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Dan Campbell: Playoff win over the Rams in the past, more work to be done
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- Dan Campbell: Playoff win over the Rams in the past, more work to be done
Dan Campbell didn't sleep much after the Detroit Lions ' first playoff victory in 32 years.
He spent the wee hours of Monday morning sidled up by a fire, reliving every step of his teams' 24-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams — not to bask in the glow of his accomplishment so much as to get ready for what comes next.
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"Believe me, it feels good to win," Campbell said Monday. "It feels good to do that, but I'm so much into right now the next one. The next thing here, it's right in front of us and it's all about the next one. And how do we stay right where we're at, make some corrections and get ready for this next one, the next home game, cause I just know the opportunity we've got here."
The Lions will host the winner of Monday night's Philadelphia Eagles-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game at 3 p.m. Sunday in a divisional playoff game at Ford Field.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell watches from the sidelines during the first half against the L.A. Rams at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
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They stand one win from reaching the NFC championship game for the second time in franchise history and two wins from playing in their first Super Bowl.
While metro Detroit still was riding an emotional high Monday from the Lions' rare postseason success — before Sunday, their last playoff victory was Jan. 5, 1992, when only one player on their current 53-man roster (long snapper Jake McQuaid) was born — Campbell said he "can't quite go there, if that make sense."
"Believe me, I'm excited," he said. "Don't think for a minute I'm not, but I just know we've got an opportunity here and I'm going to make sure that I'm on it."
The Lions started game-planning for their next opponent Monday before they knew who they would face.
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) celebrates a play against the L.A. Rams during the second half of the NFL wild-card playoff game at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan, 14, 2024.
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They started first with the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles , Campbell said, because they had a previous game plan to draw from if they wound up facing the Bucs . The Lions beat the Buccaneers, 20-6, in a Week 6 game at Tampa . They last played the Eagles in Week 1 of 2022.
"We have things that we know about them and so just take a peek at Philly, so that at least we somewhat have a head start," Campbell said. "But we're not all in and it's really going to be more on we've got to see what happens tonight."
Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone , a Philadelphia native who lives in Tampa, said Sunday he did not have a rooting interest in the game.
"I live in Tampa so it'd be nice to play the Bucs and also I grew up in Philly so I know a lot of my friends I grew up with are die-hard season-ticket Eagles fans," he said. "Either way you put it, I think I'm excited."
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That's the best way to describe Campbell, too, not about last week's result but rather what comes next for his team.
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Though he was a bit subdued Monday, Campbell opened his weekly news conference by praising a handful of players on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game for their contributions against the Rams, he thanked fans for creating an "awesome" environment he said no one will soon forget, and he said it's imperative they have something else to cheer for this week.
"Really happy for everybody here," he said. "I know that's been a long time coming, and man it felt good to deliver that, but we're not done. That's the beginning, so we got one, we've got another one coming up, got work to do."
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Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Dan Campbell: 'We're not done' after one playoff win
