Dan Campbell's prediction is no closer to coming true.
After the Lions defeated the Vikings in Week 18 of the regular season, Detroit coach Kevin O'Connell told Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell as they embraced after the game, “I'll see you in two weeks” — meaning the two teams would meet again in the postseason. .
Instead, the Vikings lost in the NFC Wild Card round, the Lions were upset by the Leaders on Saturday, and the Campbell clip — which was picked up by NBC's Jan. 5 broadcast — resurfaced because it backfired.
“Dan Campbell spots Kevin O'Connell at hotel bar in Cancun,” one user wrote on X.
Another user added: “I hope Kevin O'Connell has a piña colada ready for him in Cancun.”
The Lions clinched the NFC North title and the top seed in the NFC with a 31-9 win over the Vikings in Week 18, forcing Minnesota — their faltering offense, faltering Sam Darnold, all that — to face the Rams. In the wild card round as the No. 5 seed.
During last week's playoff game against the Rams, the Vikings trailed 24-3 at halftime as Darnold — whose 2024 campaign turned out to be a revival of the former No. 3 overall pick and the Jets' sack — ran the ball over twice during the first 30 minutes. , and did not have enough time to recover before suffering a season-ending loss that undid all of the progress they had made in the 14-3 regular season.
Then, less than a week later, the Lions allowed Jayden Daniels and the Commanders to rush for 31 points in the first half and allowed back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter after pulling within a field goal.
“Losing hurts, man,” an emotional Campbell said while crying after the game. “And I don't care if you're 7 seeds, 6 seeds, 5 seeds, 1 seed. Because I lost them all, so close to them. And it stings and it hurts. It hurts. You have to pick yourself up, your body is pounding, and you stay locked in mentally and do those things. This is a very long season.” .
The Vikings needed to defeat the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in the divisional round to set up the matchup Campbell expected.
But the final weekend of January will feature two different teams — the Leaders and the Eagles' winning Rams — clashing in the NFC Championship for a spot in the Super Bowl and a trip to New Orleans.
