anything with the fact that it’s just, again," said Ragnow.
He wouldn't be down for long. He couldn't be. The Lions needed him against one of the most aggressive defensive fronts in the NFL, starting with 350-pound nose tackle Vita Vea. And Ragnow had taken too many blows in Detroit to not rise to his feet now. His longtime teammate Taylor Decker said Ragnow is compelled by his "paranoia to not be out there with us, because we’ve been through so much together."
"He’ll aways be out there if we’re out there," said Penei Sewell, "and that’s something I'll never forget and will always cherish."
"We got dawgs on this team, man," said receiver Josh Reynolds. "He knows this moment is big and he not finna miss out on it."
Ragnow got a wrap and a tape job at halftime, whatever it took to hold him together. He never missed a snap. Midway through the third quarter of a 10-10 game, the Lions were staring at 4th and goal from the 1-yard line and Ragnow was staring at Vea. With Craig Reynolds (!!) in the backfield, the call was a "double team on each side" of the line, said Ragnow, and "then it was just me and Vita Vea, mono e mono." Ben Johnson and the Lions trusted Ragnow to win, and Reynolds ran right behind him into the end zone.
Decker blinked tears from his eyes when asked about Ragnow after the Lions' 31-23 victory that sent them to the NFC title game. With a quivering voice, he said, "The dude's just a warrior, man."
"He’s been through it. He’s been through it personally, he’s been through it with us as a team, and there was never a doubt when he got banged up today that he was just going to keep playing and keep fighting. Because it seems like he’s always just fighting through pain, all the time. If he can be out there, we know he’s going to be out there. And not only that, he’s the best center in football," said Decker.
Naturally, one of Brad Holmes' first major moves as Lions GM was to make Ragnow the highest-paid center in football. On the day that he signed his four-year, $54 million extension before he'd played a snap under Holmes and Dan Campbell, Ragnow, wearing a Carhartt sweatshirt and a trucker hat, fought back tears talking about his dad, who died of a heart attack when Ragnow was a junior at Arkansas. Then he laughed and said, "He'd probably call me a schmo for crying on national media or whatever."
"My dad was one of the toughest people I’ve ever met, my mom is one of the toughest people I’ve ever met," Ragnow said Sunday. "And I just take a lot of pride in being out there with the guys and being out there for the city. They signed me to this extension a few years ago and I want to be fulfilling that. I don’t want to be that guy who gets paid and isn't doing that stuff. I want to be out there finding a way to win."
The Lions' offense was stuck in the mud for most of the day against the Bucs, especially on the ground. They still put up 31 points and 4.4 yards per carry. They found a way, with Ragnow paving the way. In the locker room after the game, Ragnow turned to Decker, the two of them having combined to play 14 years for the Lions, and said, "Dude, we’re playing in the NFC Championship."
"He never makes it about himself," said Sewell.
Jared Goff knows he's fortunate to play behind Ragnow and one of the best offensive lines in football. He said he's "telling myself how lucky I am every week." On Sunday, after they allowed Goff to complete 30 of 43 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns against a barrage of blitzes, Campbell said of Detroit's three-time Pro Bowl center with as many ailments as accolades, "Frank's a stud."
"He’s willing to lay it on the line and he’s not going to miss it. You may not be 100 percent, but if you feel like you can produce and you can win at 80 percent of yourself, that’s what Frank does. He believes he can and he trusts himself and those guys next to him. There’s nothing easy about that. Not everybody can do it, and that’s OK, but he can," said Campbell.
As the clock ticked down Sunday and the Lions kneeled out another playoff win at Ford Field, Ragnow took a look around. The stands were shaking. The only thing louder than the fans were the fireworks exploding in the rafters. In this moment of rapture, Ragnow couldn't help but "reflect on all the tough days and the frustrating seasons where I’m already home by now for two weeks."
"To be here today when were in a victory formation and looking at the crowd, it’s hard to describe," he said.
Sunday marked three years to the day that Campbell spoke up for Detroit. On behalf of a team and a city that had been kicked while it was down, he said, "We're going to kick you in the teeth. And when you punch us back, we’re going to smile at you." The tone was defiance. The last line was this: "Before long, we're going to be the last one standing." On two feet and one knee, Frank Ragnow stood tall again for the Lions.