Dan Campbell says he only has one regret from Detroit Lions NFC championship loss to 49ers
INDIANAPOLIS — With a month to reflect on the heartbreaking end to his team's season, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday he still has one regret about his late-game decision-making in the Lions' 34-31 NFC championship game loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
"The only thing that, if I could go back, that I felt greedy on was at the very end of the game, and instead of just deciding what we’re going to do on fourth down to hold the timeout," Campbell said. "You can run it, do it on third down, and I should have waited till fourth. And at least you score, hold onto that last timeout. But I did, I got a little bit – I thought we were going to just pop the run. But hindsight, the smarter thing is you throw it. And at least you know the clock stops and you score and you hold the timeout, for one more chance, for another opportunity."
The Lions raced to a 24-7 halftime lead against the 49ers before coming undone in a slew of self-inflicted second-half mistakes.
They dropped passes, lost fumbles, and missed blocks, and Campbell turned down two long field goal attempts to try and convert on fourth down. The Lions failed on both conversion attempts, and the 49ers answered with touchdowns.
Trailing 34-24 late in the game, the Lions drove to the San Francisco 1-yard line with just over a minute to play when Campbell OK'd a third-and-goal run that was stopped for a loss when Jameson Williams missed a block.
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The Lions were forced to use their first timeout to stop the clock, and though they scored on the next play to pull within three points, there wasn't enough time left to get the ball back after the 49ers recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Campbell said the day after the game he "gambled and lost" on the third down play call.
"For me, I’m always going to look back and reflect on every game that happens, and particularly the losses," he said Tuesday. "Those always hurt worse and my job is to, if I can alleviate pressure, where do I do that? Where do I give our team the best chance to win?"
Campbell said the loss "absolutely" should benefit the Lions when they return for the 2024 season.
"To me, you should benefit from every loss," he said. "I think that if the losses are, they don’t motivate you to not lose again, and for sure lose to not lose an NFC championship game, then something’s wrong. To me, that’s the ultimate. I mean, you just don’t want to have that feeling anymore. Like you should do whatever it takes not to want to feel that. So, absolutely, we benefit from that."
Reeves-Maybin extension pivotal
The Lions signed Jalen Reeves-Maybin to a record-setting contract for a core special teams player Monday, a fitting deal for a player Campbell called "the best special teams player in the league."
"To be able to get him re-signed was huge," Campbell said. "He’s a vital part of what we do. He is part of the foundation, in my opinion."
Reeves-Maybin earned second-team All-Pro honors last season, when he tied for the NFL lead with 14 special teams tackles. He also converted two fake punts, one on a 31-yard pass to Khalil Dorsey and one on a 3-yard run, and played a rotational role at linebacker in obvious passing situations.
His two-year contract includes a $2.5 million signing bonus and has a maximum value of $8 million.
"I think it’s huge because yeah, he is a depth player but he’s a starter for one of our core teams," Campbell said. "We play with three phases and so he’s the best player in the league in one of the three units that we use to win games. We don’t just play with two units, so it was pivotal."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Dan Campbell has one regret from NFC championship loss
