Ryan Clark dropped an interesting take about Dan Campbell’s aggressive fourth-down decisions on Thursday Night Football.
The Detroit Lions look like an unbeatable team right now. Detroit is 12-1 for the first time in franchise history after beating Green Bay 34-31 on Thursday. The Lions clinched a playoff berth with the win, securing back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since the 1994-95 seasons. They got the win on the back of some gutsy decisions by head coach Dan Campbell.
Campbell’s fearless decisions on Thursday Night Football drew an intriguing admission from ESPN’s Ryan Clark. He made it clear that nobody else in the NFL can do what Dan Campbell does as a head coach.
“There is one coach in the entire NFL that makes that decision,” Clark said about the Lions on Friday via Get Up. “It’s not about the cache of your resume, or of your career. It’s about the cache of your decision making. He was 3-13-1 [and] that’s the dude he was. When he was 8-9, that’s the dude he was. When he’s in the NFC Championship game, that’s the dude he was. Because he’s been that dude consistently, he’s got a team that’s going to go out and play that way and understand that and try to make you right as much as they possibly can.”
Clark also noted that Campbell is used to being questioned for his fourth-down decision making. He does not believe the decision would have been right for anyone but Campbell.
“But the same way we sat up here on those two-point conversions against the Dallas Cowboys last year and question him, we would have questioned him again,” Clark continued. “The same way after the NFC Championship and questioned him, we would have questioned him again. But we would walk away the same way we walk away every time. What do we say? That’s Dan Campbell. It’s the right decision for Dan Campbell. It’s the wrong decision for everybody else.”
The Lions are lucky to have Dan Campbell as their head coach.
Dan Campbell’s aggressive fourth-down decisions lead to huge Lions win
There is no denying that the outcome of this game would have been different without Dan Campbell.
Campbell’s Lions went four-of-five on fourth-down attempts, which gave the Lions enough of an edge to win the game. The Lions executed those plays well, exactly how Campbell coached them to.
“That was how I wanted to play that team with where we are at,” Campbell said after the game via ESPN. “This will be one of those you’ll never forget.”
Campbell explained why he decided to go for it on fourth down on the final drive of the game.
“I just felt like we needed to end it on offense, I did not want to give the ball back and I believed we could convert,” Campbell said. “I trust the O-line, I trust David.”
Detroit always plays to win the game under Campbell. That mentality has translated into a ton of wins over the past two seasons. Lions fans hope it will continue into the playoffs as well.
Next up for the Lions is an epic Week 15 game against the AFC-leading Bills.
