In a tight, low scoring game between two NFC contenders, the Lions lost by a touchdown on a night that Dan Campbell's bold decision-making came back to bite them.
The Lions went 0-for-5 on fourth down in a 16-9 loss to the Eagles. Two of their failed attempts came in field goal range and two others, including a fake punt in their own territory that never had a chance, led to field goals for Philly.
Campbell shouldered the blame, telling his players, "There's some things I wish I would have done different."
"The bottom line is, if you go totally conservative in the way this game played out, in the way it was, you've got a better chance of winning that game than some of those decisions I made," Campbell said, "I understand that. But also, that’s who we are. That’s who I am, and it bit us today."
A week after piling up a season-high 546 yards in a rout of the Commanders in their first game with Campbell taking over for John Morton as play-caller, the Lions ran into a much stiffer defense and "just couldn’t really ever get in a rhythm offensively," Campbell said. "There’s some calls I wish I could have gotten back. I didn’t help those guys, and I hate that. I didn’t help ‘em."
Detroit's defense was terrific all night, but it could only bail out the offense so much. An interception by Jared Goff on a tipped pass deep in Lions' territory on Detroit's opening drive led to a 3-0 lead for the Eagles and set the tone for the game. Goff was under siege for most of the night, especially up the middle. That didn't stop Campbell from trusting his offense over and over on fourth down.
Jahmyr Gibbs was stuffed on 4th and 1 near midfield early in the second quarter when he ran into the backside of backup guard Trystan Colon, who was briefly in the game for guard Tate Ratledge. The Lions' defense stood up and forced a three and out.
When the offense again went nowhere on the ensuing drive, Campbell called a fake punt from Detroit's 43-yard line, with a direct snap to Grant Stuard. The Eagles, who had Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo at the line, sniffed it out and blew it up. They turned the short field into three more points and a 6-0 lead.
"I just believed that we could get those guys off balance and obviously that didn’t happen," said Campbell. "Felt like the look was there to move 'em, and they did a good job. They were ready."
The Lions came out of halftime and drove to the Eagles' 32-yard line to start the third quarter. Instead of attempting a 50-yard field goal in blustery conditions, Campbell left his offense on the field and Goff was pressured by Carter into a low throw to Jameson Williams. Detroit's defense stood up again and forced yet another three-and-out.
The Lions took it down to the three-yard line on their next drive. After Gibbs was swallowed for minimal gains on second and third down, Campbell dialed up a pass and Goff was again pressured into a poor decision, the protection breaking down from all sides. Goff had Brock Wright wide open over the middle for what would have been a walk-in touchdown, but never saw him and fired incomplete in the back of the end zone to a well-covered Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Goff and St. Brown connected just twice on 12 targets, by far their most incompletions in a game as teammates.
"It’s rare that Goff and St. Brown don’t connect more than that. That’s just a rare thing, because those guys have such a good connection," Campbell said. "We’ve got to be better, especially on a day like today when you’re playing that kind of defense, that kind of team, and the margin for error is so small. Like, when we get in the red zone, we have to score a touchdown, man. We can’t come away not scoring seven there. We have to convert at least two or three of those fourth downs, have to. And we were just a little off. We couldn’t get our rhythm."
That was the Lions' lone red-zone trip of the night. They drove back into Philly territory on their following drive and faced 2nd and 3 from the 45. But on the next three plays, Goff was hurried into a throwaway to Wright's feet, Carter batted down a pass -- the Eagles' fifth of the night -- and Goff threw high and wide to St. Brown on a short pass on 4th and 3 with pressure coming from the left. Philly turned that into a field goal and a 16-6 lead with 10 minutes to go in the game.
Ultimately, Campbell didn't attempt a field goal until the Lions' final possession when he had basically no choice on 4th and 17 from Philly's 36. Jake Bates drilled the 54-yarder through the wind to make it a one-score game, but the Lions wouldn't see the ball again.
Campbell tipped his cap afterward to the Eagles' defense, which held the Lions to 3-for-18 on third and fourth down, but also said, "Man, we can play better. I can call a better game."
"There again, in this type of game, knowing what it is, man, we’re talking about one, two, maybe three plays is the difference and we’re sitting up here and we just won the game and it’s like, 'Wo, that was a hell of a win, the guys stuck it out,'" Campbell said. "We just didn’t make those plays."