Late in the fourth quarter of the Detroit Lions’ week 14 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, the Lions elected to go for it on fourth down even though kicking a field goal would have put the team up by three points with less than 50 seconds left in the game. Lions head coach Dan Campbell – who is famous for taking chances on fourth down – said that he wanted the offense to be the unit that puts the game away.
“I just felt like we needed to end it on offense, ya know? I did not want to give that ball back,” Campbell said during the postgame press conference. “I believed we could get that. I believed we could convert. I trusted that o-line, and I trusted David [Montgomery]. And, they came through for us… I knew how I wanted to play this game. The team knew it. And, everything in me told me ‘let’s finish this,’ and we did.”
On the 4th and inches play, the Lions picked up seven yards on the ground thanks to a powerful run from David Montgomery, who gave Detroit a fresh set of downs at the Green Bay Packers 14 yard line. After quarterback Jared Goff ran backward three yards to move the ball to the left hashmark, kicker Jake Bates knocked a 35-yard field goal through the uprights to give the Lions a 34-31 lead as time expired.
Big time Bates@jakebates30 pic.twitter.com/VWEQWjBoWr
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 6, 2024
Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Lions failed to convert a fourth down play call, which gave the Packers the ball at Detroit’s 30 yard line. Even though the Packers would use that good field position to score a touchdown and take a 28-24 lead, Dan Campbell was unphased by the failed conversion. In fact, Campbell said he had no doubt about going for it again later in the quarter.
“The guys knew,” Campbell added. “The players knew and the coaches knew. We could be up two scores, or we could be down two scores. We got to play our style of game going in. That meant the risk was there… but I knew that was how I wanted to play that team with where we were at.”
With the win over the Green Bay Packers, the Lions were able to clinch their second consecutive playoff berth. This marks the first time since 1994-95 that the Lions have secured playoff appearances in back-to-back seasons. That victory also marks the Lions’ 11th straight win, setting a new franchise record.
