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Dan Campbell regrets decision late in game as Lions lose to Vikings

Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness seems like a breath of fresh air after watching the Lions’ mostly conservative play calling for so long.

The coach and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson called a solid game on Sunday, but a few questionable calls cost them the win. The Lions couldn’t finish and much of the blame falls on the shoulders of the coaches.

Campbell went for it on fourth down six times in the 28-24 loss at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. The Lions converted four of those but it was one miss that stands out.

With 1:14 left – and holding onto a 24-21 lead – the Lions’ call on fourth-and-4 from the Vikings’ 38 was for a 54-yard field goal which would have been a career high for Austin Seibert. It sailed wide right.

“For me, I regret my decision there at the end,’’ Campbell said. “I should have gone for it on fourth down. Told the team that.’’

The Vikings (2-1) then needed just three plays to cover 56 yards and score a touchdown to take the 28-24 lead, their first lead of the game with less than a minute on the clock.

The Lions (1-2) were up by 10 with 8 minutes left in a tough road game, but couldn’t hold on. Campbell told his players not to get frazzled by the loss.

“I told them it should sting, it shouldn’t taste good because we had it. I just told them we’ve got to learn from it, we’ve got to learn from the plays that bit us in the (butt),’’ the coach said. “As you know, you guys have a job to do, there’ll be a lot of criticism placed on a number of guys myself and including the players, which is natural. They all know it. You can’t go on the downs and ups. Just stay true to what it is and learn from our mistakes.’’

Another questionable call came early in the fourth quarter, the Lions had a third-and-1 at their own 27. Instead of handing the ball off to Jamaal Williams or D’Andre Swift (who was playing hurt), Jared Goff’s pass to Josh Reynolds was incomplete. That forced a punt and on that next series the Vikings’ running back Alexander Mattison scored a touchdown on a 6-yard scamper that closed the gap to a 24-21 lead for Detroit.

The Lions struggled on third downs — going 3 of 16 — which led to so many fourth-down attempts.

Even after the loss, Campbell said this result won’t affect his aggressiveness in general

“I’ll always evaluate, I go back and watch (film) and really think about was this the right thing to do, was it not the right thing to do. I do know if you’re going to go in and feel you need to be aggressive early in the game, you can’t second guess when it doesn’t work out for you early in the game,’’ Campbell told the media. “It’s not going to affect me. I’m going to always do what I feel is best to help us win.”

The defense put pressure on quarterback Kirk Cousins early but had trouble stopping the run. Dalvin Cook had 96 yards on 17 carries before he was injured late in the game. After three sacks in the win a week ago, rookie Aidan Hutchinson didn’t have a sack or a tackle. Alex Anzalone had the Lions’ lone sack and led the defense with 10 tackles.

Goff was 25-of-41 for 277 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 79.0 rating.

Swift, who has been dealing with an ankle injury, played but was limited. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (six catches for 73 yards) limped off the field late in the first half. He played in the second half, but wasn’t 100 percent.

Running back Jamaal Williams stepped up, finishing with 87 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.

Safety Tracy Walker left the game in the second half and did not return. Campbell said they will know more on Monday, but it could be an Achilles or an ankle. An Achilles injury could possibly end his season.

(Next up: Seattle Seahawks at Lions, 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, at Ford Field.)

Five things to know as Lions face the Vikings; plus prediction

When the Lions take on the Vikings at Minnesota on Sunday, they will have both faced the Philadelphia Eagles in the first two weeks.

The Eagles topped the Vikings 24-7 on Monday night and edged the Lions 38-35 in the opener.

It doesn’t take a math genius to figure that the Lions scored 35 points on the Eagles defense while the Vikes could only manage seven. That’s not necessarily how Lions coach Dan Campbell sees it.

“I thought of it more as it pertains to Minnesota. That’s a game on the road, hostile environment, their first road game. Philly got off to a pretty good start, did a couple of things tempo-wise that kind of got them on their heels a little bit,’’ Campbell said. “There are matchups in this league, some teams match teams a little bit differently or better and personnel wise I kind of felt it was one of those games.

“I think this team we’re getting ready to play is a good football team. They’ve got serious firepower. They’re coming off a loss, they’re going to be ready to go, they’re back in their home crowd,’’ the coach said. “They’re 1-0 in their division. This is a big test for us.”

The Lions, who will play their first division game, have not won a road game since Dec. 6, 2020, when they topped the Bears 34-30 at Soldier Field. The Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers, 23-7, in the opener.

Five things to watch as the Lions (1-1) face the Vikings (1-1):

1. The Lions’ defense has given up an average of 152 rushing yards in the first two games. They’ll have their hands full with Vikings running back Dalvin Cook who has 26 carries for 107 yards along with seven catches for 37 yards. He’s still looking for his first touchdown. The biggest thing with him and we do have a lot of respect for him, I think he’s one of the best backs in the league,’’ said Todd Wash, Lions defensive line coach. “We believe they’re going to feed him this week and try to get him going. With him when it looks like he might hit a hole, he might hit one on the opposite side. He’s similar to Le’veon Bell. He might be in one spot, that doesn’t mean he’s going to stay there. He never stops his feet, he runs hard, heck of a jump cut. We have to be disciplined with our gap accountability and stay a little bit longer than we normally do to not allow a cutback.’’ So far defensive tackles Alim McNeil and Isaiah Buggs have been key to the Lions run defense.

2. Campbell said Jared Goff has been efficient. The quarterback needs to build on that. The LIons offense is tied for second in the NFL scoring 35.5 points per game and ranks fourth in total offense averaging 405.5 yards per game. So far Goff is 41 of 71 for 471 yards, six touchdowns, one interception and a 100.1 quarterback rating. “I thought he’s gotten us in the right play. I think he’s been pretty steady. I think when things haven’t gone perfect he’s always snapped back and finished the game strong,’’ Campbell said. “And man, he’s – listen, there’s a number of things we’ve been doing we’re asking him to get us into the right play in the pass game as well and he’s doing that. Man, he’s getting us into the right look, right play-call, and then he’s finding these receivers.

3. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back D’Andre Swift have been off to remarkable starts in the first two games. Wouldn’t expect them to let up now. The Vikings defense has given up 412 yards per game which ranks 29th in the NFL, one spot ahead of the Lions who have given up 425.5 yards per game. Give part of the credit to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson who has called the offense, but both of those guy are turning heads around the NFL.

4. It’s the first road game for the Lions this season. Campbell said most of the stress will be on the offense. “It really is communication where the most stress comes on your offense, because there’s been so much that’s been verbalized and you’re able to do that at home. On the road you can’t do it any more, not at a place like this where we’re going,’’ Campbell said. ”It’s been a while since we’ve tried to function or had to function like that. … I really believe that the key is us being able to be efficient with everything we do. It starts with (Jared) Goff and goes to the offensive line as well as the receivers. Defensively you’re used to not being able to verbally communicate, now it’s that switch it’s us being on the same page with how we communicate.’’

5. Injuries have been a factor in the Lions first two games but they’ve been able to go 1-1 despite key offensive line injuries, among others. This game they’ll be without defensive lineman John Cominsky who had thumb surgery on Tuesday and left guard Jonah Jackson (finger) for the second straight week. It’s expected Dan Skipper will get the start again for Jackson. Center Frank Ragnow (foot) could be back on the line while Aidan Hutchinson (thigh), T.J. Hockenson (hip) and D’Andre Swift (ankle) are questionable but could play.

(Prediction: Lions 28, Viking 24. Minnesota is coming off a loss on Monday night game and the Lions seem to have momentum.)

Five reasons Lions lost heartbreaker to Vikings, 19-17

There are heartbreakers and then there are HEARTBREAKERS. For the second time in three games, the Lions have lost to opponents kicking field goals of 50 yards plus with no time remaining.

Coach Dan Campbell wiped away tears as he stepped to the podium for his post-game presser on Sunday after Detroit lost 19-17 to the Vikings thanks to a 54-yard field goal with no time left.

Two weeks ago Detroit lost to the Ravens by the identical score after an NFL record-setting 66-yard field goal.

Credit goes to Campbell for finding a way to keep his bunch in the loss at Minnesota on Sunday.

“I do think in the long run this is going to pay dividends for us,’’ Campbell said. “As ugly as it is right now and hard to swallow, I do think we are building something special here that’s going to serve us well in the long term.’’

It wasn’t over until it was over. D’Andre Swift scored a touchdown on a 7-yard scamper to get within one point. Then Campbell made the bold call to go for the win instead of the tie. Jared Goff connected with KhaDarel Hodge for the 2-point conversion to give the Lions a 17-16 lead with 37 seconds left.

The Vikings had a pair of timeouts in their pocket and were able to get in field goal range, in part due to Kirk Cousins passes to Adam Thielen for 19 and 21 yards. Greg Joseph kicked the game-winning 54-yard field goal.

So close. Again.

“We’re going to be on the winning side of these before long, hopefully sooner than later,’’ Campbell said. “It’s coming. I don’t know when, but it’s coming when you play that way and fight that way. Clean up a couple of these mishaps that shot us in the foot, our days to be on the winning side of that are coming.’’

Five things to know about the loss:

1. Quarterback Jared Goff had two key turnovers. When he was sacked late in the first quarter and fumbled the ball with the Vikings recovering. Then he was intercepted by Eddie Kendricks early in the third quarter. This loss is not all on him, but he’s got to be better. The makeshift offensive line (missing Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow due to injury) needs to protect him better too. Goff finished 21 of 35 for 203 yards.

2. Back to the offensive line. Remember when Penei Sewelll looked so good filling in for left tackle Taylor Decker in the first game or two? He’s playing like a rookie now, mostly good plays but big mistakes now and then that are costly. Decker was on the sideline giving him pointers. Sewell, who just turned 21 on Saturday, will learn and in the meantime he will see Everson Griffen in his nightmares.

3. Surprisingly the Vikings didn’t attempt a pass on every down. The Lions inexperienced secondary could not keep up. Vikings’ wide receiver Justin Jefferson had seven catches for 124 yards. Tracy Walker had a solid game and there were a few good plays sprinkled throughout but not enough. Still Campbell said he thought the defense played “lights out.” They held the Vikings to just one touchdown.

4. The Lions have a decent running game. If they were winning games, the speedy duo of D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Willams would be getting more credit. They combined for 108 rushing yards in the loss. Williams had 57 while Swift had 51 rushing yards and the lone touchdown.

5. Were there calls the coaches would like back? Sure. But Campbell explained they were tied to risk-reward. He’s learning this young bunch’s strengths and weaknesses and game-planning around that. He went for field goals on fourth down on Sunday instead of like the previous week when he tried to convert. A loss is a loss, but he’s not letting this team get blown out. And he refuses to let them hang their heads.

UP NEXT: Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) at Lions (0-5), 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 17. The Bengals lost, 25-22, to the Green Bay Packers in overtime on Sunday.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)