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Dan Campbell of the\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0isn\u2019t the kind of coach who ever plays it safe, and that can be a good or bad quality, depending on what day it is and what\u2019s happening on the field. The Detroit Lions and\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles\u00a0had a\u00a0\u201cSunday Night Football\u201d\u00a0matchup on Sunday, November 16, and it was one of those nights where a more conservative approach would have benefited the Lions.<\/p>\n
The Eagles beat the Lions in a low-scoring,\u00a016-9 game, and Campbell was the one calling the offensive plays. He did something not many head coaches in the NFL do by taking over the offensive\u00a0play calling duties\u00a0from offensive coordinator John Morton for this game, as he also did for the team\u2019s game against the\u00a0Washington Commanders\u00a0on November 9. Campbell also says that he\u2019ll be doing it for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
In those play calls, Campbell went for it on fourth, which is no surprise. But, the Lions were 0-for-5 on fourth down in the loss, and two of those failed fourth down attempts came in field goal range. On top of that, two of the other fourth down attempts were in their own territory, and those resulted in field goals for Philly.<\/p>\n
This was like gambling at a different level. To go for it on basically every fourth is pretty much unheard of in the\u00a0NFL\u00a0or at any level of football.<\/p>\n
So, will Campbell change? Don\u2019t expect to see a change,\u00a0although speaking to the media\u00a0on Monday, November 17, the coach admitted that playing it safe would have been best.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some things I wish I would have done different,\u201d he said. \u201cThe bottom line is, if you go totally conservative in the way this game played out, in the way it was, you\u2019ve got a better chance of winning that game than some of those decisions I made.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, here\u2019s where Campbell doubled down on his fourth down calls and identity. \u201cI understand that. But also, that\u2019s who we are. That\u2019s who I am, and it bit us today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
So, don\u2019t expect Campbell to change. But, he might think twice before going as chancy as he did on Monday against the Eagles.<\/p>\n
According to NFL research, Detroit\u00a0Lions quarterback\u00a0Jared Goff\u00a0had the lowest completion percentage of his career, and even though Goff\u00a0threw for 255 yards, he only\u00a0completed 38 percent of his passes\u00a0and finished with a passer rating of 60.1.\u00a0Jahmyr Gibbs\u00a0and\u00a0David Montgomery\u00a0also struggled, although Gibbs led Detroit with five receptions for 107 yards.<\/p>\n
But, Campbell also had some kind things to say about the Lions, though. Chatting with the press, he said that the team \u201cfelt like we moved the ball pretty decently at times throughout the game and got down there and stall out a few times and obviously the fourth downs weren\u2019t good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cGive a ton of credit to them. They are a good defense. We like to think, if we were able to get a fourth down or two, it changes the game and even some of those third downs. But they played well and we weren\u2019t even close to up to snuff today.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles had a high-stakes game on Sunday evening, November 16, and it just wasn\u2019t the night for the Lions. The Eagles beat the Lions in a slow-moving, 16-9 game, leaving Dan Campbell and his offensive play calling at the mercy of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
The Detroit Lions had a chance to win this game, but play after play went wrong. Lions quarterback Jared Goff has some of the strongest numbers in the NFL, but during the Eagles game, he had the lowest completion percentage of his career, according to NFL research. Even though Goff threw for 255 yards, he only completed 38 percent of his passes and finished with a passer rating of 60.1. Not that it was all his fault. He wasn\u2019t calling the plays.<\/p>\n
Then, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery also struggled, although Gibbs led Detroit with five receptions for 107 yards. On the defensive side, the Detroit Lions did hold the Eagles, and Aidan Hutchinson finished with four tackles and half a sack.<\/p>\n
But, as The Athletic\u2019s Colton Pouncy points out in a piece published on Monday, November 17, the Lions\u2019 loss to the Eagles mean they won\u2019t be able to finished the season at No. 1 in the NFC like they did in 2024. On top of they, they just got a digger from former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.<\/p>\n
What a difference a day makes. On Monday, November 17, the Chicago Bears, spearheaded by Johnson, woke up to being the No. 1 team in the NFC North. Their definitive win, with a 19-17 score over the Minnesota Vikings, puts them with a 7-3 record for the season, while the Lions are 6-4. The Lions are actually No. 3, with the Green Bay Packers ahead of them with a 6-3-1 record.<\/p>\n
So, Johnson and the Bears have certainly sent the Lions a message by just silently being No. 1. They\u2019re on top, and the Lions better get themselves ready for their rematch on January 4, 2026. Both team\u2019s NFL bye weeks are long gone, they won\u2019t have time to rest before the rematch, either.<\/p>\n
As Pouncy from The Athletic notes, \u201cThe Lions are 6-4, third in the NFC North and on the outside looking in for the playoff race. This is not where they were expected to be after 11 weeks. They just lost a measuring-stick game against a contender in their conference, and any lingering hope of securing a first-round bye is just about lost after this outing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lions still absolutely have potential. Even though a bad game, the Detroit Lions\u2019 linebacker unit was on fire. Jack Campbell finished the contest with 15 tackles and one tackle for loss. Alex Anzalone was also strong and made an impressive play in lockstep with Philadelphia Eagles tight end Kyle Granson on a deep shot.<\/p>\n
So, where do the Detroit Lions go from here? Head coach Dan Campbell took over the play calling duties from offensive coordinator John Morton for this game, as he did for the team\u2019s game against the Washington Commanders on November 9. Campbell also says he plans to do so for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
But, after this showing, this writer believes he should absolutely reconsider. Just because he was able to execute against a delated Commanders team, without their franchise quarterback, does not mean he\u2019s equipped to make those calls in a game like the Lions had against the Eagles. Reach out to me with your thoughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dan Campbell of the\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0isn\u2019t the kind of coach who ever plays it safe, and that can be a good or bad quality, depending on what day it is and what\u2019s happening…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t