Lions head coach Dan Campbell has shown he's not afraid to make courageous decisions, even if they're unpopular ideas.
Late in the game, with the Packers and Lions tied at 31, with 43 seconds left, Campbell sealed the game with a bases-run homer in the Green Bay 21.
It was a tough and courageous decision for Campbell after it first appeared that Jake Bates might come on the field for a field goal.
“[Dan Campbell is] I want to die aiming for that. But obviously, for us to have any chance of winning this game, he's got to kick this field goal, he's got to at least get a three-point lead here.” Kirk Herbstreit said on the Prime Video broadcast.
However, Jared Goff remained on the field as the Lions attempted a fourth down conversion.
The decision paid off, and although it was far more painful than Campbell had hoped, Goff's legs got tangled up while passing the ball to David Montgomery, who ended up crossing the line for 7 yards and a first. Got a down.
“I just stumbled a little bit there,” Goff said. “I feel bad when I’m a quarterback.”
This allowed the Lions to attempt a field goal without giving the ball back to the Packers, and Bates took the winning kick, his third of the season.
“I felt like we needed to finish it off on offense,” Campbell said. He tried for a fourth down five times, but only failed to convert once. “I didn't want to give the ball back and I believed we could convert. I trust the O-line. I trust David.”
Detroit won 34-31, with Bates kicking the winning field goal as time expired.
“We talked about we're going to be pretty aggressive that week,” Goff said on the postgame show. “Dan let me know at the beginning of the week, 'Hey, offensive line, we're going to put this on your shoulders.' We're going to be pretty aggressive, and we're going to have a chance to go for it at No. 4. I-I’m going to do that.”
The Lions converted four of five fourth-down opportunities against the Packers in a key NFC North showdown between rival teams.
With Thursday's win, the Lions remain one of only two teams in the NFL with one loss.
— with AP
