Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell didn’t waste time addressing his questionable fourth down play-calling in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Lions carried a 24-7 lead into the locker room at halftime, only to unravel entirely by allowing 27 unanswered points in the second half. The Lions added one more touchdown late in the game to cut the 49ers’ lead to three, but San Francisco recovered the onside kick to ice the game.
Campbell is receiving immense criticism for twice passing on a field goal in the second half to go for it on fourth down. Both of those plays resulted in incompletions and a turnover on downs.
Speaking to reporters after the game, an emotional Campbell made it clear that he has no regrets over his aggressive play-calling — though he understands the criticism.
“I don’t regret those decisions,” Campbell said.
The Lions are left to wonder what went wrong over a short span of 30-minutes. From a virtual lock to reaching their first ever Super Bowl to suffering an all-time heartbreaker of a loss, it promises to be a long and painful offseason for the Lions.
