DETROIT – Alex Anzalone offered a very strong take on Dan Campbell’s fourth-down decisions in the Detroit Lions’ loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Campbell took some heat for passing up a pair of long field goals (about 46 and 48 yards) for short fourth-down attempts that didn’t work out. The Lions turned the ball over on downs both times, and that contributed to the blown 17-point halftime lead.
READ: Detroit Lions’ loss to 49ers is someone’s fault, but it’s not Dan Campbell
Many fans thought Campbell should have kicked the field goals, even though they were by no means automatic and that would have been against the identity the team built all season.
But in an article for The Players Tribune, Anzalone shot down any doubt about those decisions.
We were all behind Dan on the 4th down call. Let’s get that out of the way first. If you could rewind time, we’d all do it again. A hundred times out of a hundred. The offense. The defense. Everybody. If you have been following this team’s journey for the last three years, then you know how we play football. You know the mentality that got us here.
It was the right decision -- and I’m not talking about the right decision for analytics or talk radio or whatever. It was the right call for us, especially in that moment. When you’re in that situation, 20 games into an NFL season, it’s not like a video game. You’re not playing Madden. You had guys out there playing with bum ankles. Guys playing with MCL sprains. Guys taking nerve injections and toradol. Guys who could barely get out of bed that morning. It’s a battle of wills at that point in the season. You’re just running on pure belief and adrenaline. I feel like if you shy away from your identity in that moment, then you’re betraying the very thing that got you there.
On 4th down, in that situation, we’re always going for the kill. That mentality took us from 0–10–1 to the NFC Championship game in just a few seasons. Honestly, if anything, when we decided to kick the field goal in the first half, I was more surprised then.
When the chips are down, Detroit is always going to bet on Detroit.
To a man, I think we’d all do it again.
Alex Anzalone in The Players Tribune
Fans didn’t say anything when Campbell’s gambles helped the Lions win 12 games during the regular season, and Anzalone said it best:
“I feel like if you shy away from your identity in that moment, then you’re betraying the very thing that got you there.”
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