After a massive win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dan Campbell gave praise to the veterans in the Lions locker room. The Lions brought home their sixth win of the season, winning five of their last six games after a 1-6 start.

In his opening statement at a press conference on Monday, the coach says the veteran leaders on this team are a big factor in why the team is playing so well.

“We’re playing better for a number of reasons, and certainly, the growth has a lot to do with that, but I certainly don’t ever want anyone to understand or not to understand that part of all of that, probably the biggest part of that are guys like Decker and Ragnow, JD being back, Cabinda, some of these guys that have been here, C.J. Moore, Romeo. They’ve kind of been through a number of things, but man, they’ve been steady rocks. I mean, Frank plays with stuff every week, man, and guts it out. And sometimes you lose sight of them because you don’t want to ever take them for granted, but they play at such a high-level week in and week out, but they’re a huge part of our success.”

The hype of this Detroit Lions team was real early on. Fans everywhere we’re drinking the kool-aid while watching HBO’s Hard Knocks thinking, “this year is going to be different.” Once the season started, the faith from fans began to slip and “Same old Lions” was on many peoples’ minds. Some questioned Dan Campbell as the head coach while others blamed Jared Goff for being a lackluster quarterback. Through it all, one thing remained: the confidence in the locker room. A quality Coach Campbell credits to the vets.

“Those guys are damn good players for us, but they’ve been outstanding in the locker room. They’re great leaders, and they’re workers, and they set the tone for everybody.”

While his on-field presence has yet to perspire, Campbell even highlighted defensive tackle Michael Brockers.

“Even though he hasn’t been activated, he’s a huge part. He’s helped develop those young guys in that D-line room, so I just don’t ever want that to be lost.”

Dan Campbell Wants to Win for Taylor Decker

Throughout his press conference on Monday, Campbell gave praise to several players, but there was one that was different: Taylor Decker.

“Decker’s one of the guys I think about because he really is. He’s the – He’s the player who’s been around the longest and he saw some earlier success and then it – there was some rough times and now to be able to just kind of have some hope back. That’s probably the best way to say it. I know he’s having fun, but he’s very much invested in this team, man. He’s all in. But that’s one of the guys you want to win for. I mean, you want to help him get there. Well, we appreciate it, man. He’s putting in the work, he’s all in and he’s a true pro.”

In every interview with Decker, you can see and feel the passion he has for this team. He plays the same way out on the field.

The confidence is going nowhere after Sunday’s huge win over the Vikings. This team has found something special and they will be a force to be reckoned with through the last game of the season.

The Lions now gear up to hit the road to face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. A stadium they’ve already played in once this year.

“You’re crazy if you don’t think they want it, they’ll be coming with everything they got against us.”

– Dan Campbell on their upcoming game against the New York Jets. #OnePride

— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) December 12, 2022