Lions coach Campbell’s gamble leads to 49ers advancing to Bowl
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell was going to stay true to what paved the way for his team to reach the NFC Championship Game this past Sunday versus the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Campbell is known for being aggressive in taking chances on fourth downs instead of going the safe route of a punt or a field goal. Against the 49ers, he opted to go for it on fourth down in two crucial spots, failing on both attempts. These two key decisions arguably cost the Lions a trip to the Super Bowl as the 49ers overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit to defeat the Lions 34-31.
San Francisco will now face the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-10, in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11.
The Detroit Lions dominated the first half by running the football and proficiently mixing in play-action passes. They opened the game with a touchdown on their first drive when wide receiver Jameson Williams took a handoff from quarterback Jared Goff at 42 yards for a 7-0 lead.
Detroit took a 14-0 lead after an 11-play, 62-yard drive ended with a touchdown by running back David Montgomery. The 49ers offense woke up on the next drive, putting together an eight-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a two-yard touchdown by Christian McCaffrey.
Detroit added another touchdown when running back Jahmyr Gibbs scored on a 15-yard run to put the Lions up 21-7. The San Francisco defense was able to stall Detroit’s offense in the red zone later in the first half at the three-yard line to force a 21-yard field goal and the Lions took a commanding lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, a Jake Moody field goal at 11:02, a touchdown pass from 49ers QB Brock Purdy to receiver Brandon Aiyuk at 5:17, and a one-yard push by San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey at 3:02 capped 17 unanswered points by the 49ers to tie the score at 24-24.
But the momentum could have been stopped by the Lions. Instead, midway through the third quarter, still up by 14, Campbell went for it on fourth-and two from the 49ers’ 28, opting not to kick a field goal. The pass from Goff to receiver Josh Reynolds was not perfect, but arguably should have been caught. Reynolds dropped it and the 49ers gained confidence.
At 7:32 of the fourth quarter, with the Lions down 27-24, Campbell went for it again on fourth-and-three at the 49ers’ 30. Once again the attempt failed.
“It’s easy in hindsight,” said Campbell to the media after the game. “I get that, but I don’t regret those decisions and that’s hard. It’s hard because we didn’t come through.”
Winning coach Kyle Shanahan said his team kept its faith after falling behind.
“You had no other choice,” he said. “I think we were just pissed off…That would have been a real tough way to end [the season] if we couldn’t have played better with that group.”
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