The Detroit Lions find themselves in an unfamiliar place this week — no game, and no opponent to study.
The Lions took down the rival Minnesota Vikings in the league’s final game on Sunday night, earning their second straight NFC North title as well as the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. The Lions get a bye week as the playoffs begin, and head coach Dan Campbell explained that the team is going to forgo an important part of their normal weekly preparations.
Dan Campbell Finding a Balance
The Lions have not had a chance to rest since their bye in Week 5 — the earliest bye week this season — and could not take their foot off the gas despite racking up a league-best 15-2 record. The Lions did not clinch the division until their season finale win over the Vikings, so could not follow the lead of the AFC-leading Kansas City Chiefs and rest starters ahead of the playoffs.
Campbell told reporters this week that the team is taking the opportunity to rest but added that they don’t want to grow complacent. The players were in the building on Tuesday but had off on Wednesday and planned for just one hour of practice on Thursday, The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy reported.
“You don’t want to turn it off, but let’s just leave it in idle,” Campbell said of the team’s approach this week.
Though the Lions normally spend a significant part of the week planning for their next opponent, Campbell said the team doesn’t want to guess who they might face in the divisional round.
“It’s really tough because here’s what I don’t want to do — and I’ve been a part of it as a player and a coach: you don’t know who you’re playing so then you do leg work on another opponent and then you find out it’s not that opponent. …I don’t want to do that to the coaches,” Campbell said, via The Athletic. “So, my plan is to give them off three days this weekend, refresh, get your sleep, get your rest. We’re going to know hopefully by Sunday night, and then we come in and we’ll know the opponent. Then we are full force on that, full game plan, we’ll know who we face, we’ve really faced all of these teams with the exception of, as far as this one coming up, Washington. …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.”
Lions Looking to Get Healthier
The bye week could be a critical opportunity for the injury-struck Lions to get healthier. Campbell told reporters that running back David Montgomery is expected to return after missing the final three games of the season with a knee injury.
Cornerback Terrion Arnold and guard Kevin Zeitler, who both went down in the season finale, are also moving in the right direction.
“We got better news on Zeitler and Arnold,” Campbell said, via USA Today’s Lions Wire. “I can’t guarantee that they’re playing (in the division round) but it’s much better than it appeared to be when the injuries happened.
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