Analytics studies have consistently shown that NFL teams should go for it on fourth down more often. But the coach who may be the most aggressive in the league on fourth downs says he hasn’t studied the math behind the decision.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said he has confidence in his offense picking up a few yards any time it needs a few yards, and that’s more about his personality than anything else.
“I don’t do this big study on what’s the success rate,” Campbell said. “To me every week is different on how you’re doing it, who you have, who they have, and either you’re going or you’re not going, more than the actual numbers. I’m always going to say within a yard, two yards, three, you’re down in the red zone, your odds are pretty good that you’re going to have success. I think it’s just part of my flavor, what I believe in.”
Campbell said his approach with his team might not be the right approach for every coach with every team.
“Everybody’s different. It doesn’t mean right/wrong,” Campbell said. “It’s really what you believe in and there’s no right or wrong. It’s what you really believe is gonna help you win that game that week, that opponent, who do you have, where are you at, weather, all of that stuff.”
Campbell both played for and coached under Sean Payton, and Campbell said Payton influenced his thinking because Payton always expressed confidence in what the Saints’ offense could do with players like Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara, regardless of whether he was making the by-the-book decisions.
“Sean certainly did,” Campbell said. “Sean had plenty of both. He was very balanced in that way, but I’ve mentioned this before: If you really believe, there were times he’d come in and say, ‘I love our third-and-2, third-and-3, I’ve got eight plays I love. Inside the 5-yard line, I’ve got eight plays I love and I know who we’re going to with Drew Brees.’ And you knew those weeks, it was a go. Fourth-and-5, I know we’re going to get man-to-man, we’re gonna get AK one-on-one, there’s no doubt about it, I don’t care if it’s fourth-and-2 or fourth-and-6, we’re going to get one-on-one with AK on this and we’re going to make the play. It was really about how good you feel with what you have.”
Campbell also said his coach at Texas A&M, R.C. Slocum, had success using the opposite approach, thinking of punting as a perfectly good result for his offense.
“I understand the other side of it,” Campbell said. “I was trained in the other side of it. I played in the other side of it. I’ve mentioned this before, college, my first exposure, R.C. Slocum was an outstanding coach, man. Outstanding. Won a lot of games, defensive mentality, and there was times I really felt like he was nervous when the offense was on the field. You guys just hurry up, now punt, now let’s go defense. We’re gonna score on defense. Wrecking Crew. So I know all of that.”
Campbell even said he shares the philosophy of John Candy’s character in the movie Uncle Buck: The title character wore a hat that a lot of people hated, but he liked it so he wore it.
“You guys ever seen Uncle Buck?” Campbell asked a group of reporters. “I think I’m a little bit like . . . the hat that he wears, right? It’s a little bit of a flavor and it’s my favorite hat, but just the mere sight of it, I think, really bothers a lot of people. So I always think of Uncle Buck, where John Candy is wearing it: Is it the hat?”
Campbell went for it on fourth-and-1 with 4:53 remaining in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s win over the Packers, a decision that it’s unlikely any other NFL coach would have made. The Lions were stuffed for a two-yard loss on the play, but they won the game anyway, and Campbell said he stands by that decision.
“I know what it is,” Campbell said. “But I also know there’s times, if you don’t do what you believe in and you’re sitting there and you don’t get a chance — it’s really about, when I lay my head on the pillow at night, what can I sleep with and feel good about. I don’t like the fact that we didn’t make the play the other day, believe me. But I can lay my head on the pillow at night knowing that that was the right decision.”
Lions Clips
The Lions got running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown back on the practice field Thursday.
Gibbs sat out on Wednesday with a shoulder injury and St. Brown has an ankle injury, but both of them were able to fully participate in their return to practice. That bodes well for both of them being in the lineup against the Vikings this weekend.
Defensive lineman Tyliek Williams also returned as a full participant after missing Wednesday with an illness. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, left tackle Penei Sewell, and defensive end DJ Wonnum all returned to work after resting Wednesday.
Safety Kerby Joseph (knee) and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw (ankle) were listed as limited for the second straight day. Running back Jacob Saylors (neck) moved from limited to full participation.
June Jones, a coach and quarterback best known for developing the run and shoot offense, has died at the age of 73.
Jones, who was born and raised in Portland, spent 1975 and 1976 as the quarterback at Portland State playing for head coach Mouse Davis. With Jones running Davis’s offense, Portland State put up passing numbers the likes of which had rarely been seen in football at any level.
After signing with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent, Jones stuck around for five seasons, mostly as a backup. Jones didn’t put up great passing numbers in the NFL, but during his pro career he became convinced that the run and shoot — an offense with one running back and four wide receivers, which NFL teams had never deployed — could work at the highest level of football.
Following his playing career, Jones became an assistant coach at Hawaii in 1983, spent two years in the USFL and CFL, and then was hired by head coach Jerry Glanville to be the quarterbacks coach of the Houston Oilers in 1987. With the Oilers, Jones coached future Hall of Famer Warren Moon and helped to show what the run and shoot offense could do with an elite quarterback running it.
After two years with the Oilers, Jones left to reunite with Davis, who was then the offensive coordinator on the Lions. Although the run and shoot offense was often criticized in Detroit for not doing enough with future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, Jones and Davis helped to show that a great running back could exist within the run and shoot, which was thought of as a pass-first offense.
In 1991, Glanville was head coach of the Falcons and hired Jones to be his offensive coordinator, and after three years Jones was promoted to replace Glanville as the Falcons’ head coach.
Jones took the Falcons to the playoffs in 1995, but in 1996 the Falcons slumped to 3-13, and Jones was fired. The next year Jones was hired as quarterbacks coach of the Chargers, then spent the last 10 games of that season as the Chargers’ interim head coach after Kevin Gilbride was fired.
In 1999, Jones was hired to be head coach at Hawaii and did the best work of his coaching career: The Warriors had gone 0-12 the year before, but in Jones’ first season they went 9-4 for what was, at the time, the biggest single-season improvement for any team in college football history. Jones won several national coach of the year awards. Jones spent nine seasons at Hawaii, becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach, and culminating in the 2007 season when Hawaii went 12-0 before losing in the Sugar Bowl.
In 2008, Jones left Hawaii for SMU, where he never found the same success. He later spent two years as a head coach in the CFL and one year as a head coach in the XFL.
Jones’ legacy in football was developing a pass-first approach that is now commonplace across the sport, from high schools to the NFL. Although few if any football programs at any level still use the term “run and shoot” to describe their offense, virtually every coach in the sport employs some concepts that trace directly to June Jones.
Reports were that Vikings running back Aaron Jones avoided a serious injury last Sunday, but his practice work is still being managed this week.
The Vikings’ first injury report of the week shows that Jones did not practice on Wednesday. Jones aggravated a knee injury in the second half of Minnesota’s win over the Colts and word is that he is considered day-to-day heading into Sunday’s game against the Lions.
Jordan Mason led the team in rushing against the Colts and would be in line for an even bigger role if Jones isn’t able to play this week.
Guard Joe Huber (knee) was also out of practice for the Vikings. Right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) was a limited participant.
The Lions kicked off the practice week without two of their biggest offensive weapons.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown were both listed as non-participants on Wednesday’s injury report. Gibbs is listed with a shoulder injury while head coach Dan Campbell said St. Brown would likely miss Wednesday after hurting his ankle in last Sunday’s win over the Packers.
There’s been no indication that the Lions expect to be without either player against the Vikings this week and the rest of the week’s practices should provide more information on their condition.
Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw (ankle), safety Kerby Joseph (knee), and running back Jacob Saylors (neck) were limited participants. Defensive tackle Tyliek Williams missed practice with an illness while defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, left tackle Penei Sewell, and defensive end DJ Wonnum took rest days.
More help is on the way for Detroit’s defense.
Head coach Dan Campbell announced safety Kerby Joseph is returning to practice on Wednesday, opening his 21-day window to return from the physically unable to perform list.
Joseph was able to play just six games last season with his one issue, but still recorded three interceptions.
“He’ll be running around, start working him in. He’s put in a lot of work. It’s been a long, hard road for Kerby,” Campbell said in his Wednesday press conference. “But he’s passed every test to this point. This is the next thing, is to get him running around now. So, the strength in the knee is good — and the thigh, the quad, all of that.
“It’ll be great to get him back out there with the guys. I know he’s excited, we are. But we’ve still got a ways to go. But this is a step in the right direction.”
The safety was a first-team All-Pro in 2024, having recorded a league-leading nine interceptions with 12 total passes defensed.
“Everybody loves Kerby,” Campbell said. “He’s a good teammate. He brings a lot of energy.”
With the Lions ramping up Joseph, it sounds unlikely that he’ll be available for Sunday’s game against the Vikings. Detroit plays at Miami in Week 9 before traveling to Europe to play the Patriots in Germany for Week 10.
The Packers were on the wrong end of some questionable calls during Sunday’s loss to the Lions. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur has chosen his public words about the officiating issues very carefully.
On Tuesday, LaFleur was pragmatic.
“I don’t think officiating in this league is very easy,” LaFleur told reporters. “I really don’t. I think things happen quickly and there’s some bang-bang, split-second decisions you’ve got to make. So, I don’t think they have an easy job. But, you know, all you want as a coach is consistency across the board. As best as it can be. And sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t.”
He’s right. It’s a problem that’s inherent to the entire officiating function. As explained on Monday’s PFT Live, the league continues to officiate games with a system that has slowly evolved since the decades before TV was invented. At this point, given the various technologies that are available, the league should tear the current apparatus down and rebuild it in a way that maximizes video and digital technology.
Without that (and it’s unlikely the league will do it, for various reasons starting with the expense), the game is left with a flawed, imperfect system that relies on middle-aged officials who are trying to see what’s happening with the naked eye while avoiding being trampled without the benefits of helmets or pads.
The game moves quickly. Information needs to be processed and decisions need to be made in less than the blink of an eye, from a perspective among, not above, the fray.
No, it’s not easy. If it wanted, the league could make it much easier. Much more accurate. Much more reliable.
It won’t start until someone at 345 Park Avenue is willing to make an unpopular suggestion, and then to become the in-house champion for change. On top of everything else that person already has to do.
Which means that the current situation will continue, with mistakes being made and shoulders being shrugged and coaches and owners (except for Tom Brady, apparently) being muzzled. The only recourse for teams is to submit questions to the league, wait for answers, and then (ideally) keep quiet about that, too.
The Lions were able to defeat the Packers in part due to a blocked field goal on Sunday.
Now one Detroit player has been recognized for that play.
The NFL has named D.J. Wonnum special teams player of the week.
Wonnum blocked a Green Bay go-ahead field goal attempt with 3:25 left in the fourth quarter. That helped the Lions take the rest of the time off the clock after the change of possession, allowing Jake Bates to hit a game-winning field goal as time expired.
This is Wonnum’s first career player of the week award.
The Lions will be at home to face another divisional opponent in the Vikings on Sunday.
On Sunday against the Vikings, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs could join an elite club in NFL history.
Gibbs has 5,919 scrimmage yards and 58 scrimmage touchdowns since the Lions drafted him in 2023, so as soon as Sunday he could reach 6,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in his career. If he does, he’ll be just the third player in NFL history to reach those benchmarks within his first three NFL seasons.
The others were Broncos Hall of Famer Terrell Davis, who had 7,594 scrimmage yards and 61 touchdowns in his first four NFL seasons, and Chargers Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, who had 7,921 scrimmage yards and 60 touchdowns in his first four NFL seasons.
Gibbs has 890 yards from scrimmage this season, which puts him on pace for 2,522 yards in 17 games. That would break the all-time NFL record of 2,509 scrimmage yards in a season, set by Chris Johnson in 2009.
The NFL’s late-afternoon window on Sundays continues to rack up big audiences.
For Week 7, Packers-Lions on Fox averaged 24.67 million viewers.
While not as big as the Sunday night audience for Chiefs-Seahawks (26.3 million), it’s a big number.
The bi-weekly Fox slot at 4:25 p.m. ET is averaging 24.749 million viewers through the first seven weeks of the 2026 NFL season.
This week, CBS has the late-afternoon broadcast, featuring a Denver rematch of the Week 1 game between the Chiefs and Broncos. Given that the Chiefs are 5-1 and the Broncos are 5-2, it should do very well.
The early window should do well, too. It features the 5-2 Browns at the 5-2 Steelers, the 4-3 Ravens at the 5-1 Bills, and the 6-0 Vikings at the 4-2 Lions.
