BroBible
It was hard to blame the Lions and the Falcons for abandoning their preseason matchup after Detroit cornerback Morice Norris was rushed to the hospital after suffering a scary injury. However, Dan Campbell asserted the decision to stop playing went against the wishes of the NFL.
Preseason games give NFL teams the opportunity to firm up their depth chart and roster by seeing how players fare in what is the most competitive action they’ll see before the actual season gets underway. However, they’re largely meaningless contests where guys who have already cemented their spot rarely see any serious playing time due to the unnecessary risks that come with appearing in one.
Most of the guys who end up taking the field have plenty to prove, and while it’s hard to blame anyone who’s fighting for a job for playing hard, that borderline desperation can contribute to the injuries that can also impact players who simply fall victim to the violent nature of a brutal contact sport.
That reality was unfortunately manifested when the Lions and the Falcons faced off on Friday in a game that was called prematurely after Morice Norris was taken off the field in an ambulance, although the coaches of both teams apparently went rogue after they were told to keep playing in the wake of that disturbing scene.
The Lions had a 17-10 lead over the Falcons when Atlanta kicked off the fourth quarter with a rush that ended with Nate Carter colliding with Detroit cornerback Morice Norris before the latter collapsed onto the turf after his head violently snapped back.
Trainers rushed onto the field and spent 20 minutes attending to Norris before he was taken to the hospital. The game eventually resumed, but the Falcons simply snapped the ball as members of both teams stood around and the clock continued to run during what was technically a live play.
All of the players on the field eventually huddled into a circle, and more than seven minutes elapsed before head referee Shawn Hochuli announced the game had been suspended.
On Friday, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said he and Lions skipper Dan Campbell agreed to stop playing while noting he didn’t know if the NFL approved of that decision and essentially saying he could not have cared less if the league disagreed.
On Monday, Campbell made it pretty clear the powers that be did not give the coaches a seal of approval when he addressed what went down while speaking with the media.
Dan Campbell avoids getting in trouble when asked why it took the NFL so long to call the Lions exhibition game against the Falcons. pic.twitter.com/9Qw2VplDB5
— Lions Nation Unite (@LionsNationU) August 11, 2025
Here’s what he had to say:
**“Raheem and I agreed that that was what we were gonna do....
