Dan Campbell makes incredibly gutsy call to clinch Lions’ win

Aug 28, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell watches the third quarter action against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers won 19-9. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell has a reputation for being one of the boldest coaches in the NFL. That reputation grew Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Campbell made the gutsy call to go for it on 4th-and-2 from the Chargers’ 26-yard line with 1:47 to go in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. The Lions were already in field goal range and could have kicked to go ahead 41-38, but the Chargers would have had a minute and a half to tie or win the game.

Campbell incredibly opted to go for it despite the risk of coming away with no points in a tie game. The risk turned out to be worthwhile, as Jared Goff found rookie tight end Sam LaPorta for a first down. That allowed the Lions to run down the clock and kick the game-winning field goal on the final play of the game.

The decision was presumably informed by the fact that the Chargers had scored a touchdown on five straight drives against the Lions’ beleaguered defense. Trusting the defense to get a stop would have been a risk, especially since a touchdown would have won the game for the Chargers.

Campbell and the Lions went against the grain more than once on Sunday. Their 41-38 win moves them to 7-2, and their approach is clearly working more often than it doesn’t.