Dan Campbell’s decision-making is a strength for the Lions

I don’t know of many football coaches who decide to go for it on fourth-and-2 to flatten the game, knowing that the alternative is a surefire field goal and trusting your defense for 90 seconds to win a game.

But the Detroit Lions weren’t doing much to stop the Los Angeles Chargers and had given up five straight touchdowns, and it wouldn’t take much to watch them blitz the field again. In that moment, Dan Campbell knew what he wanted to execute, and he knew he had the personnel to execute it. It wasn’t analytics or guts or any other proxy war about nerds vs. jocks in football: it was decision-making that’s proven the acumen of the Lions coach in his third year. Some may think him reckless, but the context of every decision he makes is clear, with considerations of personnel and situation at all times.

On this episode of the Pride of Detroit PODcast, we talk about the key decisions that won the Lions their shootout over the Los Angeles Chargers, from the late game gamble to what was working on the field all day long, plus the wild scenario that led to a 75-yard David Montgomery touchdown. We also got plenty to say about the offense’s prowess, the continuing legend of Amon-Ra St. Brown’s career and discuss how afeared we are of the defense and its shortcomings from this game (it could just be a shootout. It might just be a shootout. We hope!)

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