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The Detroit Lions edged the Los Angeles Chargers, 41-38, during Week 10 thanks to a risky fourth-down attempt. With under two minutes remaining in regulation and the game tied, Lions head coach Dan Campbell elected to go for fourth-and-2 instead of kicking a 44-yard field goal.
The successful fourth-down conversion allowed the Lions to attempt the game-winning field goal as time expired.
It was Detroit’s 22nd fourth-down attempt of the season, which is tied for the most in the NFL. The Lions are the only team with a winning record that have more than 17 fourth-down attempts in 2023.
In all likelihood, Campbell is going to continue to remain aggressive. So, on his weekly radio appearance on 97.1 The Ticket, he joked about how Lions fans can deal with his rolls of the dice on fourth down.
“Here’s what I would say, because I tell my family this, just wear a diaper before some of these games,” Campbell said. “I’ll give them an alert and say, ‘Put them on and be ready to roll.'”
Dan Campbell Avoids Lions Defense Needing Another Stop
97.1 The Ticket’s Mike Stone on November 14 asked the obvious question to Campbell about whether the Detroit defense influenced his decision to go on fourth-and-2 instead of trying to take the lead with a field goal under two minutes.
The Chargers had scored touchdowns on their five previous possessions.
Campbell admitted that it did but did so in a way that didn’t throw his defense under the bus.
“Things always happen in a game that’s going to affect decisions. It just does,” Campbell told Stone, via SB Nation’s Jeremy Reisman. “I had a feeling going into that game that we needed to be aggressive, and I loved our matchup offensively, and I just knew our guys would respond. Certainly in that moment, it felt like the right thing to do.”
The Lions offensive players loved the decision.
“We want to make him right. It gets us a little more motivation to make things works,” quarterback Jared Goff told the media in his postgame press conference. “He trusts us. He’s showing us he has full faith in us to make it work in a scenario that maybe the odds are stacked against us in some way. He’s saying, ‘No they’re not.’ He trusts us and lets us go to work.”
Goff added that Campbell’s “got big balls” and that “it’s a lot of fun when” Campbell trusts the offense to “make a play.”
“I was excited,” wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said about the late fourth-down attempt during his postgame presser. “I don’t know how many coaches are going to go for that in that situation. So hat’s off to him.”
Lions 4th-Down Success in 2023
As previously mentioned, the Lions own a share of the NFL lead with 22 fourth-down attempts through Week 10. The Lions are 11th in fourth-down conversion rate, but Detroit’s 12 successful conversions on fourth down only trails the Philadelphia Eagles.
Being aggressive is part of who the Lions have become. Campbell set that tone very early in the season.
During Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Lions attempted three fourth downs. Detroit converted one of those on a fake punt, which led to the team’s first touchdown of the season.
It doesn’t always work, but the Lions players seem to support Campbell’s aggressive mindset. Apparently, Lions fans could too, by changing their choice of underwear.
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Dan Campbell Gives Hilarious Response on Lions’ 4th Down Gambles