Dan Campbell takes blame for Lions’ loss after costly blunder
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell walks down the sideline during the first half of the NFC wild-card game against Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. Photo Credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Detroit Lions made a critical mistake that cost them points during their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and head coach Dan Campbell said he deserves all of the blame for what transpired.
The Lions lost 20-16 to the Buccaneers at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. Campbell’s team put together a drive late in the first half while trailing 13-6 and should have been able to kick an easy field goal to cut the lead to 13-9. The Lions had no timeouts remaining and got the ball to the Tampa Bay 9-yard line with a few seconds left in the half. Jared Goff quickly hustled to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball to stop the clock, but Detroit was penalized for having too many men on the field. The penalty resulted in a 10-second runoff and the end of the half.
Campbell was interviewed by FOX sideline reporter Laura Okmin just after the costly mistake. The Lions coach said he “totally screwed my team” by calling for a “hurricane” play, which meant the kicking unit would have to hustle onto the field. That is how Detroit ended up with too many players on the field.
“Listen, 100 percent on the head coach here, alright? I totally screwed my team,” Campbell said. “That is mine. We’re going for the clock, clock it, it’s not a hurricane. I made a decision that I shouldn’t have made, and our team’s gonna have to overcome it. That’s the bottom line.”
Dan Campbell completely owns a boneheaded mistake that cost Detroit points at the end of the half. It’s impossible to not love this guy. pic.twitter.com/cpzdfY9xNb
— Josh Hill (@jdavhill) September 15, 2024
Campbell repeated that message in his postgame press conference.
“I asked for improvement from last week was the story, and we did improve. We did improve, and their coach cost them. Their head coach cost them this one,” he said. “Critical error (at the) end of (the first) half. 100 percent on me. We improved. There’s areas we gotta continue to improve on, but it’s not okay.”
Coach Campbell on today's loss pic.twitter.com/ABX74hDBpj
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 15, 2024
The Lions led 16-13 in the second half until Baker Mayfield put together a touchdown drive late in the third quarter. Detroit still had chances to win late, but they were in a position where they needed a touchdown rather than a field goal. Had they secured those three points before the half, they might have ended up only needing a field goal late to win.
Campbell made one incredibly gutsy call in the game that paid off, but the penalty at the end of the first half ended up being the big story. The Lions coach is not hiding from that, which his players will undoubtedly appreciate.
