The Detroit Lions pulled off a 20-17 Week 7 victory against the Green Bay Packers, snagging a field goal as time expired after the Packers missed their own 35-yard attempt. Sounds like a classic NFL nail-biter, right? Not for everyone. Days later, former Indianapolis Colts coach Jeff Saturday is still absolutely fuming over Lions head coach Dan Campbell’s gutsy fourth-and-one call from his own 24-yard line with less than five minutes left in the game. Seriously, the game is over, the Lions won, and this dude is still on ESPN’s “Get Up” saying he “hated” Campbell’s decision.
Why Saturday Can’t Let It Go
Saturday’s whole vibe is that Campbell got lucky, plain and simple. He made the case that the Lions should have just punted the ball and trusted their defense. His quote? “At least make them go earn the field goal. And I get the whole time thing, but at the end of the day you are… they should have scored a touchdown. And they got fortunate they didn’t score a touchdown and now it’s gonna look like a great call.” So, essentially, Saturday thinks Campbell threw caution to the wind, the football gods smiled, and now everyone’s praising a bad decision. He’s convinced the Packers *should* have scored a touchdown after that play, implying the Lions dodged a bullet.
Numbers Don’t Lie, Neither Does Campbell’s Gut
Here’s the thing though: the Lions won the game. Campbell made a call that was clearly about winning with his offense. By going for it on fourth down, he made sure his team would have enough time to tie or win, no matter what the Packers did. And guess what? The analytics? They backed Campbell up. The models said he made the right call. The wild part? Campbell was “shocked” to learn the analytics supported him because, according to him, “analytics weren’t a factor.” He was rolling with his gut and his belief in his squad. “I believed we were gonna get that. I know what you’re conceding, but I also know, without any doubt, any question, we are getting the ball back with plenty of time to answer,” Campbell said Monday, via Brad Galli. That’s a coach who knows his team, trusts his players, and isn’t afraid to go for the jugular.
When the opposition has the ball last in a tie game, there’s a helplessness there. Your defense can only hope not to lose. But Campbell put the ball in his offense’s hands, ensuring they had the final say. Given the Lions actually won the game, it feels genuinely bizarre to still be dissecting and hating the call days later. Honestly, the debate pretty much evaporated the second that game-winning field goal sailed through the uprights.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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