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Dan Campbell earns Coach of the Year praise for, ahem, gutsy calls in Lions' 41-38 win

jared ramsey, detroit free press
·4 min read
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Dan Campbell is known for his love for aggressive play calls, but the fourth-down call to seal the Detroit Lions' 41-38 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday will be a fourth-down call that sticks out against the rest for a long time.

With the game tied at 38 and the clock reading 1:48, Campbell kept his offense on the field instead of sending Riley Patterson out to attempt the 43-yard field goal to take the lead. The decision may have been born out of frustration and mistrust of the defense, which could not slow down Justin Herbert and the Chargers' offense.

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He couldn't trust the defense to get a stop more than the offense to pick up more than 2 yards on the next play, and rightfully so. On fourth down, Jared Goff waited patiently in the pocket before firing a perfect pass to Sam LaPorta for a 6-yard gain and a first down.

Detroit killed all but 2 seconds left on the clock after that, then sent out Patterson, who nailed the 41-yard kick for the win.

The gutsy decision moved the Lions to 4-of-5 on fourth down conversions in the game, and they were all needed to outlast the Chargers' potent offense. Detroit jumped out to a 17-3 lead thanks to amazing performances from their two running backs, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, but couldn't buy a stop defensively against Justin Herbert and the L.A. offense.

The gambles paid off for Detroit, who won largely because they had the ball last. The Lions now sit at 7-2 for just the third time in franchise history. They also hit that mark in 1993 (the last time they won the division) and 2014 (made the playoffs).

Detroit fans and the rest of the NFL world erupted with praise for Campbell for playing for the win and trusting his team's best unit, the offense, to deliver when it mattered most.

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The energy surrounding the Lions from fans is palpable. The back-and-forth win against a playoff team from last year was proof Detroit is built for the biggest moments and ready to return to the postseason. Even though there were mistakes, fans recognized this was the type of game old Lions teams would fumble away, not win with clutch playcalling. It was also another strong performance by traveling Lions fans, who took over SoFi Stadium with Honolulu blue.

The Lions social media team also got in on the fun online and took a shot at the Chargers, who called the Lions' rookies "questionable draft picks" in their animated schedule release video before the season.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Dan Campbell praise by many for, ahem, gutsy decisions