From Josh Allen to Dan Campbell to Pat McAfee to Lane Kiffin, We Got All the Smoke | Ep 1242

Jason Whitlock (0:00)

Smoke, smoke is in the air. You can smell it in Bristol, Connecticut. It is taking over Oxford, Mississippi. You could see it in the darts Josh Allen unleashed on Thursday Night Football.

And you can hear it in the conversation starting around Dan Campbell. Let's start in Buffalo, where the Bills whooped the Lions 41-31 and sparked a dumb conversation about Dan Campbell and his former subordinate.

Demanding Dan Campbell's job after Buffalo is football malpractice, and the Ben Johnson nostalgia behind it collapses the second you look at what Detroit walked into Thursday night. That loss was not a referendum on head coaching. It was a road team on four days rest walking into a $2.1 billion coronation, committing 10 penalties and getting buried by circumstance before getting beaten by Josh Allen.

SPEAKER_3 (1:01)

Is that fire? Grab your popcorn.

Jason Whitlock (1:04)

Buffalo turned its new Highmark Stadium debut into a civic holiday. Fireworks, 70,000 screaming fans, Bruce Smith leading the Let's Go Buffalo chant, Josh Allen wiping away tears during the national anthem, then three touchdown passes, two touchdown runs, and a 21-0 lead before Detroit could catch its breath.

Yes, Buffalo played four days ago too. Only one team had to get on a plane on short rest and play villain at someone else's housewarming party inside a deafening electric building.

The Bills smoked the Lions in all phases. That is the first smoke of the week and it belongs to Josh Allen. That context explains Dan Campbell storming into the locker room down 27 and 10, and furious that the little shit is killing us. He meant the flags, the blown coverages, the sloppy operation that extended Buffalo drives and killed Detroit drives. He could not complain about the big doo doo. He could not stand at the podium and say his banged up secondary drew a road Thursday opener in that noise against an MVP quarterback. Coaches who blame the schedule get devoured. So Campbell swallowed the setup and chewed out the details instead. That discipline is what head coaching requires when the environment is stacked against you and the cameras are hunting for panic.

Now apply that same standard to the Ben Johnson debate because the current version is dishonest. Johnson is not a rookie play caller. He is in year two as head coach in Chicago with the exact same job Dan Campbell has, win games, manage 53 men. Survive injuries, short weeks, hostile buildings and ugly tape. He took the Bears to the playoffs a year ago. He opened this season with 59 points. He is making magic with Caleb Williams, not Jared Goff. Credit him fully for that growth. That success does not prove Detroit kept the wrong man. And listen, I can't believe I'm saying this. I'm defending Dan Campbell, but I have to because it proves Johnson landed with a young quarterback on the rise while Detroit absorbed real transition pain after losing its offensive architect.

Detroit missed the playoffs last year in its first season without Johnson, finishing nine and eight. And Thursday showed why the anxiety is real. The operation under new coordinator, Drew Petzing, still looked clunky and out of rhythm. 10 penalties killed momentum and field position. Avante Maddox left with a foot injury. The secondary got torched again. 63 first downs allowed in two games.

That's embarrassing. Allowing 30 plus points in back to back games for the first time since 2021 demands immediate correction.

Dan Campbell owns all of that. Ownership is not the same thing as a pink slip in week two after one road loss in a stadium opening.

None of that is a fire of the coach offense after what Campbell rebuilt. Remember what Detroit was before he arrived. A punch line, a losing factory that wasted Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson and cycled through coaches who talked about culture and never changed anything. Dan Campbell made the Lions physical, fearless, and relevant. Yes, he takes too many risks going fourth down. Yes, he's too much of a gambler. But his locker room proved Thursday yet again that the bond between Campbell and his players still holds. Jack Campbell stood at his locker with tears in his eyes, and after six tackles said he played terrible. Aiden Hutchison promised changes are coming. Take a look.

SPEAKER_3 (4:54)

I mean, every time I lace up my clothes, I'm going 100 percent.

Yeah, put it on me. I played terrible, so I got to be better, especially for the offense and for all these guys in the locker room. They got after us today for sure. You know, that was not good enough.

SPEAKER_4 (5:13)

Not good enough.

SPEAKER_3 (5:14)

Things will definitely be changed.

SPEAKER_4 (5:16)