Jack Campbell's heart was pounding. The Lions were facing fourth and 2 from their own 17-yard line in the season-opener against the defending Super Bowl champs, and Campbell's first ever NFL snap "was on special teams and we ran a fake punt," he recalled.
"It ran right behind me, so I was like, 'I can’t mess this up,'" Campbell said.
The first-round pick helped push the Chiefs off the ball to pave the way for Jalen Reeves-Maybin's three-yard gain, and the Lions were off and running. It led to their first touchdown of the season, which led to their biggest win to that point under Dan Campbell, which led to their most successful season in ages.
As the Lions prepare to return to Arrowhead Stadium two years later, Jack Campbell laughed when asked if the fake punt caught him by surprise and said, "I mean, yeah. When I came from Iowa, we don’t do nothin like that. I was like, 'Ahh, sh*t.' But it worked out."
Jack Campbell was the first linebacker off the board in 2023. Drafted 18th overall by Detroit, he played 25 defensive snaps in his NFL debut and had two tackles and a key pass breakup in the third quarter that set up a pick-six a couple plays later by another member of his draft class, Brian Branch.
On the other side of the ball, the Lions' other first-round pick that year turned nine touches into 50 yards. Jahmyr Gibbs was the second running back off the board, drafted 12th overall. Lions GM Brad Holmes was panned for both picks, which supposedly flew in the face of positional value. Two years later, both players are among the best in the NFL at their respective positions and Holmes has twice been named the league's Executive of the Year.
"They’re football players," Holmes said at the time. "If you believe that they can have an impact for you on the field, you just go ahead and take them."
Gibbs played in plenty of big games at Alabama, but he wasn't sure what to expect in his NFL debut. He remembers feeling like he was "walking into the fire" at Arrowhead. The energy in the stadium still stands out to him now. His first NFL run came directly after the fake punt, an inside zone play, he said, that Gibbs turned into a one-yard gain after spinning out of a tackle a few yards behind the line of scrimmage. His next went for 17 yards around the left edge and ended with Gibbs lowering his shoulder into a safety who adjusted his face mask as he got back to his feet.
Gibbs recalls having "a couple good runs in the first quarter and the fourth," and "a lot of broken tackles." Indeed, his five forced missed tackles were tied for the most in the NFL that week. He also remembers that "I could've had a touchdown and I slipped." His third carry of the night came from the Chiefs' nine-yard line; he tried bouncing it to the outside and would've scooted past a couple defensive backs into the end zone had he kept his feet.
Gibbs can laugh about it now, having scored more touchdowns (36) in the NFL than anyone else since he entered the league: "I was just trying to hurry up and get out because I just saw it right away and slipped and f**ked up." It didn't matter in the end. Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a touchdown on the next play.
Jack Campbell, similarly, would like a play back, even if it was a play few other linebackers could make. When he dropped into coverage, swung his hips and dove to break up a pass over the middle from Patrick Mahomes to Kadarius Toney, NBC's Cris Collinsworth raved on the broadcast: "How bout that play right there!"
"There’s your Butkus Award winner, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-American, diving to make this play," he said. "Sometimes it’s nice having that big 6’5 body out there."
Campbell punctuated the play the same way he does now, by punching the ground and flexing his arms. That's about as much as he'll ever celebrate; he reacted to his first NFL sack two games later by running straight up the tunnel into the locker room for halftime. He acknowledges now that the pass-breakup was decent, but still isn't satisfied.
"I really wish I would have picked it off," he said. "I feel like it was almost in slow motion, but that was a pretty good play. But hopefully I can get a pick this week."
It would be the first of his career if he does. And it would come at the perfect time for a defense that's banged-up in the secondary, missing both starting corners and potentially both starting safeties. Jack Campbell hasn't missed a game in three seasons. He's played every defensive snap this year excluding the end of the Lions' blowout of the Browns. He took a cleat to the mouth from Branch in Week 3 in Baltimore that tore open his lip, got stitched up on the sideline and kept calling the plays in the huddle, blood spewing through his face mask.
The advanced grades weren't all that kind to Campbell as a rookie. He ranked 75th out of 85 qualified linebackers, per PFF. He jumped to ninth out of 92 in year two. He's third out of 77 this year, behind only Devin Lloyd and four-time All-Pro Fred Warner. He's grown confidently into the defensive centerpiece the Lions told everyone they drafted in 2023, to the point that Dan Campbell told him this offseason, "This is your defense now."
Gibbs' talent speaks for itself. Turns out Holmes knew exactly what he was doing when he spent the 12th overall pick on "a multiphase, elite, explosive, position-less weapon," while also trading down and acquiring an extra-second round pick that he would use to select Sam LaPorta.
More than two years have passed since the upstart Lions crashed Arrowhead on banner night for the champs and walked away with a signature win. It set the stage for everything they've accomplished since, including back-to-back division titles, a run to the NFC title game, the first 15-win season in franchise history and a 12-2 record in primetime under Dan Campbell. They are back in the spotlight Sunday night. A victory would make it 40 for the Lions in their last 50 games. We are talking about dominance, in a league of parity.
For Jack Campbell and Gibbs, that first win meant a lot. As young players, "it built confidence in us that we could beat everybody," said Gibbs.
"Now, though," said Campbell, "every year (the league) changes and so much stuff happens. We’re really just focused and locked-in on this game and this moment."
The Lions are as hunted now as any team in the NFL. They represent a prove-it game for every opponent, much like the Chiefs. That can be draining, but the Lions haven't lost their edge. They have a roster full of players who relish the chance to prove themselves every week. The way they see it, there aren't enough opportunities in a given season to give one away. Jack Campbell was actually embarrassed by all the attention he received for playing with a little hole in his lip in Week 3.
"I'm telling you, bro. Anyone can do this," he said. "They act like it's crazy. You get in a game, Monday Night Football, your adrenaline’s going, you don’t feel anything."
Peppered with questions after the 2023 draft about spending first-round picks on an off-ball linebacker and a running back in a league built squarely around the pass, Holmes acknowledged that "if you put them in boxes on a sheet of paper and you run mock draft analytics," sure, you can dispute the logic. The value.
"But all the hours and research and time that we put into what we can get from these players, it becomes very visible what kind of impact they can bring," said Holmes.
The Lions have the best record (31-8) in the NFL since Gibbs and Campbell arrived along with LaPorta and Branch and joined a roster on the rise. They announced themselves to the league two years ago at Arrowhead. They'll get reacquainted with the Chiefs Sunday night, the roles somewhat reversed: the Chiefs trying to fight their way back up, the Lions trying to hold them down. A pick and a touchdown might make all the difference.