There isn’t a situation in which Dan Campbell won’t go for it on fourth down. We found that out on Thursday night.
The Detroit Lions failed on a fourth down from their own 31 earlier in the second half against the Green Bay Packers, and had what seemed like an obvious decision to kick a field goal with 43 seconds left in a tie game. But it wasn’t obvious. The Lions went for it, and even with Jared Goff falling down while taking the snap, he handed to David Montgomery for a 7-yard gain and a first down.
That meant Jordan Love and the Packers wouldn’t have the chance to answer a field goal.The Lions were tied 31-31 with just a few minutes left and a depleted defense that was having a hard time getting a stop. And Detroit did what a championship team should do: It made all the plays it had to and got a much-needed win. It was a game of the year candidate, with each team taking turns making huge plays. The Lions just made a few more plays when it had to. Goff shook off a bad interception, which has been rare for him this season, to make some big plays in the second half, including several on a game-winning drive in the final minutes.
And then Campbell’s decision helped put the game away. There might be a time in the playoffs in which his aggressiveness backfires, like last season’s NFC championship game, but it is also a big reason Detroit is 12-1 this season and have won a franchise-record 11 straight games.
