Dan Campbell's Detroit Lions went 15-2 in the regular season to earn the NFC's No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history. During Campbell's four years in Detroit he's led them to a lot of uncharted territory and entering the playoffs as the perceived favorite to represent the conference in the Super Bowl is just the latest.
Considering the gritty, underdog culture he's established it may feel a bit different to have the football world patting the Lions on the back. Or on the other side of the coin, have some waiting for a tremendous season to fall short of expectations.
During his media availability on Monday Campbell was asked if he feels a difference in what is expected from his team and the No. 1 seed it carries into the postseason.
"No, I don't," Campbell said. "I don't think about, man, we're the No. 1 seed and so if you guys don't succeed then ... I never think like that."
"I know who we are," Campbell continued. "I know what we're about. I know how we have to prepare. I respect the opponent. And now it's time to go to work. That's how I look at it. I don't look at anything else. I don't, I don't think of, what if it doesn't, what if the, what if the, the what ifs. Like, f--- man, I couldn't sleep at night if I lived that way. There's no freaking way. So, no, I don't think of that. We're the one seed, we earned the one seed, we got a good opponent coming in. And we're going to be ready to play. That's how I look at it."
The Lions host the red-hot Washington Commanders on Saturday night with a berth in the NFC Championship on the line. Considering what expectations were coming into the year, and almost more importantly how the Lions have been able to navigate an incredible amount of injuries on the defensive side of the ball, it would be a major disappointment if they could not take care of business.
There'd be a tremendous amount of pressure on Campbell on the Lions regardless of their seeding because they have a team that's capable of winning the Super Bowl. And once the ball is kicked off, the numbers next to the team's names don't mean anything. It sounds like Campbell is doing his best to not allow the Lions to think that they carry any extra pressure leading up to the first playoff test.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dan Campbell Explicitly Refuses to Give Into Extra Pressure From Being No. 1 Seed.
