Campbell’s gutsy call pushes Lions past Packers

The Detroit Lions punched their ticket to the playoffs on Thursday night as only they can.

Facing fourth-and-one from the Green Bay Packers’ 21-yard line in a tie game with 43 seconds remaining, the decision for most would have been obvious.

Kick the field goal and get ready to play defence to win the game against a team with no timeouts remaining.

But not in Dan Campbell's world, not even on a night when running back David Montgomery getting stuffed on fourth-and-one from the Lions own 30-yard line backfired, producing a turnover on downs that led directly to a Green Bay touchdown.

There was Campbell, going back to the well, with Montgomery picking up seven yards on a play where quarterback Jared Goff stumbled after taking the snap and was on his way to the turf as he was handing it off.

Disaster narrowly averted and victory attained for a franchise-record 11th straight time as the Lions are heading to playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in more than 30 years.

“I just felt like we needed to end it on offence. I did not want to give that ball back,” Campbell said. "Everything in me told me, 'Let's finish this.'"

Lions fans have become so used to this that there is barely a stir in the crowd whenever the team defies conventional wisdom with one of its fourth-down gambles.

It was that way at the end of the game, just like it was when they opted to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the three, while trailing by three in the third quarter (successful), and when they failed to make to from their own 30.

(The Lions successfully converted two other fourth-down opportunities during the game as well, going four for five on the night.)

The late-game decision might have been influenced by the challenges Detroit faced with its defence, missing so many regulars that it was forced to dress and play all kinds of players who had only been Lions for days or weeks, signed off the street or off practice rosters of other teams, or promoted from their own.

It was a challenge made that much greater when one of their few regulars in the lineup up front, defensive lineman Alim McNeill, left the game with a concussion during the first half.

Strategically, the Lions tried to rely on their secondary, where they had the most talent and consistency, often sending an extra pass rusher or two and relying on the coverage to blanket Green Bay receivers in man-to-man. It was a tactic that held Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love to just 31 yards passing during the first half and didn't really get exposed until Love hit Christian Watson with a 65-yard bomb early in the third quarter, when he got space beyond safety Brian Branch.

Overall, the 31 points Detroit surrendered to one of the league's best offences was no shame, given that two Packers touchdowns came off short fields granted by the Lions offence – one off an interception and the other from the turnover on downs.

All night there were plays being made by players who've been learning the Lions playbook on the fly. Those included linebackers David Long, released from Miami's practice roster in November, who recovered a fumble for Detroit during the first half, and Ezekiel Turner, released from Seattle's practice roster in October, who made a critical tackle of Love on Green Bay's third-down play that forced them to a game tying field goal on what turned out to be their final possession.

One other key component of Detroit's defensive performance was the way they controlled the clock on offence to limit Green Bay's opportunities despite not having their usual effectiveness in the run game. Thursday night was the first time all season that Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for fewer than 100 yards along the ground.

Demonstrating complimentary football at its best, the Lions limited the Packers to just 23 minutes and 54 seconds with the ball, running 76 plays to just 45 for Green Bay. The Packers possessed the ball just once in the final quarter.

With the run game struggling to pick up chunk plays that are typical of the Detroit office, the Lions adjusted by throwing the ball 41 times, second most on the season, and involving Montgomery and Gibbs for 11 receptions. Goff completed 32 passes for 283 yards, including at least five to six different players.

All of it against a Packers team that has lost just twice in its past nine games, both to the Lions.

“I told the team, 'This'll be one of those [games] you never forget,'" Campbell said after the game.

He was right about that, just like he was right about most of his hunches over the course of the game and this season.

It’s the simplest reason why the Lions have arrived at a point this season where they've never been before.

And with the Buffalo Bills set to visit in nine days, the ride is far from over.

"It doesn't matter who is playing for us, it doesn't matter what's going on, you always find a way to win," Campbell told his players after the game in his unique emphatic style. "This has been in the making ... we're destined for this."