Dan Campbell Admits Final Possession Not Handled Optimally
The Detroit Lions escaped Sunday's divisional round with a narrow victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Detroit salted the game away with three kneel-downs, basking in the victory in its final home game at Ford Field. However, some inefficient time management almost allowed the Buccaneers to have the slightest chance at a comeback.
Jared Goff took his final knee with 0:35 remaining. Tampa Bay still had a timeout at the time. Had the Buccaneers taken it, it would've forced the Lions to kick a 49-yard field goal, plus would've ensured the Buccaneers would get the ball back.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell admitted Monday that the final possession was not managed in the best of fashions, and he took the blame for that scenario, which ultimately did no harm to Detroit.
"First of all, we didn't handle that whole thing well on our end," Campbell said. "We should've bled it more than we did. Look, I'll be the first to admit that, and that's on me. We knew they had a timeout left, and I could tell he wasn't gonna call it. So, that's just, that's how it ended."
Had the Lions made the hypothetical field goal, they would've pushed their lead to 11 points and Tampa Bay's hopes would've been dashed. As a result, Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said the outcome was inevitable.
“They already had a field goal and lined up, and it would have been about 12 seconds left on the clock in the ball game," Bowles said. "We weren’t going to come back from that. No sense in prolonging the obvious.”
Notes
1.) Jonah Jackson reportedly underwent surgery to repair a slight meniscus tear, and will likely miss Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers. However, Campbell didn't rule out the possibility of the starting left guard suiting up if Detroit advances to the Super Bowl.
"It's hard to say. I think the timeline could be there," Campbell said. "It's just a matter of how fast this thing heals and what it feels like. I think there's a possibility, but we'll see."
Kayode Awosika, who replaced Jackson against Tampa Bay, is expected to start in his place.
2.) Getting to play two playoff games at home put the Ford Field crowd on national display. Fans showed support in droves, and made plenty of noise, displaying their support in an unforgettable manner.
Campbell explained Monday that the environment Detroit plays in front of at home is special, and that it is memorable even for opposing players to play in.
"This is where we wanted to get it. This is where we wanted to go. For all the Lions fans, this was the whole idea," Campbell said. "Everybody's been dying for it for so long, but this is the point because of what we just saw in those last two playoff games. The environment in there is better than any you're gonna find in the NFL. I mean, back-to-back weeks, the ear drums are just banging. The only thing, I thought I would get a blown-out ear drum, that didn't happen this year. We'll work on that next year."
