After the Lions’ dramatic 34-31 last-second win over the Packers, head coach Dan Campbell shared his philosophy for his daring fourth-and-1 call:
“Let’s get this over with.”
Detroit converted on fourth down despite a handoff slip from Jared Goff and kicked the winning field goal from 35 yards out. An earlier kick from 38 yards would have left Green Bay with about 40 seconds to play.
Dan Campbell’s Lions have consistently been one of the league’s most aggressive teams going for it on fourth downs and trying to impose their will on opposing defenses — and it’s a philosophy that will come in handy when the Lions try to win a Super Bowl with injuries mounting on defense. This is not the time to deviate from their path of aggression. This is going to be a big weapon for them going forward.
All things considered, the Lions’ defense performed admirably on Thursday night. They held Josh Jacobs to 66 yards on the ground (though, he also scored three touchdowns) and were in dire straits on a drive after a failed fourth-down attempt left the Packers out of the red zone. Packers quarterback Jordan Love still had a great game, but the Lions’ defense was down to three defensive linemen. before Losing star defensive tackle Aleem McNeil. They were already coming into the game without Aidan Hutchinson, Alex Anzalone, Ennis Rakestro Jr., Malcolm Rodriguez, John Kominski and Marcus Davenport, all of whom are on injured reserve. Every NFL team is going to be hurt to some degree through Week 14, but Detroit’s defense has really been decimated by injuries.
Fortunately, the offense is still good enough to give them a chance to win the Super Bowl as they try to tape together an effective defense for the playoffs. Even on a night where they were missing stud left tackle Taylor Decker, they had enough juice to put up 34 points on the Packers. Their offensive line is very dominant, the running backs are elite, Goff is getting the ball out on time, and Ben Johnson is a mastermind at pulling strings as a play-caller. Aren’t lions fools? no Hold the gas and let this unit take over?
Going for it repeatedly on fourth down is inherently aggressive — hell, even fourth down models were going for it in that situation as a very risky move to make a play on a field goal. However, being in charge of a unit like the Lions’ offense makes it easier to call. Who better to trust on fourth-and-1 than Penny Sewell and David Montgomery? If they’re going to play this brand of football, at least they have the personnel to make it completely defensible.
The best way to protect a beleaguered, injured defense is to make sure the offense keeps the ball and converts them into drives. Fourth down would be a part of that going for it.
The Lions are certainly at a disadvantage with their injuries on defense, but hopefully some of these guys can recover quickly and they will likely get an extra week of rest as they are in control of the top seed in this NFC. The moment they converted 80% of their fourth-down attempts against Green Bay, they needed every one of them to put that game on the ice. It’s already what they do, but this style of play, aggression and overall belief in talent makes it a shield to protect their defense.
Next week’s game against Buffalo will likely provide more need for the offense, but that’s just the standard operation for the new-age Lions.
