Expert weigh in: The Dream Was Considered Over
Here is a collection of quotes from Detroit Lions players, via the team’s social media channel, following their 31-29 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7.
On the importance of composure in the hostile enviroment Minnesota presents.
“We think we know who they are from what they’ve shown on film, and they’re a hectic defense. They’re a hectic operation. I say composure. Mostly toward the offense. There’s a lot of stuff going on. They do a lot of things. They blitz. They want to pressure. They want to apply the pressure. For us, it was go down 10-0 and we’re kind of getting kicked in the mouth a bit. Stay calm, stay relaxed. We have the fumble they score on. Stay calm, stay relaxed. It really came in handy for us.”
On the team’s mindset entering Sunday’s game.
“We knew coming into this game nobody had really challenged Minnesota. And that speaks a lot, a team doesn’t get challenged throughout the season, when they’re back’s against the wall, they don’t how to come back from that. I feel like that’s what separated us.”
What allowed the offense to settle in after a rough start to Sunday’s game.
“I think it was kind of settling in and trusting our eyes. We knew coming in that this was a complicated defense to play against. We do our best with our scout team to get those looks, but of course they’re gonna be better at running it than what we’re gonna see in practice. So just kind of settling down, trusting your eyes, trusting your rules out there on the field. Really our goal was to just get the first first down, and then we could start rolling.
On the offense’s mindset on the game-winning drive.
“I think mindset for us is trying to leave no time on the clock when we score. Whether it’s a touchdown or a field goal, we want to leave as little of time left for the Vikings to try to go down and score. We knew they had no timeouts. Had a few explosive plays, got down to like the 40-yard line. I had that catch, once I made that catch and we were in good field goal range for our kicker who has a big leg, we know he can hit it from far. But once we got in that range, we kind of just said, ‘Let’s take a knee now. They have no timeouts, try to run the clock down as much as we can and give our kicker a chance to make it,’ which he did. I think they had like 15 seconds or so to try to win it with no timeouts, that’s pretty tough to do in this league.”
How the defense adjusted without Aidan Hutchinson.
“Just to go out there and play physical. There wasn’t gonna be any slack, we had to step up everybody individually. And I feel like we did that today. Of course there’s always things that we can do better, but I’m proud of everybody in that room.”
What he learned about the team after Sunday’s comeback win.
“Nothing that we didn’t already know. Great offense, great O.C. (offensive cordinator Ben Johnson), great offensive coaching staff around us. So we listen to them. If we’re all communicating on the same page, it’s gonna be hard for defenses to stop us.”
On how the game-winning kick allows him to reflect on his journey.
“Absolutely, man. Eighteen months ago, I thought I was done with football. I was working as a brick salesman in Houston. I thought the dream was dead. It also makes me look back and think of how good the Lord has been in my life. The doors he’s opened and closed for me to lead me here and to lead me in such a great situation with this coaching staff and this front office and these teammates. It’s definitely something that’s, I couldn’t have even dreamt of this. This moment is so cool and I’m taking it in stride and I’m having fun with it.”
