Dan Campbell Stands By His Late Game Fourth Down Calls vs 49ers

Detroit Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell stood by his multiple fourth down calls despite the team’s loss to the San Fransisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. Campbell and the Lions failed to convert various fourth-down attempts during the game, ultimately leading to their collapse after leading 24-7 at halftime.

“It’s hard because we didn’t come through, and it wasn’t able to work out, but I don’t,” Campbell said postgame. “And I understand the scrutiny I’ll get – that’s part of the gig – but it just didn’t work out.”

Detroit had two attempts in particular that left fans asking questions. One was a fourth and two in the third quarter from the 49ers 28-yard line, which resulted in an incomplete pass from quarterback Jared Goff to receiver Josh Reynolds. The other was a similar play from the 49er’s 30-yard line in the fourth quarter but ended in another incomplete pass from Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Both drives resulted in turnovers, which could have been short-field goal attempts if the Lions didn’t choose to go for it.

Detroit was outscored 17-7 in the second half, and if they scored a field goal on either of the two fourth downs, the game would have been tied and perhaps gone to overtime. Goff was 25/41 on passes on Sunday night but just couldn’t seem to find any of his receivers down the stretch. The Lions ended the game with more total yards, first downs and total plays, but weren’t able to score late in the game, which became their downfall against the very talented 49ers team.

“A few third downs we wish that we could have converted,” St. Brown said. “We went for it on fourth down a few times; I wish we would have had those. They played well on defense that second half.”

It was the first NFC Championship game for the Detroit Lions since 1991, and the team was closer than ever before to making the all-illusive Super Bowl. They had multiple chances late in the game but the team’s aggressive fourth-down strategy seemed to be the deciding factor and the reason they came up just short.

Despite their shortcomings, the Lions’ game plan in the NFC Championship game wasn’t different from how they were playing all season. Campbell and the Lions went for fourth downs on a league-high 34% of the time but were just unlucky in their late-game attempts against San Fransisco.

“You want to make the most of every opportunity, and we had an opportunity – and we just couldn’t close it out, and it stings,” Campbell said.