Detroit Lions avenged their NFC title loss to the San Francisco 49ers with a thrilling 40-34 win on Monday night.
The game held no stakes for the Lions, who are set to face the Minnesota Vikings next weekend for the NFC North title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Head coach Dan Campbell admitted he considered resting his starters but ultimately decided to play them.
“Yeah, it crossed my mind a lot leading up to the game and even last night,” Campbell said post-game. “I told the staff, but I decided the right thing to do was to play the starters – we owed it to the team.
“It’s a tough call. It’s not fair to ask unprepared players to step in. The main thing was correcting things from last week, and we did. Offensively, we cleaned up a lot,” he added.
The Lions’ 40-34 victory marked franchise history. After the game, the team announced their first undefeated road record.
“For the first time in franchise history, the @Lions have gone undefeated on the road during a season,” the team posted online.
Detroit can achieve even more history next week against the Vikings. The Lions are one of five teams to never claim the No. 1 playoff seed since 1975.
Beating Minnesota would secure the NFC North title, the top seed, and a first-round playoff bye.
