January 28th, 2024 at 11:31 PM ^
No, you have a go call (Reynolds drop), the run before that by ASB and the run with under a minute.
Dan's job is saying go or not. That's it.
In order that they happened:
1. Dan tells Ben he has two plays to get 5 yards rather than kick a FG. Ben calls the ASB inside run for 3 yards.
2. Ben then calls the throw that is about as open as any NFL coach, OC, QB and WR could want and Reynolds drops a ball that is in his hands.
3. Ben calls a run on 3rd down with under a minute. (I agree that the earlier FG attempt may have been a better idea but it's tough either way asking for a 3&out, going the distance with no TOs or a turnover vs the onside odds).
The call to go is on Dan and it worked, short of a bad drop. Read it again: it worked, short of a bad drop. Accept that fact and that the FG is not guaranteed either.
The plays are called by Ben. The beef here, if any is to be had, is with Ben and a WR that dropped the two most important passes of his career.
January 28th, 2024 at 10:37 PM ^
Also an awful way to end the season considering the draft is going to be held in Detroit. Instead of being excited for it, it's going to be ho-hum at best, especially if the 49ers are celebrating a Super Bowl victory.
January 28th, 2024 at 10:46 PM ^
doubtful any lions fans will be dwelling on this several months from now. we aren't that kind of fanbase
January 28th, 2024 at 10:46 PM ^
doubtful any lions fans will be dwelling on this several months from now. we aren't that kind of fanbase
January 28th, 2024 at 11:06 PM ^
You and Los Barcos … such bad takes. Pleas do us a favor and stop.
January 28th, 2024 at 10:43 PM ^
The Lions have young talent plus Goff a lot will want a lot more money going to effect the salary cap no guarantee they get back. Plus no Ben Johnson just Dan to make more stupid decisions.
January 28th, 2024 at 10:50 PM ^
Lions fans - we haven’t won two playoff games in one year since 1950s
also lions fans - we will be back next year!
if any fan base should know - it’s ours. These seasons don’t come around often and shouldn’t be expected. We had a chance - Dan blew it
January 29th, 2024 at 2:01 AM ^
Only because the playoff format was extended. after the Lions whipped the cowboys at home and got destroyed by the redskins on the road. A win and we would have been in the super bowl that year. This one hurts more since our offense played so well in the first half and if the offense did not implode in the 2nd we would be playing the super bowl.
.
January 28th, 2024 at 10:51 PM ^
Chase Young sucks!
January 28th, 2024 at 10:56 PM ^
Who's Chase Young ?
January 28th, 2024 at 10:51 PM ^
Chase Young sucks!
January 28th, 2024 at 11:16 PM ^
If you have enjoyed this season as a Lions fan and are complaining about Campbell. Stop.
He did not make Reynold's drop key passes, Gibbs fumble, or our DB use their face as a backboard for a TD et cetera.
I would have prefered they run Montygomery on the first 4th down and kick the FG on the 2nd BUT I refuse to complain about that considering it was what got us here.
I am not sure what the cap situation is like but we bring the vast majority of the team back. If they have a decent off-season we could be posed for another run.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:23 PM ^
We all love Dan Campbell, except for his stubborn 4th down calls that LOSE GAMES. This isn’t the first time and he doesn’t seem to learn.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:27 PM ^
We have also won games because of that aggression. Like I said, it is how we got here. It is easy to bitch when it fails.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:29 PM ^
And those stubborn 4th-down calls win them games as well. Asking your shaky kicker to hit a 48-yarder on grass (something he hasn't done all year) isn't remotely close to a given.
Detroit wins this game if Reynolds holds onto the ball on that 4th-down play, Gibbs doesn't fumble because he went the wrong way, that pick doesn't bounce off a facemask into the WR's hands, etc. All of this 4th-down complaining is just retroactive feelingsball.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:35 PM ^
“Shaky kicker” is quite the narrative. He’s a career 80% kicker from 40-49 yards, and a little better than that as a lion these past two years.
January 29th, 2024 at 7:49 AM ^
Late in the game, I think you have to be more calculated in your decision making. The attitude to just shove all your chips into the pot and go for it will catch up with you.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:27 PM ^
What you got you here isn’t the same as what you need to win now. Sure, he can go for all the fourth downs he wants in week 6 against Jacksonville- but in a single elimination game the “sending a message to your team” factor doesn’t mean anything if you lose. Which, we did because of his stubborn decisions.
i can be happy for what Dan did this season, and also pissed at how he coached this game tonight
January 28th, 2024 at 11:31 PM ^
And if we took and missed those field goals you would be bitching "why would you become Ryan Day on the biggest stage, stick to your guns!"
January 29th, 2024 at 12:03 AM ^
This. It's so insane. Had he brought the kicker out and those kicks were missed they'd all be saying he turtled and he's a pussy. They'd be saying the exact opposite shit instead of not raging out and using nonsense arguments for how it happened when the actual reasons are staring them in the face. They watched them live. From the drops to the fumble to the CB using his head as a backboard for the WR to do a tomahawk dunk off of.
The offense that was the 2023 Detroit Lions went cold after coming out hot. Got tight after coming out loose. Etc. Dan sucks or blew it despite not sucking or blowing it enough to take a 17pt lead into the half. What changed? Either he suddenly started to suck and go stupid...or...the offense imploded.
I'm going with what I watched live and I watched a veteran WR drop the two biggest passes of his life. I watched an amazing rookie RB both run the wrong play and then fumble on that very same play. I watched another amazing rookie that's a TE drop a ball he caught all year. I watched Williams let a TD sail through his arms. I watched Goff miss throws and reads he hadn't done all year.
It was collective. When your offense breaks down and your defense is made of toothpicks and bubblegum, you lose games even when you looked really good before breaking down.
January 29th, 2024 at 7:57 AM ^
I can agree with everything you say.
However, if we attempt and make two makeable field goals, we're in the Superbowl.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:33 PM ^
He went for a pass on 2nd and 9 to get a 1st down to end the game against LA. Say he runs it twice instead, Stafford gets the ball back, and drives for a game winning field goal?
January 28th, 2024 at 11:28 PM ^
Campbell has been great for the Lions and led them this far.
That said, and yes, hindsight is 20-20, situationally he should have kicked the FG when up 14 in the 3rd.
SF only got 3 on their 1st drive. Making a FG there puts it back at 17 and SF feels like they've accomplished nothing while half the 3rd quarter had already burned away. They are not a big play team and would have been playing under pressure and forced to pass more, allowing the Lions to pin their ears back.
Situations are different and that's one where I think he really F'ed up - despite the right play call and despite the unfortunate drop by the receiver - I think sometimes its not just about outcome, but game theory. Love aggression, but a FG there really puts the 9'ers in a shit situation.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:59 PM ^
But a TD on that drive REALLY puts the 49’ers in a world of manure situation. But, it’s moot since no one knows how the game would have played out if they kicked a FG there. A ball bounces off a safety’s face mask for a huge gain, your sure handed RB fumbles, your usually steady receivers aren’t….🤷♂️
January 29th, 2024 at 6:21 AM ^
Whether you kick a FG or score a TD, either way you go up three possessions. On 4th down I’d just kick it.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:33 PM ^
It hurts to say “We almost made the Super Bowl,” but it’s a far sight better than what we are usually saying this time of year:
”I wonder if we’ll ever win a playoff game again”
”I wonder who we will draft with our high pick this year? Oh wait - it doesn’t matter. We will waste the pick on a bad player, or waste the career of a good player”
“Same old Lions - bad players, bad coaches, bad management, bad owner, no hope”
We are not saying ANY of those things this year. We have a young team, good coaches, and a more than competent front office. They should remain competitive for a good while
January 29th, 2024 at 8:10 AM ^
Yeah, we Lions fans should be willing to wait another year or so.
We Lions fans should be patient and wait another.......30+ years.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:39 PM ^
Just for the record Badgley has made 18 of his last 21 kicks from 40-49 yards 86%
January 28th, 2024 at 11:54 PM ^
You assume that tying the game at 27 would have led to a Lions’ victory. Given the way our D played, that assumes facts not in evidence.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:59 PM ^
No I assume at those percentages he kicks the one to make it 27-10 and the whole game changes with them down 3 scores did you forget about that one?
January 29th, 2024 at 12:03 AM ^
Being down 17 I/o 14 doesn’t change the 49’ers strategy one iota. They needed breaks to get back in it. The long pass that bounces off of the safety and the fumble did that. Whether tied or down by 3, those plays are what really made the difference.
January 29th, 2024 at 12:10 AM ^
That is such pathetic logic. They would have theoretically still scored off that bank shot (you telling me they wouldn't take a deep shot down "3 scores") and Gibbs still fumbles. It would have had almost no impact on game flow and we still would have lost all momentum.
January 29th, 2024 at 12:58 AM ^
Were all of those kicks outside in San Francisco? How many did Badgley make in pre-game warmups?
January 29th, 2024 at 10:14 AM ^
How many of the 4th calls worked in the pressure of the NFC championship game?
January 28th, 2024 at 11:41 PM ^
damn. even if the lions had won, college football is so much more entertaining to me.
January 28th, 2024 at 11:46 PM ^
I knew it was a bad sign when the Pistons won earlier today. Selfish bastards.
January 29th, 2024 at 12:11 AM ^
I know next to nothing about the NFL, but had a question: On that long play where their receiver caught that fluke-y bomb that bounced off our CB, there was a flag. Was the flag for P.I.? Or something else? If it had been P.I., would they have gotten the ball at the spot anyway? I guess in my mixed-up way, I was trying to measure how completely pivotal that fluke play was... or if the result there would've been the same. Thanks for any insight!
January 29th, 2024 at 12:34 AM ^
Should have been offensive pass interference. Our guy had position and was going to catch the ball and the receiver banged him out of the way clearly. If you change the color of the jerseys that exact same play is defensive pass interference. We got hosed a critical play.
January 29th, 2024 at 1:40 AM ^
Thanks XM! That coincides with my read of the play, but I didn't know if the rules differed between college and pros, etc. Several HUGE tough plays/ tough calls down the stretch there... Guess I'll go back to my Rose Bowl highlights :)
January 29th, 2024 at 2:10 AM ^
If the bounce was not caught it would have been PI. The ball would be inside the 10 anyways. The Lions DB was grabbing before the ball arrived.
January 29th, 2024 at 12:43 AM ^
The whole momentum of the game changed when the 49ers stopped the Lions on the 1st if the 4th down attempts. It have them life.
And Campbell didn't learn from that the 2nd time.
January 29th, 2024 at 2:10 AM ^
Its a loser mentality to defend Campbell. HE LOST US THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WITH HIS HORRIBLE DECISION MAKING. Take the fucking points when they are available.
Or did people forget about the TCU game? Take the points. Take the god damn points
January 29th, 2024 at 10:20 AM ^
Bingo!
January 29th, 2024 at 6:35 AM ^
Between both the AFC and NFC Championship games, both gamers felt like one team just giving the game away. The AFC Championship much more so. Outside of a performance from Kelce, I'm not sure what KC really did to win that game more than Baltimore just flat out losing it.
The NFC Championship game felt that way to an extent as well. Granted, some of it was just blind, dumb luck with that tipped catch, but that third quarter felt like every mistake that the Lions could've made, they DID make. It was like 50 years of "Same Ol' Lions" all coming back and enforcing itself in the span of ten minutes.
January 29th, 2024 at 10:19 AM ^
We can debate this forever, but again the poor losers are the Lions fans for the game and for the future cause I’ve heard many stories how the season ticket holders will be gauged with exorbitant ticket prices rises. So the Fords, Campbell, and Holmes can get big raises for not getting to the Super Bowl yet again!
January 29th, 2024 at 2:27 PM ^
That was 20 pages of pure entertainment for any BEARS fan looking for schadenfreude. Having lived through Double-Doink and Rex Grossman (Worse QB to kame the Super-Bowl IMO) I did at least get 1985.
Carry on my Michigan friends.
January 29th, 2024 at 4:29 PM ^
Ef the Bears!
Sorry/not sorry.