SI

Dan Campbell Had Intimate Experience With Lions Latest Trick Play

Stephen Douglas

Dan Campbell and the Lions remain one of the best trick play teams in the NFL.
Dan Campbell and the Lions remain one of the best trick play teams in the NFL. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In this story:

The Lions beat the Ravens on Monday Night Football in Week 3 by being the aggressive Detroit team the world fell in love with over the last couple seasons. That means going for it on fourth down and using some trickery.

They did both on the first play of the fourth quarter when Jared Goff handed the ball off to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown who then pitched the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs for a touchdown on fourth-and-one to give Detroit a 28-21 lead they would not relinquish.

Emmanuel Acho called it "one of the most unstoppable goal line plays ever," but it turns out it wasn't a play the Lions invented. Like most trick plays that work on the biggest stage, it was stolen from someone else. While we don't know where it originated, Dan Campbell has been on two teams who have run the play successfully in the NFL.

During the 2003 season Campbell was a tight end on a Cowboys team coached by Bill Parcells. When Dallas beat the Panthers 24-20 in Week 11, Campbell was on the field when the Cowboys took the lead for good late in the third quarter.

Quincy Carter handed the ball off to fullback Richie Anderson who then pitched the ball to running back Aveion Cason who ran it in to make it 24-17. Not only was Campbell on the field for that play, but he tied his season highs with five targets and three receptions in the game.

Then in 2019 Campbell was the assistant head coach and tight ends coach under Sean Payton when the Saints ran the play in Week 7 against the Bears. Facing third-and-one Teddy Bridgewater handed the ball to fullback Zach Line who then pitched the ball to Taysom Hill. Hill gained 23 yards on the play and then finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown catch.

Campbell was there for all three and his team won each game which means stealing the play was totally justified.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

Home/NFL