Dan Campbell Explains Fourth-Down Decisions: 'No Regrets'
Dan Campbell lived and died by being ultra aggressive on fourth-and-short all season, and it cost the Lions dearly Sunday night against the San Francisco 49ers.
Campbell opted to keep Jared Goff and his offense on the field twice in the second half, first on fourth-and-2 in the third quarter and then on fourth-and-3 in the fourth quarter. And, on both tries, the Lions failed to convert while Brock Purdy and San Francisco scored on ensuing possessions.
Purdy & Co. delivered the game-sealing score with 3:02 to play, via a 3-yard touchdown run from Elijah Mitchell.
Ultimately, Campbell’s fourth-down aggressiveness played a role in Detroit falling to the 49ers, 34-31, in the NFC Championship Game.
“I just felt really good about us converting … and not letting them play long ball. They were bleeding the clock out, and that’s what they (the 49ers) do. And, I wanted to get the upper hand back,” Campbell said in the postgame about his fourth-down decisions. “It’s easy in hindsight, and I get it. I get that. But, I don’t regret those decisions. And, it’s hard. It’s hard because we didn’t come through, it wasn’t able to work out. But I just, I don’t, I don’t. And, I understand the scrutiny I’ll get. That’s part of the gig, man. But, we just, it just didn’t work out.”
Goff backed his coach's controversial decisions after the game.
"I don't know what the numbers are, but we had a lot of big-time conversions this year that changed games," the veteran quarterback expressed. "I don't know what we were today. I know we had the two we didn't convert, I don't know if we had any others that we did. But, it can change a game if you convert them, and we didn't. That's part of the reason why we lost."
Whether fair or not, Detroit will now have to endure an entire offseason of hearing about how Campbell was far too aggressive on fourth down and stripped the Lions of a chance at advancing to their first ever Super Bowl.
San Francisco will square off with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, Feb. 11, in Paradise, Nev. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders.
