Cowboys Super Bowl Watch: 'No Regrets!' Dan Campbell’s Lions Choke Job?
FRISCO - Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is the coaching equivalent of a gunslinging quarterback - as the Dallas Cowboys certainly know.
But on Sunday, that mentality may have cost him and his team a chance to play in Super Bowl LVIII.
Campbell's gambles are well-documented and widely discussed. Going for it rather than punting or kicking field goals has become the personality of his team. And more times than not, it works out. But when it doesn't - especially in big game moments like Sunday - the criticism rains down.
Dan Campbell
This season, Campbell led the Lions higher than they've been since 1957. But that wasn't the goal. The goal was a Super Bowl win. And in the short term, it was Campbell's "go-for-it'' coaching style that held them short.
"It's easy hindsight, and I get it. ... But I don't regret those decisions," Campbell said after the game. "That's hard. We didn't come through.
"I understand the scrutiny I'll get, and that's part of the gig."
Leading 24-7 at halftime and just 30 game clock minutes away from that ultimate goal, the world was reminded why the 49ers have made the conference title game four of the last five seasons and three years in a row.
But ... It was Campbell's aggressive nature in part that allowed the Niners right back in the game. And if you are ahead at halftime by 21 points and you have a good defense and a tough running game and a coach who chews nails ...
And you lose? You get accused of "choking.'' And the accusation is fair.
Maybe this biggest choice of the game came on a fourth-down decision with 7:32 to play. The Lions were trailing 27-24 at the time and were at the 49ers 30-yard line faced with a 4th and 3. Rather than trust his kicker - who hasn't exactly been trustworthy all season - Campbell left the offense on the field.
It's a decision the Lions coach has made numerous times in the same situation all season.
But this time was different. They're playing for a spot in the Super Bowl. ... and maybe it's "different,'' too, depending on what the analytics day - another hotly-debated topic.
Quarterback Jared Goff's pass fell short of receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for the Lions' second failed fourth-down conversion of the half, thus opening the door wider for a 49ers victory.
“I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball,” Campbell said. “They were bleeding the clock out, that’s what they do, and I wanted to get the upper hand back.”
Just a few minutes later, San Francisco was back in the end zone extending its lead.
Goff was asked how much Campbell's fourth down calls changed the momentum of the game.
"I love 'em. We gotta convert," Goff said.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan even applauded Campbell's style but noted it comes at a cost.
“That’s one of the reasons why they were here,” Shanahan said after the game. “You win a lot of games making some of those decisions and then you make some decisions and you lose them. (It) doesn’t surprise me because he’s made a lot of those decisions throughout the year that won them a lot of games also.”
The Lions ultimately lost to the 49ers 34-31 - a three-point deficit. "No regrets''? Fine.
It's made him successful all season and helped the Lions achieve success that just two seasons ago seemed unthinkable; the Cowboys know this from Campbell's failed late-season trio of 2-point conversion attempts that were both controversial and stubborn.
"Aggressive'' doesn't have to mean "always go for it''; otherwise, why would the Lions ever punt?
In the end, there's a time and place for aggressiveness. And it's a lesson Campbell might've learned the hard way.
