Jared Goff opens up on Dan Campbell's questionable 4th-down play calls after Lions' meltdown vs 49ers
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff was happy Dan Campbell let the offense stay on the field on fourth down.
Since Campbell took the head coaching job with the Lions, he has been aggressive, often going for it on fourth down and faking punts. It helped the Lions go to the NFC Championship game.
But, on Sunday, Detroit went for it twice on fourth down, and both times could have kicked field goals. The Lions' offense came up short and turned the ball over to San Francisco, which helped the 49ers rally for a 34-31 win.
Immediately, many fans were critical of Campbell's play calling, but Goff says he was glad his coach had trust in the offense to get a first down.
Jared Goff also defended his wide receiver Josh Reynolds, who dropped the ball on fourth down:
“Josh is a stud,” Goff told the media, via Heavy.com. “He made a mistake. We had plenty of mistakes out there. I missed throws. I took sacks. He made a mistake, and it happens. He’s an absolute stud.”
Ultimately, the Lions failed to convert on both fourth downs, which played a role in San Francisco getting the comeback win to advance to the Super Bowl.
Dan Campbell has no regrets about the play call
Following the San Francisco 49ers rallying to defeat the Detroit Lions, Dan Campbell spoke to the media and said he has no regrets over his decision.
"I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball," Campbell explained to reporters after the game. "They were bleeding the clock out. That's what they do and I wanted to get the upper hand back... I don't regret those decisions."
Had the Lions got both fourth downs, Detroit likely would have beaten San Francisco and advanced to the Super Bowl, which would have made Dan Campbell look like a genius with his playcalling.
But that isn't what happened, and instead, Detroit fell just short after going into halftime with a 17-point lead.