Dan Campbell has stood by his questionable decisions despite the loss
TOM Brady has not held back on Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell’s aggressive playcalling in their NFC title game loss.
The Lions fell just short of their first-ever Super Bowl berth on Sunday, losing 34-31 to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Tom Brady admitted of the Detroit Lions’ second turnover on downs, ‘The handoff there late in the game that was the one that I didn’t understand’Credit: Getty
Lions head coach Dan Campbell later said he didn’t ‘regret those decisions’Credit: AP
Discussing the Lions’ loss with Jim Gray on the Let’s Go! podcast, Brady said he felt “The whole team’s responsible,” before admitting he questioned some of Campbell’s aggressive calls.
Early on, it looked to be smooth sailing for the Lions, who went into the half up 24-7.
However, after the break things quickly fell apart.
On five offensive drives in the second half, the Lions scored once, punted once, turned the ball over thanks to a fumble once, and turned the ball over on downs twice.
The first failed fourth down attempt came on their initial offensive drive, shortly after a 49ers field goal.
Quarterback Jared Goff attempted a short pass to Josh Reynolds from the San Francisco 28-yard line on 4th and 2, as opposed to taking the field goal and extending their lead back to 17 points.
The next failed attempt came in the fourth quarter just 7:32 to go on a 4th and 3 at the Niners’ 30-yard line.
Again, a Goff pass sailed incomplete, this time to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
A field goal would have tied the game.
Brady agreed with Gray that Campbell’s aggressive playcalling on the two failed fourth down attempts were head-scratchers.
“The handoff there late in the game that was the one that I didn’t understand,” he admitted.
“Unless you saw some incredible look to walk the ball in, you just can’t take the chance that you’re gonna be stopped short and keep the clock running because you just can’t get the ball back.
“So that was the one that I just said, ‘I don’t know what they’re doing.’
“And I thought it was just a flat-out error. And the other ones were judgment calls.”
And it seems these “Judgement calls” came as no surprise to Brady, who noted that Detroit has, “Been aggressive all year,” adding, “You know obviously, when you’re aggressive and it doesn’t work, it comes back to bite you.
“It came back to bite them yesterday. Again, I would’ve taken the points.
“I’ve been in those situations. I look at them and I say, ‘OK, this is the opportunity to continue to keep the pressure on the 49ers to make great plays and you’re in a great position.’”
Despite their failures, Campbell told the media after the game that he didn’t “regret those decisions,” despite the power of hindsight.
“I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball,” he explained.
“They were bleeding the clock out, it’s what they do, and I wanted to get the upper hand back.”
As for the loss as a whole, Campbell admitted “It stings.”
He relayed the importance of making the most of your opportunities when they come to you, saying, “I told those guys, ‘This may have been our only shot.’ Do I think that? No.”
Campbell later admitted, “It’s gonna be twice as hard to get back to this point next year than it was this year. That’s the reality.
“And if we don’t have the same hunger and the same work, which is a whole other thing once we get the offseason [done], then we’ve got no shot at getting back here.
“I don’t care how much better we get or what we add or what we draft, it’s irrelevant. It’s gonna be tough.”
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Both failed fourth down conversions saw Jared Goff passes go incomplete
