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Maybe it was preconceived; maybe not.
When Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell addressed Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell following the Lions’ 31-9 win in Week 18 for the NFC North crown, his six words had an effect on the Vikings’ fate.
“I’ll see you in two weeks,” Campbell said to O’Connell as the two shook hands and walked their separate ways.
The Los Angeles Rams, who defeated the Vikings 27-9 in the Wild Card Round on Monday, were listening.
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The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue reported earlier in the week that the Rams had a printed screen shot of the exchange between the two coaches on display in their locker room.
It marks the first time in recent sports memory that a third-party team served as inspiration. Usually, sparks of motivation over occurrences like this spawn from the opposition themselves.
“The thing I want to say is I hope they don’t overlook us. They just played the Lions and there was a little message that Dan Cambpell gave, but I don’t want people to overlook us,” Rams safety Quentin Lake said on NFL Network ahead of the win.
The #Rams used Dan Campbell’s “See you in two weeks” to #Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell as added motivation this week and weren’t shy about letting everybody know. Safety Quentin Lake & Co. backed up their words tonight. pic.twitter.com/akLPum4MAJ
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 14, 2025
Aside from the Lions, who beat Minnesota twice, the Rams were the only other team to have defeated the Vikings in the regular season. Los Angeles dominated in total yards and possession of the football in their 30-20 win on Oct. 24, so one might think Campbell’s comment to O’Connell was either negligent to this or said with calculation.
The Rams fell to the Lions in Week 1 by a score of 26-20, but Los Angeles was the better team in yardage, ball possession and first-down conversion rate.
Of course, Campbell’s words were only additional fuel as the city of Los Angeles continues to battle the devastating tragedies of the ongoing wild fires across the county.
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“We’re rolling as a family,” Rams linebacker Michael Hoecht said. “We’re going in there, and our job is to handle business. And we’re going in there for everybody in Los Angeles, everybody affected by the fires, everybody displaced, everybody evacuated. That’s what this week is for, for us. That’s what we play for.”
The Rams have had a lot to fight for this year to begin with, clawing their way back from a 1-4 start.
They’ll take these emotions — and the chip on their shoulder — and square up with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at 3 p.m. before they can challenge the man that overlooked them in a potential NFC Championship matchup with the Lions, who take on the Washington Commanders on Saturday at 8 p.m.
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