Dan Campbell thought it was easy.
With the Lions closing in on a third score from the 49ers’ own 1-yard line, Detroit’s coach expected San Francisco to pass and expect David Montgomery to dash into the end zone to cut the 49ers’ 34-24 lead to three points. did. .
Instead, the veteran running back was stuffed for a 2-yard loss, forcing the Lions to use their first timeout with 56 seconds left.
“Yeah, throwing is the easiest,” Campbell said. Via MLive.com. “It was probably the right thing to do, but I wanted to do it. I thought I’d just pop it.
“We just (ran a two-minute offense) and threw the football all the way down the field, and they were on a fourth-down front, so we believed they were going to walk right in. And we just missed a block. So, yeah, I have to use a timeout.”
What the Lions scored on the next play (Jared Goff hit Jameson Williams for a touchdown) was ultimately meaningless (unless you bet the Lions 6.5 points plus).
The Lions were only able to stop the clock twice after the 49ers recovered an onside kick, but they were able to use up the remaining time and earned a 34-31 victory over the Chiefs, earning them a spot in the 2024 Super Bowl. He qualified for the bowl.
This wasn’t the only questionable call Campbell made that afternoon, but he defended the others.
The third-year coach was also criticized for missing two field goal opportunities.
The first was a fourth-and-2 from the 49ers’ 28-yard line, with the Lions leading 24-10 in the third quarter. Josh Reynolds dropped an easy conversion, and the 49ers scored on the ensuing possession thanks to a miraculous catch by Brandon Aiyuk.
And with the Lions trailing 27-24 in the fourth quarter, Campbell opted to go for a 4-3 from the 49ers’ 30, and Goff’s desperate pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown was missed. Completely finished.
The 49ers scored a touchdown on their next drive, effectively putting the game out of reach.
“It’s easy to think about it in hindsight. Okay. I get that, but I don’t regret that decision and it’s tough,” Campbell said after the game.
“It’s tough because we didn’t get results and things didn’t go well, but that’s not me. And I understand that I’m going to be under a lot of scrutiny, but that’s part of the job, but… That didn’t work.”
