[FOX NEWS] - Lions' Dan Campbell addresses 'bizarre' criticism about taking out starters in blowouts

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The Detroit Lions have found themselves on top of the NFC through 11 weeks of the 2024 season, with Super Bowl hopes increasing daily.

The Lions are first in points scored, third in yards gained, fifth in points allowed and 13th in yards allowed. Detroit has blown the doors off opponents several times. The latest came in a 52-6 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Even in victories, there are criticisms. Lions head coach Dan Campbell had been poked and prodded about playing his starters in blowout victories. He said on Sunday he looked at that as a positive.

"This is a weird. This is another one of those bizarre things that you’re running into," Campbell said when asked about his decision-making process for when to take the starters out. "Normally, this doesn’t happen. It’s just like the third time this has come up this season, which, it’s a good problem to have.

"There’s a number of things, and I think you want to know that you finish on a good note, you found a rhythm, you keep the rhythm, ‘OK, now the time says, let’s get them out.’ What’s hard is, you’re playing pretty good, and then you take this dip, and then it starts to taste bad, ‘OK, now we pull them out because we don’t want to get anybody hurt, and then does that bleed into the next week and you’re playing?’ So, some of those come in, and I think you’ve just got to feel it out."

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Detroit tallied 645 total yards and had 38 first downs to the Jaguars’ 10. It was a complete domination of the game from end to end.

Campbell said it was probably one of the best performances he has seen from the team this season and thought the offense could end up being one of the best in NFL history.

"I think we have that ability, I really do. I think we have that ability. We have, to me, we have everything that we need to be potent, and like I say, I feel like we’re well-rounded," he said. "When you’re able to run the ball with the big boys up front, you’ve got a hammer like David (Montgomery), and you’ve got electric, this electricity (Jahmyr) Gibbs, and you’ve got (Jameson Williams) on the perimeter, and then you’ve got our rock (Amon-Ra) St. Brown, who just continues to make plays – you put him anywhere you want to put him, and you need it, he’s got it. And then running the whole show is (Jared) Goff. I think, I think we’re – yeah, I mean, I think we can be dangerous. 

"We have that ability because, really, we can play the game anyway we need to, as long as we’re on our stuff, we’re on our game, and we’re locked in, and we’re finishing. We can do that."

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