Dan Campbell: Lions’ defense controlled the game

The Lions’ injury-riddled defense largely shut down the Vikings’ offense in Sunday’s 31-9 win, and Detroit coach Dan Campbell said defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and his players deserve a ton of credit.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Campbell said. “AG and the defense, they really controlled that game for us.”

Campbell said having linebacker Alex Anzalone back for the first time since he broke his arm on November 17 was a huge benefit.

“He’s really our quarterback on defense,” he said. “There’s a lot of confidence he brings, a lot of energy, he can calm the storms. I thought it was going to take him a minute to work himself back in and it didn’t take long at all. He was back to where he was before he got injured, I thought. We gave him a game ball. It was outstanding. To have him back was huge.”

Campbell also said the secondary, which held Justin Jefferson to three catches for 54 yards and Jordan Addison to no catches, made a massive impact.

“They covered their tails off for most of that game,” Campbell said.

Campbell said the defense knew going into the game what to do, and they did it.

“Our defense was fully ready to take the field and do what they needed to do. That was the mindset,” Campbell said. “They really set the tone for us.”