The Detroit Lions are fun, and that’s a direct reflection of their head coach

It’s often said that a team is a reflection of its leader. The Patriots’ workmanlike mentality and often robotic methods of destroying opponents are a direct reflection of the man in charge, Bill Belichick. Commander Erwin from Attack on Titan sacrificed everything for the completion of missions, and that was reflected in the Scout regiment (one of the greatest scenes in anime history btw). The ruthlessness of the Sith is reflected in Darth Sidious.

Through two weeks of the NFL season, we know one thing is true: the Detroit Lions are fun, and their style of play is a direct reflection of their head coach, Dan Campbell.

We all know the memes. Eating kneecaps is now a part of football lexicon as much as Cover 2 or Four Verticals. Campbell cried last year after a close loss to the Vikings. We all saw Hard Knocks, where Campbell blessed us with quotes like, “I don’t care if you have one ass cheek and three toes, I will beat your ass”, and “we’ll tread water as long as it takes to f***** bury you”.

Those quotes on the surface seem funny and meaningless, but they’re the mentality of this entire Lions team, from the first man to the 53rd. Their win against Washington on Sunday is the perfect example of this, on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, they were without starting guard Jonah Jackson and center Frank Ragnow. In their place stepped Evan Brown and Dan Skipper, Skipper being a career practice squad player. What did the Lions do? Oh they just ran for 191 yards at eight yards per carry, against a formidable Commanders front. The Lions invested heavily in their fronts on both sides of the ball, and it’s being reflected so far this season. Lions RB D’Andre Swift has been spectacular this season, and it’s largely due to being able to run through SUV-sized holes like this one:

Logna Stenberg is a 2nd year player from Kentucky, and while he’s struggled in the pass b locking department, he made Washington’s day a living hell with blocks like these:

Defensively, the Lions battle on every rep, and nothing is ever easy. They have multiple guys who simply want to hurt you on every play, and they are on full speed from snap to whistle:

More importantly than anything on the field, a culture is being built in Detroit. They play extremely hard and they play for each other. This postgame moment for Dan Skipper was awesome, and you can tell it meant so much for him to be recognized by the team like that after a win, and that sense of family is a direct reflection of what Dan Campbell wants to be.

There are going to be bumps in the road for Detroit—they’re still not a contender yet. However, this team is going places, and it’s because of the man they have at head coach.