Dan Campbell makes admission about Lions' Week 9 loss

The Detroit Lions put together arguably their most disappointing performance of the season in Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and Dan Campbell is shouldering the blame.

Despite being favored by more than a touchdown, the Lions lost 27-24 to the Vikings in Detroit. The Lions found themselves playing catch-up the entire day and pulled to within three points when Jameson Williams caught a 37-yard touchdown from Jared Goff with just under two minutes remaining. J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings then picked up a crucial first down on their ensuing drive to seal the win.

The Lions struggled to run the ball, with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combining for just 65 yards on 20 carries. Montgomery also lost a crucial fumble when Detroit was trailing 17-14 in the third quarter.

Dan Campbell says he did not have his team ready

What made the Lions' loss even more surprising is that they had a bye in Week 8. That gave them extra time to prepare for their NFC North rival, but it did not seem to matter. Campbell told reporters it was his fault that the Lions were not ready to play.

"We did everything we needed to do to lose that game. We made every critical error to lose it," Campbell said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "When you did not play well in all phases that falls on the head coach. That’s me. I did not have them ready after the bye. We made too many critical errors.

"I thought we would play well, I really did. I thought we would play well. and ultimately it’s probably one of the worst games we’ve played in a long time, so it was just the opposite of that. We looked rusty, we looked out of sync. That’s evident, that I didn’t have them ready, and gotta do a better job. A much better job."

Campbell vowed to "clean some stuff up" heading into Detroit's Week 10 game against the Washington Commanders.

Sloppy play killed the Lions

The Lions had a season-high 10 accepted penalties for 76 yards against Minnesota. They repeatedly shot themselves in the foot and wrecked their own drives while allowing the Vikings to extend others.

Detroit is now 5-3 on the season, which matches its total number of losses from 2024. Campbell's team is still very much in both the NFC North race and the playoff hunt, but the Lions need to do a better job on both sides of the ball in Week 10 and beyond.