The Detroit Lions are off to the best start in franchise history. Their 12-1 record has the Lions posited as the NFC’s best team, the No. 1 seed through Week 14.
Alas, there is little breathing room. The Philadelphia Eagles are 11-2 and haven’t lost since September. Within the NFC North, Minnesota is also 11-2 and not looking like an adversary that will simply fade away from Detroit.
It makes for a stressful perch at the top of the conference in the quest for the coveted first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Well, stressful for some, anyway.
Not Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
“I love it,” Campbell said Wednesday of the close competition. “I think it’s great. I think it’s great for us. I think it does, it keeps you sharp. I’ve mentioned this before, I think we do well with pressure and it’s the right kind of friction and stress that we need and it’s motivating.”
Campbell continued, clearly enjoying the battle for supremacy.
“So, yeah, I love it, I think it’s great, Look, nobody’s going to lose, nobody’s losing, so we’re going.”
In Week 15, the Lions host the 10-3 Buffalo Bills. At the same time on Sunday afternoon, the Eagles host the 10-3 Pittsburgh Steelers. Minnesota hosts the 4-9 Chicago Bears, losers of seven in a row, on Monday night.