Notes: Dan Campbell explains benefit of Justin Tucker’s record kick in 2021

With the Baltimore Ravens on the clock, a particularly gruesome memory has resurfaced in Detroit Lions lore.

The year is 2021. The month, September. It’s Week 3, and the Lions are up 17-16 against the Ravens at Ford Field, hoping for their first win of the season. With just three seconds on the clock, third-and-10 at Detroit’s 48 yard line, the Ravens are surely hopeless. But out of the fog (is this dramatic enough), kicker Justin Tucker steps onto the field. With one swing of his leg, he kicks a 66-yard field goal to beat the Lions as the clock expires in an eleventh-hour spectacle, all while setting the NFL record for the longest field goal — a record he still holds today. The team hoists him on their shoulders, as the Lions stare on in utter disbelief.

Did I properly bring you back? No? Fine, watch it then.

Just... wow. Asked about the harrowing tale, Campbell said it still lives in his memory.

“Honestly I try not to go there. Of course, you have a flashback from time to time. ... We’re still early in this season, there’s a ton of game left. We’ve gotta go earn another one here but I know this is that when you look back, I just remember thinking over and over and over it’s like, enjoy it now. Just enjoy it now because our time will come and we just gotta get through the hard stuff,” he said.

Not sure personally how a brutal defeat like that elicits any joy, but his point is extremely valid — getting through the hard stuff often turns you into, dare I say, a grittier team.

“We’re in Year 3 of this program, we’re 5-1, and we’ve got to go earn the next win,” Campbell continued. “Everything that happens, happens for a reason and it helps you grow. If it doesn’t, it’s because you don’t know how to grow. We’ve taken our lumps and we’re going to be better for it.”

And that’s why Campbell is who he is and has contributed to a winning culture in Detroit. Props.

Onto the rest of your notes.

• Fox 2’s Dan Miller joins Ermanni and Edwards to talk Cam Sutton.

• The Detroit News’ Justin Rogers offers some insight on what Khalil Dorsey was dealing with as he missed a month of play. Absolutely worth a read.

• The Lions received the most prestigious of awards.

• It’s nice when your team is good and you can post fun videos and no one will reply saying you should focus on football.

• Dan Campbell continues to show he’s a good, caring person. I will not hear otherwise.

• Good Morning Football just can’t stop raving about everything Lions.

• Our own, I mean former, Mike Payton revisits how the T.J. Hockenson trade has panned out for A to Z Sports.