In the second half of the NFC championship game, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell stood by his choice to attempt two fourth-down conversions. However, he sounded less comfortable about another choice he made during the game’s fourth quarter.
With 1:05 left in regulation and a 10-point deficit, the Lions found themselves down 1 yard at the San Francisco 49ers’ 1-yard line on third and goal. Detroit had all three timeouts remaining.
But the Lions needed to score without calling a timeout in order to have the best chance of regaining possession of the ball.
However, the 49ers stopped running back David Montgomery for a 2-yard loss on third-and-goal. The next play resulted in a touchdown for the Lions, but Detroit had to take a timeout to save the clock after failing to cross the end zone with a run on third-and-goal.
The day after the game, Campbell second-guessed his choice to call a run on third and goal to reporters.
Throwing it is the simple thing to do. Campbell told the journalists, “It probably should have been the correct thing. However, I felt that I should run it. I assumed we would simply pop it. They were in a four-down front, and we had just two minutes [drilled] to throw the football the entire way down the field. I thought we would be in and out quickly.
“Yes, I must utilize a timeout because we just missed a block.
Throw it four times, in retrospect, but at the time, I thought it would be a walk-and-run. And it was unsuccessful. So I took a chance and lost.
NFC Championship Ended With Failed Lions Onside Kick
The Lions had a very slim chance to recover the ball with only two timeouts and fifty-six seconds left.
The Lions tried an onside kick, then. Onside kick success rate in the 2023 regular season was, however, a mere 4.8%.
Even if they had all three timeouts, the Lions might have tried an onside kick because they had such little time. Although an onside recovery was not necessary, Detroit’s defense preventing San Francisco from gaining a first down would have allowed the Lions to use all three timeouts and still have a possession.
With just two timeouts remaining, however, 49ers tight end George Kittle’s recovery of the onside kick effectively put a stop to the contest.
After Detroit utilized its final two timeouts, San Francisco called three runs to reduce the remaining time to less than five seconds. On fourth-and-long, the 49ers then took a knee as the clock ran out.
Lions’ Dan Campbell Defends Fourth-Down Attempts
Despite the fact that the Lions made a critical error by failing to score on third down, many analysts claimed the game was already lost.
During the second half, instead of scoring field goals ranging from 46 to 48 yards, Campbell decided to go for two fourth-and-short conversions (3 yards or less). Both times, the Lions were unable to convert.
As Campbell said, the past is never fully understood. Field goals would have been the “safer bet” to make. However, going into the NFC championship, Lions kicker Michael Badgley was 17 for 29 on outdoor field goals over 40 yards from 2019.
That isn’t precisely a secure wager.
It was really safer to leave the offense on the field when looking at percentages. The Lions converted 17 out of 22 fourth downs with three yards or less remaining, including the postseason.
During his postgame news conference, Campbell said to the media, “I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball.” “That’s what they do, they were bleeding the clock out, and I wanted to gain the upper hand.”NFC
