Getty Jonah Jackson sets up for a block in 2021 against the Eagles.
The Detroit Lions fell apart in Week 5, and lost in blowout fashion on the road. A big reason the game turned was a number of fourth down plays that weren’t converted and switched momentum.
In the aftermath of the loss, Dan Campbell and his staff received tons of heat for the mistakes. Interestingly enough, though, the players believe that had they simply executed better, it wouldn’t even be a discussion.
Speaking on Monday, October 12, guard Jonah Jackson was asked about some of the failures of the week on fourth down. As he said, it was frustrating, especially given the players were the ones who didn’t get the job done.
“I mean it takes a toll, but it’s just on us. We got to finish and execute the job and the task at hand. Whatever is called, he has the confidence in us to convert on fourth down. We got to do it,” Jackson said to the media of Campbell’s calls.
Many have slammed Campbell for his reckless decision making, but at the end of the day, he does show trust in his roster by making the calls he does. When it doesn’t play out well, the players know they have let the staff down, and more often than not gladly shoulder the blame.
Campbell Not Backing Down off Fourth Down Calls
In the immediate aftermath of the loss, Campbell didn’t seem willing to back off the calls he made. When he was pressed about it again by the media on Monday, October 10, that was only more the case.
Campbell said that he wouldn’t change the calls, especially given the time and situation in the game, and also what was dialed-up.
“No, I don’t. I don’t. Just with where it went, I wanted to be patient in that game but I also know this, the first fourth and one that was less than half a yard and we’re running behind (Penei) Sewell and and it was Logan (Stenberg) and we’re giving it to Jamaal (Williams). I didn’t second guess that one bit. I would take that every day of the week and we got stuffed on it. Then, just knowing where we’re at on the other fourth downs, when it was playing out, I feel like that’s what we needed to do.”
Campbell continues to be one of the most aggressive coaches in the league on fourth down, and with this response, it’s clear he doesn’t much care what others think of his decision making and keeps to his convictions.
Jackson: Offensive Line Didn’t Play Well
Perhaps the biggest reason the Lions struggled in the game was a lack of execution up front from the offensive line. That had been a rarity so far this season, and caused plenty of problems for the team’s offense.
According to Jackson, the way Detroit protected wasn’t up to par whatsoever during the game, which was troubling for the Lions given how the team had executed on things earlier in the season.
“Definitely the protection aspect was not up to our standard. They had a good game plan and we weren’t able to answer on everything,” Jackson said. “The stunts, the blitzes they had. They had good timing to it trying to hold guys off, making it look like they’re dropping and coming so just a lot of little things. We were ready for it, just didn’t happen. Didn’t look as pretty as it should have and it’s on us.”
Whether on some of the botched fourth downs or most of the other things that happened to the offense, the line is taking their part in the blame. Coming off the bye week, they will have to study up and find a way to be better.