Much will be made in the coming days of Campbell’s decisions to go for it on fourth down instead of taking the points. But the Lions made it this far with an aggressive coach. He didn’t change his stripes.
“I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball,” Campbell said. “It’s easy hindsight, I get it. I get that. But I don’t regret those decisions. It’s hard. It’s hard, because they didn’t, we didn’t come through, wasn’t able to work out. … And I understand the scrutiny I’ll get. It’s part of the gig.”
Campbell’s decisions will get the headlines, but he didn’t drop first downs, fumble the ball, or allow the Niners 27 unanswered points. Criticism is fair — the run and timeout at the goal line certainly deserve to be picked apart — but it was a team-wide flop.
The upstart Lions became the toast of the league with an energetic coach, a fun offense, a quarterback shaking off the critics, and a band of young players thriving. They were fresh, entertaining, and worth rooting for. Thirty minutes of poor football doesn’t change those things, but it sure stings.
“Just came up short. I struggle finding the words to totally encapsulate how or why,” Goff said. “I do know I’m proud of this team. Proud of these guys and proud to be a part of it. No quarter, half, play defines any of us. Unfortunately, they were better than us today.”
The 2023 campaign goes down as one in which Detroit dashed much of its misery, earning its first-ever NFC North division title, winning its first playoff game in 32 years, and winning two postseason games for the first time since 1957. For a half of football, it looked like the Lions would finally see the greatest stage in the NFL. Alas, a first Super Bowl appearance remains elusive.
The future is promised to no one. With the yearly offseason changes ahead — including Detroit possibly losing dynamic offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to a head-coaching gig — to be on the doorstep of the Super Bowl and watching it slip through your fingers is gut-wrenching for the Lions and their fans, who have been through the wringer for 60 years.
“I told those guys this may have been our only shot,” Campbell said. “Do I think that? No. Do I believe that? No. However, I know how hard it is to get here. I’m well aware. And it’ll be twice as hard to get back to this point next year than it was this year. That’s the reality.”
A reality that makes Sunday’s gut punch twice as painful.