Campbell: Lions 'probably needed' blowout loss to Ravens
The Detroit Lions entered Week 7 with one of the NFL's best records at 5-1 but couldn't do much during Sunday's lopsided 38-6 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said postgame that his team "probably needed" a loss like that to get a reality check, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
"You don't want these to happen but when it does, it recenters you, it refocuses you and that's all I know," Campbell added. "I don't want it to happen. Nobody wants it to happen. Nobody likes to look over there and watch them having a great time because they kicked our ass. Nobody thinks that's fun, but I know that motivates me for next week, it motivates our team."
The Lions, who owned the league's fourth-best offense through six weeks, didn't score their first points until the fourth quarter Sunday. Quarterback Jared Goff finished the day with 33 completions on 53 attempts for 284 yards and no touchdowns against one interception. He was sacked five times.
Baltimore also outgained Detroit 503-337 in total yards.
"Those guys, they played well. They kicked our ass," Campbell said of the Ravens' performance, according to Grant Gordon of NFL.com. "It's a credit to them."
Detroit hosts the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8.