DETROIT — Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions had owned the Green Bay Packers in recent years.
They did it by remaining aggressive on fourth down, going for the final blow whenever the opportunity arose. Heck, a little more than one year ago, the Lions went to Lambeau and beat the Packers by scoring on two fourth downs, making coach Matt LaFleur drop an NSFW reaction on the sideline.
The roles were reversed on Thanksgiving, bringing another sting to a disappointing season, but with a new flavor.
Green Bay came into Detroit and beat the Lions in a way that helped propel them to new heights under Dan Campbell. The Packers converted on all three fourth-down attempts, including a gutsy one late to put the game away in a crucial situation.
With 1:55 left in a 31-24 game, the Packers went for it all on fourth-and-3 from Detroit’s 45-yard line. If they fail to convert, they give Jared Goff the ball with more than enough time and favorable field position to try and tie the game. If they convert, the game is over.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love put another ball in the air for receiver Dontayvion Wicks to make a play. Brian Branch was tight in coverage, and Wicks lost a shoe in the process, but he made another big-time catch to make Green Bay thankful.
“They closed that game out,” Campbell said. “They made the critical plays.
“It was a good decision. Going for the win, finish a game, and they came up with it.”
LaFleur decided to go for it in that situation ahead of time, embracing the mentality the Lions have thrived on in key moments in recent years. The Packers coach said he told Love they had two downs heading into third-and-3, trusting his hot hand in Wicks to go up and make one more play for the win.
“I’d rather go down swinging, similar to how we did in Arizona,” LaFleur said. ”Sometimes it can bite you, absolutely, and you just have to deal with the consequences that come along with that.
“Dan (Campbell) has always been aggressive, and we knew it was going to come down to that. I think, really, when you look at it, both sides of the ball, the fourth down was the difference in the game.”
But the tide has shifted this year, especially as the season heads into the homestretch. The Lions are operating without tight end Sam LaPorta, and now, potentially Amon-Ra St. Brown for a stretch.
They failed to convert on their two fourth-down tries on Thanksgiving and have now struck out on the last seven times Campbell has rolled the dice.
They have fallen to 19th in the NFL with a fourth-down conversion rate of 52%. The Lions ranked seventh (66.7%) last season, and have gone for it all in those moments more than most since Campbell took over in 2021.
Campbell isn’t about to change his or the team’s identity. But the Lions coach regrets his call, not the decision to go for it, on the first play of the game.
That came early in the third quarter, with the Lions trailing 17-14 with the ball at Green Bay’s 47-yard line. Jahmyr Gibbs had just lost 1 yard on a third-and-2 run, and the Lions went right back to the run up the gut. Gibbs ran into a wall, lost 2 yards, and the Packers hit a 51-yard touchdown to go up 24-14 just two plays later.
“I don’t know how good of an opportunity we really gave our guys on that first one,” Campbell said. “Even at the end of the day, we had an opportunity, but we just couldn’t get it done there later in the game.”
Detroit’s interior offensive line has been one of the main weaknesses and an inconsistent area. The Lions were already starting Kayode Awosika for Christian Mahogany at left guard. Graham Glasgow was out, with Trystan Colon starting at center. They were also missing their top two tight ends.
Banking on that unit to push the Packers enough to convert those two crucial attempts was quite the choice. That’s what we mean when we talk about meshing identity more with current execution and what Campbell has available to him.
Detroit’s other fourth-down attempt came on fourth-and-3 from Green Bay’s 21-yard line with 10:55 remaining in a 31-21 game. Goff sent one for a wide-open Williams, the ball was off the mark, and the receiver failed to reel it in despite getting his hands on it. It was a good design, the look was there, but the execution was lacking. Williams is a different style of pass-catcher than St. Brown and LaPorta, so it’s another adjustment the Lions must make to fit the pieces they have on the field.
On the bright side, Williams had a career day, with seven catches for 144 yards and one touchdown. But that misfire is going to be remembered more than the others, because of what it meant at that moment and the team’s postseason chances.
When asked if St. Brown’s absence limited the team’s effectiveness in those moments, Campbell agreed that losing a player of that caliber who does so much is a major blow. He reiterated his trust in players like Gibbs, Jameson Williams and recent practice squad call-up Tom Kennedy.
Kennedy stepped up against the Packers, catching all four targets sent his way for 36 yards, including a pair of third-down conversions. But that line should be a reminder of what the Lions don’t have right now, and those aggressive calls get more risky without players like St. Brown and LaPorta.
“And so, if you like the players and you like the play, there’ll be sometimes you may not like the coverages you think you may get,“ Campbell said. ”Or if it’s you know the ball’s going to go to this player, and it’s this route that you’re going to have to win them, maybe you don’t like it. But in the moment, it felt like the right thing to do today.”