NFL Fans Blast Dan Campbell After Lions Missed Two Costly Fourth Down Attempts.
The Detroit Lions’ aggressive play-calling may have cost them a spot in the Super Bowl.
As he has done all season, coach Dan Campbell turned a blind eye to the field-goal unit during a pair of crucial fourth down situations in Sunday’s NFC championship tilt against the San Francisco 49ers, and it backfired both times.
Early into the third quarter, Campbell elected to go for it rather than pad the Lions’ lead, which was 24–10 at the time. The team failed to pick up the first down, opening the door for the 49ers to claw back into the game.
San Francisco did exactly that, taking a lead midway through the fourth quarter. With Detroit trailing 27–24, Campbell once again kept the field goal unit on the sideline and attempted to boldly go for it on fourth down.
The Lions failed again, and the 49ers scored on the ensuing possession. After San Francisco ran up 27 unanswered points, fans on social media began pointing the finger to Campbell’s brash decision making as the cause for the game’s momentum shift.