Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell spoke to the media Monday following Detroit's tough, late-game loss Sunday at the hands of the Vikings in Minnesota. Teams have to wash away losses – and wins – rather quickly in this league, and move on to the next week.
Here are all the key questions from Campbell's Monday presser as the team took one final look at the Vikings tape before moving on to Seattle prep this week:
Is there a D’Andre Swift injury update?
Already dealing with an ankle injury he re-aggravated Sunday in Minnesota, Swift is now also dealing with a left shoulder injury. It's gotten to a point where Campbell is considering holding Swift out and allowing the injuries to get behind him.
"That shoulder is a little sore, so we'll see where he's at. It could be an issue," Campbell said.
Injuries have been an issue with Swift throughout his career. Swift missed seven games his first two seasons due to injury. He currently leads the Lions in rushing (231) and total scrimmage yards (308), but he's been seriously limited the last two weeks after suffering the ankle injury Week 1.
It might be time to give Swift a rest and let his injuries heal up. Campbell also made the point it's not fair to Swift to have him miss as much practice as he has the last two weeks, and the details that come with being at practice, just to get him to play a limited role on Sunday.
"We've thought about that," Campbell said of the benefits of giving Swift time off to heal up. "That was one of the things I was thinking about last night and this morning. It's on my mind and on our mind. If you feel like he's good enough to go, we know what he's capable of, but not at the expense of him not even being up to 75 percent of himself. Every player has to be at a certain point to be able to produce."
Don't be surprised if the Lions sit Swift until he's closer to 100 percent. The Lions play Seattle and New England the next two weeks before a Week 6 bye.
Does Campbell regret the 3rd and 1 play call early in the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead?
The play occurred early in the fourth quarter with a little under 11 minutes remaining and the Lions leading 24-14. Detroit faced a third and inches at their 27-yard line with a chance to keep a drive alive and eat more time off the clock. Instead of running the ball, which Detroit has proven to be a strength of theirs, they opted to throw a go route down the right sideline to wide receiver Josh Reynolds that went incomplete.
Jack Fox came on and hit just a 39-yard punt that gave Minnesota good field position at their 43-yard line. It would take the Vikings just six plays and less than three minutes to go the 57 yards needed to get into the end zone and cut the Lions' lead to three.
Campbell said they got a look they wanted. Minnesota was gearing up to stop the run and they liked the one-on-one matchup with Reynolds outside.
"It ended up being tight coverage and didn't work out for us," Campbell said. "But I'm good with the decision."
How much will the Lions miss Tracy Walker?
The veteran safety left Sunday's game in Minnesota early in the first quarter on a non-contact injury. Walker will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles.
"Look, losing Tracy hurts," Campbell said. "That's a significant loss because of multiple reasons. Since I've walked in the door last year Tracy has been all in. He's one of our team captains this year. No one has put in more work than him. He's one of the smartest players we have on defense, that's huge, and he's productive. So, you're losing a big cog in the piece that helps you over there."
Campbell said they'll look at options in replacing Walker both from a personnel and scheme standpoint.
Has Campbell's confidence in kicker Austin Seibert waned at all?
Seibert missed two of his three field goal attempts Sunday, including a 54-yarder in the final minute that could have made the Vikings comeback much harder to navigate.
"I'd be willing to give him another go," Campbell said. "If I didn't feel that way I wouldn't have let him kick there at the end of the game."
Campbell said Seibert is 'sore' today, which means he might have been dealing with an injury himself Sunday. We'll have to monitor his status this week.
View photos from the Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings Week 3 game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 25 in Minneapolis, MN.
Is Campbell worried about Sunday's tough loss snowballing into something greater?
"I'm not sweating it," he said. "I'm not sweating it and this team isn't sweating it. We have a long season. You look out throughout this league and it happens this way every year.
"I feel like what happens to you early in the season, it really molds who you are going to be."
Campbell is preaching to his players about cleaning up little mistakes and learning from their failures Weeks 1 & 3.
"It was a tough one," Campbell admitted. "We were up two scores. Should have won that game. But you know what, we didn't earn the right to win that game. Minnesota did."
Campbell isn't going into panic mode after Week 3. This team isn't either.
How does Campbell expect cornerback Amani Oruwariye to bounce back?
Oruwariye was flagged six times (four accepted) and allowed nine receptions on 11 targets for 79 yards and a touchdown in his coverage area against the Vikings.
"Amani is a pro," Campbell said. "Look, he had a rough game. That's the bottom line. But I also know he snapped back there at the end and got a big stop for us one-on-one with (Adam) Thielen on the perimeter. I think Amani's got thick skin. I know he's going to want to be better and he'll come out this week ready to work. I'm really not worried about it."