Dan Campbell tackles constant timeout on last drive causing Lions to lose first chance to win

It’s a familiar result for Detroit Lion on Thanksgiving, but the outcome could have been much different. When Chicago Bears ended with beating the Lions, 16-14, on an off-field goal the lead could have come much sooner – giving the Lions a chance to take the lead. a victory.

Coach Dan Campbell’s mistake cost the Lions that opportunity. The Bears drove most of the length of the field and took the lead with less than two minutes remaining. The Lions called a timeout to stop the clock on thirds and nines with 1:54 to play, and called another timeout that ran out of that timeout when the Bears lined up for a breach. Consecutive timeouts resulted in a five-yard penalty and manageable thirds and fourths setup at the Lions’ 11-yard line. Bear wing defender Andy Dalton complete a short pass to Damiere Byrd, allow Chicago to run out of clock time and kick with the winner.

So why is Campbell so quick to call the timeout in the first place?

“It was a test of what they were doing,” Campbell explained after the game. “So you won’t understand it until it’s in the middle of the play, but that’s what we talked about. And so you don’t understand it first, it’s a call and it basically has to be. tested what they were going to do and what they lined up annoyingly is what happened.

“So we had half on one call and half on another. So the first thing in my mind was, ‘Well, we’ve got a coverage and they’re about to score a goal. , so I do it, you can “don’t do and now a penalty. But I know that if he throws it out in an apartment, it’s going to be an encounter.” It won’t work.”

The Bears threw the ball out onto the field, but the game whistle blew after the ball had gone off to timeout the Lions, so the final outcome of the game remains a mystery. If the Bears score, Chicago will have a 19-14 minimum lead with just under 1:50 to play. The Lions will have a chance to win if they don’t call the timeout – or tie it up assuming Chicago converts a switch attempt after scoring the goal.

Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn could have properly tested and avoided running out of time together. In that case, the Bears failed to convert the score 3 and 9, kicking on goal and giving the Lions a chance to kick in to win the game.

Instead, the Lions’ winless streak increased to 15 games. Thursday could be their best chance for a win.

“We all want to win. We’re playing to win, those guys, you can see that out there,” Campbell said. “And I know it’s hard to see from afar because everyone wants to win and lose, and we all do. But these people are putting it in line and giving it all they have right now. Now it’s just a matter of us having to learn how to win, we have to learn how to win.

“Once we learn how to win, then we can start to see the fruits of our labor a little bit. But effort is there. Effort and fighting and the fact that here we are, three games in a row – we’re right at the bottom.

“And again, I see improvement. I sit there and watch and I see some of these guys get better and better. What motivates me is that I know the core of this team. I know the veterinarians. y that we have and a few of these young men. This is one – these people won’t lie down. They won’t – that’s not what these people are made of. That’s what makes me always hope. I know we’re building something.”