Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions teams are known for going for it on fourth down, but this week’s game marked something else entirely.
The Lions absolutely dismantled the Dallas Cowboys during their Week 6 matchup, winning in a 47-9 laugher. Detroit hung five touchdowns and four field goals on the Cowboys off nine consecutive drives to begin the game (not counting an end-of-first-half kneeldown by the Lions). The fun finally ended in the fourth quarter though when Detroit put together a drive that did not result in a score … albeit not for a lack of trying.
With the Lions already up 38 points, they decided to go for it on a 4th-and-3 from the Dallas 31-yard line. In what can only be described as a disrespectful gimmick play, Detroit had 6-foot-10, 330-pound offensive lineman Dan Skipper line up as an eligible receiver out wide. Second-string QB Hendon Hooker, who was on in relief for Jared Goff at that point, then took the snap but was sacked before the play could materialize.
Here is the video of the unusual play (with a replay of Skipper’s entertaining turn-and-cut).
They do not care. pic.twitter.com/glj3fkBg0n
— Ari M (@AriMeirov) October 13, 2024
That was the definition of just trying anything. Detroit was within field-goal range there, but they didn’t try to run up the score. They also didn’t run the play clock all the way down, so they weren’t just milking the time. Instead, it seemed like the Lions wanted to just run a play to entertain themselves.
In any case, Detroit is now a stellar 4-1 on the season with the thrashing of Dallas marking their most convincing victory yet. But the win on Sunday definitely still came at a cost, namely to one of their top defensive studs.
