Lions head coach Dan Campbell says he’s the one who called the failed fake punt deep in Lions territory that led to a Packers touchdown.
“Yeah, look, that’s a bad call on me,” Campbell said. “That’s a bad call. You know, I shouldn’t have done that to those guys. That’s a bad call. It’s a bad call. On me. It is. Shouldn’t have done that.”
Campbell has been perhaps the NFL’s most aggressive head coach on fourth downs, and for the most part it has served the Lions well. But the fake punt on fourth-and-4 at the Lions’ own 23 yard line seemed like an inopportune time to go for it, and the Packers seemed ready for it.
The Lions successfully ran the same fake in their Week One win over the Chiefs, but that time they gained three yards on fourth-and-2. Running the same play when they needed four yards was a big risk, and Campbell know says it’s a risk he shouldn’t have taken.