Story by
How Detroit Lions plan to spend playoff bye week: 'Keep the engine idling'
- Story by
- How Detroit Lions plan to spend playoff bye week: 'Keep the engine idling'
Finally, some rest.
The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and Lions coach Dan Campbell gave his players one directive when they gathered Tuesday to put the regular season to bed.
Advertisement
"Enjoy it," Campbell said. "Just sit back for a minute and it's really one of those things where for the players, you just want to keep the engine idling, that's probably the best way to say it. So, you don't want to turn it off, but let's just leave it in idle."
The Lions lifted weights and held team and position meetings Tuesday and will take Wednesday off before returning Thursday for their only practice of the bye week.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell watches a play against Minnesota Vikings during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.
Campbell said Thursday's practice won't be in pads and will focus on end-of-game situations.
More: Aidan Hutchinson injury update: Dan Campbell shares latest news on Detroit Lions star
Advertisement
"Probably an hour just to stay in flow and little things that we need, little detail work that we can get, and that's for the guys that we know can go out there and move and work," he said. "And then after that, giving them three days off and then they'll be back in Monday and by then, hopefully we know the opponent and we'll be ready to go."
The Lions will open the playoffs next weekend against the lowest-seeded team remaining after this week's wild-card games.
They will play one of four teams: The seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers , if they upset the Philadelphia Eagles ; the sixth-seeded Washington Commanders , if they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Eagles win; or the winner of the No. 4-5 game between the Los Angeles Rams and Vikings.
If both the Eagles and Bucs win Sunday, the Lions won't know who they play until Monday night.
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) breaks a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Trey Palmer (10) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The play was called pass interference on Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold.
Lions cornerback Amik Robertson said after the Vikings game getting this week off was "very important" for a team that had its regular-season bye in early October.
Advertisement
"That's what we needed," he said. "We needed this bye cause we've been playing some football for a long time and I'm glad we was able to get the win, but we definitely will take advantage of this bye."
What's it like being a Lions fan? We want to hear your story.
Campbell has experienced a playoff bye twice before, once as a player with the New York Giants in the 2000 playoffs and again as an assistant with the New Orleans Saints in 2018.
The Giants reached the Super Bowl and lost to the Baltimore Ravens , 34-7, while the Saints lost in disputed fashion to the Los Angeles Rams after a missed pass interference penalty the NFC championship game. Both the Giants and Saints were No. 1 seeds, though under the old 12-team playoff structure the top two seeds in each conference received byes.
Advertisement
Campbell said he and his coaches won't spend the next few days preparing for specific opponents to avoid doing legwork that will go to waste, though the Lions are in a unique spot having already played three of the four teams they could face in the divisional round.
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46), left, and cornerback Amik Robertson (21) tackle Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.
The Lions swept the season series with both the Vikings and Packers in the NFC North and beat the Rams in the season opener. They have not played Commanders this season, and have only seen them on limited crossover tape before games against the Bucs in Week 2 and Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving.
"My plan is to give (coaches) off three days this weekend, refresh, get your sleep, get your rest, we're going to know hopefully by Sunday night (who we play)," he said. "Then we are full force on that, full gameplan, we'll know who we face. We've really faced all of these teams with the exception of (Washington). And we'll work on breakdowns, we'll have those, and then we'll go from there. I hate the thought of doing work on somebody you might not even play."
Advertisement
How to get Kings of the North poster
As for his plans, as someone who eats, sleeps and breathes football, Campbell joked he'll "drink the game" this week when he's spending time with his family.
"I'm going to get a little bit of work over the next two days," he said. "We'll practice and then I plan on getting out of here a little bit. I'll have stuff with me and there will be some little things that I'm working on, things I know that I can do better, get better at, things that I want to look at, do my own checklist as it pertains to us like over the last five weeks, six weeks. But other than that, I want to spend time with my family and just sit back for a minute and just charge back up and be ready to go."
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Lions plan to spend playoff bye week: 'Keep the engine idling'
