Dan Campbell opened his Tuesday press conference with a scouting report on the Green Bay Packers, and he started with the quarterback. “Offensively, Love, man, he makes it go,” the Detroit Lions head coach said of Jordan Love. “He is the secret sauce.”
The Lions are 3-2 and coming off their bye. On Sunday they play their first NFC North game of the season, at home against a Packers team that is 4-2 after three straight wins, the last a 23-13 victory over Dallas on Sunday night. Campbell said Green Bay is playing its best football right now.
“Two of their best games have been these back-to-back games,” he said. “Plus six on the turnover ratio the last two weeks, or seven takeaways on defense, man.” He credited head coach Matt LaFleur and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who joined Green Bay this year after three seasons as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach. “Gannon’s doing a hell of a job with that defense too,” Campbell said. “They’ve just steadily gotten better and better and they’re playing at a very high level right now.”
“You better pick your poison”
Campbell said receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are dangerous down the field, and that Love gives them a chance to make plays. “They got speed and they can track the ball, and the quarterback gives them a nice pretty ball, man, lays it out there,” he said. “Really about 50% of these are either DPI or catches, which is, talk about explosive.”
He said covering them deep leaves room for tight end Tucker Kraft, who he said has come back well from his injury, and for the running backs underneath. “Some of it is, you better pick your poison,” Campbell said. “You can’t defend all of it, so you better pick your poison and what you think means the most to you to stop.”
First on that list is the run game. “We can’t let this run game get going,” he said. “They’re going to try to establish the run. He’s done that every week, and nothing’s going to change. I would anticipate Jacobs is going to be back. He brings another element.” Josh Jacobs was taken off the commissioner’s exempt list for Week 7, and LaFleur said on Monday that the running back would practice on Wednesday but that his status for Detroit was to be determined.
Asked about Golden, who was the Packers’ first-round pick in 2025, Campbell said the Lions did a lot of homework on him before that draft. “We like Golden,” he said. “He was really good ball skills, man. Can track it, pluck it, and then the speed, explosiveness, really showed up. He’s taking that second-year jump.” He said there is “a lot of trust” between Love and both receivers.
“He’s more dangerous when he’s able to buy time”
Campbell said the pass rush has to reach Love, and that it is not easy. “He’s slippery,” he said. “He knows where the rush is at. He’s able to dip, dart, buy time. They’ve got some stuff where they’ll move the pocket for him and he can really get out of there.” He said Love can beat a defense with a quick release, “but he’s more dangerous when he’s able to buy time, and that’s where he’s most deadly.”
He said he likes his chances better with the front Detroit has now, but that the rush has to stay disciplined. “We’re going to have to play relentless, and we’re going to have to play very disciplined up front, because that’s the thing,” Campbell said. “Every one of these games, he’s gotten out at some point and it hurts you. And we have to limit those. Look, they’re going to make some plays, but it’s about us making more of them.”
Branch, Clark and Abney
Safety Brian Branch, who tore his Achilles last December, is expected to make his season debut on Sunday. Detroit has started four different safeties this year. Avonte Maddox broke his foot in Week 2, and Keith Abney II, a rookie cornerback, played deep safety next to veteran Chuck Clark in the 45-21 win at Arizona before the bye. Asked who would play next to Branch, Campbell did not name one player.
“First of all, we’re going to use all those guys,” he said. “Chuck has been really steady for us, man. He’s smart, veteran guy. He’s going to be where he’s supposed to be. And then I mentioned this about Abney. Abney is worth continuing to invest in. He’s going to play for us.”
He said Branch’s range is the reason he does not need a set partner. “Here’s what’s great about getting BB back,” Campbell said. “There’s things you’re going to want to do with BB high, let him play top-down, and then there’s things you want him to play underneath. And that doesn’t require somebody else playing off of him necessarily. He’ll make it right.” He added: “BB’s versatility allows the next player to really play at a high level with whatever is asked of him.”
Kerby Joseph “doing well”
Safety Kerby Joseph has not played this season because of his knee. Asked for an update, Campbell kept it short. “He’s doing well, you know. I’ll leave it at that. It really is,” he said. “I’m not going to give you a timetable, but I’ve been pleased with where he’s at.” He said Joseph is in a good place mentally, “which is great, because that’s hard. You’re coming off this, you’re wanting to go, and you’re working at it, and at some point it’s time for football. We’ll take it one day at a time.”
A rookie on the edge, and no trash talk
Campbell was also asked about rookie defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard, a sixth-round pick who rushed from the edge in Arizona. He joked first. “Well, I guess we’ll take him out from inside and just make him the backup to Hutch,” he said, meaning Aidan Hutchinson. “He can watch over there on the sideline.” Then he explained the move. “That was something we got in that game. It was kind of a curveball to throw him out there and get a rush,” Campbell said. “His demeanor and the way he goes about his business is not rookie-like. He treats things like a pro. He plays with violence and he plays with the motor.” He said not to expect “some heavy dose of him out there.”
Asked why he never talks down Detroit’s division rivals, Campbell said those games are too important. “Division games are big, man. You talk about wanting to win the division, you got to win division games,” he said. “We went two and four in the division. You just win one of those at a minimum, and all of a sudden you’re in.” He called each one “a game, game and a half,” and said the players decide them. “They’re playing good football. They’ve got good players. They’ve got good coaches. And so I respect that, man,” he said. “This is a tough division.”
The Lions host the Packers at Ford Field on Sunday, October 25, at 4:25 p.m. ET (11:25 p.m. in Cairo), then stay home to face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, November 1.
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