Detroit Lions Release Safety, Elevate OL, Activate Thomas

Even though the team sits with a 5-3 record, it appears the team is experiencing a lull in execution. The game against the Minnesota Vikings was so out of the ordinary for Dan Campbell's squad, as the team did not execute all that well in all three phases of the game.

“Honestly, I don’t make too much of it. I try to stick with what we need to fix as to, ‘Man, what’s wrong with us, what’s going on?’ Let’s just focus on what we need to focus on, man, let’s work on our fundamentals," said Campbell. "Let’s work on the way that we set. Let’s work on our landmarks, let’s work on our get-off, let’s work on our progression, and just hone in on the little things.

"Because that’ll clean so much of this up. And if you get better at what you’re doing inside your job, it makes the guy next to you – it elevates his game," Campbell added. "And then all of a sudden, you start getting confidence. You get your confidence back. we’re starting to play good ball, ‘Oh I’m starting to – I really trust this guy again.’ And then the fire is lit. So, that’s really kind of what I think about."

Detroit's fifth-year head credited the team's defense this week, but feels the offense needs to do their part against a Washington team that features a defensive-minded head coach in Dan Quinn.

"Ultimately at the end of the day as the head coach, man, I just want to know we’ve got the best version of our team by the time we hit the year," said Campbell. "And I’m talking about team - offense, defense, special teams. Because that’s what wins in this league, man. It’s hard to win on one side of the ball totally. So, it takes all three phases. I like where our defense is at right now. Always things to improve, but (Kelvin Sheppard) Shepp’s doing a hell of a job. Those guys are, I think, playing at a high level right now."

Detroit's special teams unit had one of their worst performances of the season against Minnesota, regularly allowing the Vikings to start drives on the positive side of the field.

"Special teams, that was an outlier last week," Campbell commented. "We’ve got to come back, be ready to go. This unit, by the way, is really good. Washington, I think they’re probably the top unit in the League right now. I mean, these guys are humming. But it’s a great test for us that we’re ready for.

"Offensively, man, we’ve got to do our part. Offense has got to pick it up and get back to what we were and just get more efficient. Plain and simple. More efficient, first downs. First downs lead to explosives, explosives lead to touchdowns and so on and so forth.”