DETROIT — Lions coach Dan Campbell told his team the most important thing heading into Monday night’s game was getting their identity back.
The team that laid an egg in last week’s 38-6 loss at Baltimore? “That was not us,” Campbell said after beating the Raiders 26-14 to move to 6-2 heading into the bye week.
“And that was what all the work that we put in this week was about; the whole focus was about getting back to what we do and that was the most important thing and that really showed through today,” he said.
Indeed it did. The Lions put together quite the performance on both sides of the ball, led by 152 rushing yards from Jahmyr Gibbs, and six sacks from a defense that held Las Vegas to just 157 yards of total offense, their lowest output of the season by a wide margin.
“I thought our defense played outstanding, outstanding. When you play defense like that you can beat anybody,” Campbell said.
If that’s the case with the defense as it stands now, the Lions have an opportunity to make it even more formidable ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline.
Rumors have been swirling regarding whether GM Brad Holmes will make a move ahead of that deadline, given the Lions are now in position to not just win the NFC North, but start thinking about making a run at the top seed in the NFC.
While Campbell said with a chuckle in Monday’s postgame press conference, “I just finished this game, just give me a minute, would you… just let me wake up a little bit and go in and check it out,” he said the Lions’ brass won’t necessarily be taking into account what other top NFC teams have been doing as the deadline approaches.
The Seahawks on Monday acquired Leonard Williams from the Giants, while other teams are reportedly looking to bolster their rosters.
Campbell said he and Holmes have “kind of gone back and forth” on what the team’s approach will be, but he said other teams can “do and have whatever they want — we’ll figure our stuff out here.”
“Here’s what I know 100 percent — whether we do something or don’t do something, I trust Brad 100 percent that it’s for the betterment of this team, it’s the right thing to do,” Campbell said. “So we’ll see where that goes.”
Some have suggested in the days leading up to Monday’s win over the Raiders that the Lions could use another piece or two on the defensive line, particularly in terms of pass rush, as the front had been getting plenty of pressure, but only posted 15 sacks through seven games — ranking near the bottom of the league.
But perhaps some of those concerns were quelled Monday as Alim McNeill and Alex Anzalone each sacked Jimmy Garoppolo twice, while Julian Okwara and even Tracy Walker posted one each.
“Outstanding, top to bottom, those guys really came through,” Campbell said of the pass rush.
The countdown is on as we wait to find out whether the Lions will be adding another piece to the puzzle as they continue to push for a top spot in the NFC.