Dan Campbell Says Playing Lions' Starters vs. 49ers Was 'Right Thing to Do'

Following a 40-34 road win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell defended his decision to play all of his starters despite the game being essentially meaningless in terms of the standings.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Campbell expressed his belief that taking the same approach as usual was the right thing for his team, saying:

"Yeah, it was on my mind, and I thought a lot about it. I thought about it leading up to the game, I thought about it last night. I told the staff, but I ended up settling on the right thing to do was to play these guys because we owed it to the team.

"It was just one of those positions we were in. It's hard to say who you're going to sit and it's not fair to ask guys to play that hadn't been prepared to play. So, yeah, that was tough, and I think the biggest thing is there were things we wanted to do better than we did last week and we did. We cleaned a lot of things up offensively."

Detroit improved to 14-2 on the season with the win, but it has yet to secure the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC due to the Minnesota Vikings being 14-2 as well.

In the final game of the 2024 regular season, the Lions will host the Vikings next Sunday night with the NFC North and the top playoff seed hanging in the balance.

By playing his starters, Campbell ensured that his team will enter Week 18 with plenty of momentum, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Quarterback Jared Goff was excellent in going 26-of-34 for 303 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown, and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, wideout Jameson Williams and tight end Sam LaPorta caught one touchdown each.

The defense remains a work in progress after surrendering 30 or more points for the third time in the past four weeks, but it doesn't appear as though the banged-up unit suffered any additional injuries.

In fact, Campbell indicated that no player on the team suffered an injury of note, meaning the Lions avoided the main pitfall associated with playing their starters in Monday's game.

On top of that, the Lions conquered some demons with a road win over the 49ers, as their 2023 season ended in San Francisco with an NFC Championship Game loss to the Niners.

Lions safety Kerby Joseph was among the players who suggested that Detroit desired some measure of revenge, saying they "wanted that get-back."

Although it would have been unlikely to happen, it should be noted that the Lions took one potential scenario out of the equation by beating the 49ers.

Had Detroit lost and entered Week 18 with a 13-3 record, the Lions could have missed out on the NFC North title and a first-round playoff bye had they tied Minnesota next week.

Now, a tie would work in the Lions' favor since they hold the tiebreaker over the Vikings after beating them 31-29 earlier this season.

Since no tie has occurred in the NFL this season, there will very likely be a winner next week, and that team will have home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

A bye would be especially huge for a Lions team that has dealt with numerous injuries on defense this season, as it would get them another week closer to linebacker Alex Anzalone and possibly even superstar pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson returning.

Also, while the team that loses next week's game will still have a chance to go on a deep playoff run, they will likely have to spend the entire postseason on the road.

The losing team will also enter the playoffs coming off a massive disappointment, which is something that could conceivably impact their psyche during the most important time of the season.