NFC Notes: Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

• The Lions announced that CB Saivion Smith was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated for a neck injury after a collision with Patriots TE Hunter Henry.
• Lions HC Dan Campbell after the loss to the Patriots: “Certainly we didn’t play good football there. It was not good. It was the worst of the season overall as a team. That falls on me. We can’t play that way unless your head coach doesn’t have them ready. That’s 100% on me.” (Mike Giardi)
• Campbell: “I believe we’ve hit rock bottom, now it’s time to get back up.” (Eric Woodyard)
• Campbell says Smith currently has full motor skills and the team will try to get him on the flight home. (Colton Pouncy)

Packers

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers told reporters that they need to handle adversity better moving forward. 

“We need to handle adversity a little better. We’re a little bit of a roller-coaster team at times,” Rodgers said, via Pro Football Talk. “Our best teams have been more steady, so we’ve got to find that rhythm and that steadiness. The biggest issue — and again, I wish I had this perfect answer or explanation of this — we haven’t played consistent football in all three phases, and the margin of error for us in winning is small. So, we have to make those plays, especially when you’re playing against a good football team — and the Giants are a good football team. I’ve got to make the throws that are necessary, we’ve got to come up with the catches, we’ve got to run the ball, we’ve got to force some turnovers on [special] teams or on defense. When we get those opportunities, we’ve got to make those plays. We’re just not sharp enough yet to have a wider margin of error.”

• Packers DL T.J. Slaton on the team’s defensive performance: “I think we were a little too dialed in at times with the plan and what we practiced. We knew what we were going to see, and I think we were just getting a little lost. We were getting a little lost when we didn’t see what we were practicing.” (Ryan Wood)

Vikings

• Vikings S Lewis Cine returned to Minnesota yesterday following his surgery, according to HC Kevin O’Connell. (Kevin Seifert)