The Detroit Lions became the first NFC team to clinch a playoff spot with their victory over the Green Bay Packers last night. The exciting Thursday Night Football matchup highlighted head coach Dan Campbell’s aggressive philosophy, which allowed kicker Jake Bates to boot the game-winning field goal as time expired.
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Campbell’s postgame message was just as intense as the contest’s fourth quarter. This morning, Kay Adams shared a snippet of Campbell’s speech on Up & Adams. Afterward, she applauded Campbell for being himself no matter the circumstances.
“It’s hard not to love him. I know some people don’t… [the Lions] just believe in themselves like no other team right now in the NFL. And why wouldn’t [they]?”
The Lions have been the NFL’s most gung-ho operation in going for fourth downs under Campbell’s tutelage. That approach didn’t change last night, even in some questionable situations.
A quick examination of the box score from Thursday Night Football will tell you the Lions dominated the Packers. Detroit had 97 more yards of total offense than Green Bay and posted a 12:12 advantage in time of possession. They also had 10 more first downs, but only won by three points. Why?
Well, the Packers took advantage of the Lions’ mistakes. Two of Green Bay’s four touchdown drives began deep in Detroit territory after a Jared Goff interception and a failed fourth-down conversion.
Leading 24-21 with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Campbell chose to go for 4th-and-1 from his own 31-yard line. The Packers stopped the attempt, then vaulted back in front.
STUFFED! The @Packers take over on downs after a big stop.#GBvsDET on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/mKtKSKS9oF— NFL (@NFL) December 6, 2024
While that specific decision hurt Detroit, he had many others that considerably boosted their chances of winning. Overall, the Lions went 4-for-5 on fourth downs. Two of those conversions went for touchdowns, and one let them drain the clock entirely before Bates’ game-sealing field goal.
Campbell continually trusts his offense to pick up the necessary yardage to convert and has faith his defense will stand tall if the offense falls short. Adams spoke on his mentality later in her show.
“The people who matter are going to forgive him for the bad calls… [that team is] gonna say ‘we know we’re going to go for it. If it doesn’t work out, we’ve got you’… I appreciate that he does that. And he does it knowing it’s not going to work out all the time.”
Every other NFL franchise knows the Lions won’t be afraid to take chances when they match up. This can cause them to play outside of their comfort zone, giving Detroit an edge before the battle even begins.
Campbell’s decisions carry great risk, but he believes the potential reward outweighs the downside. So far this season, he has been right. In the NFC Championship last year, those calls didn’t work out. Whether he’ll continue his risky plays though remains to be seen.
