Getty Image / Gregory Shamus
With a key divisional matchup against the Minnesota Vikings on the line, the Detroit Lions reached deep into the bag of tricks on Sunday.
With an 8-point lead and 2 minutes remaining, the Lions were facing a 3rd and 7 from the Vikings’ 41 yard line.
That was when the Lions decided to make a bold decision. Instead of giving the ball to one of their usual offensive weapons, they decided to have Jared Goff throw the ball to 2nd year tackle Penei Sewell.
He gained 9 yards for the first down and the Lions were able to run the clock down to 17 seconds before kicking a field goal to put the game away.
It was a big moment for the Lions as they collected their 5th win in 6 games and continued to prove that fans had good reason to believe they could be a playoff team this season. However, their head coach claims he had no idea they were going to run the play.
Dan Campbell appeared on The Pat McAfee show today and jokingly claimed that he was so distracted by Lions fans doing the wave that he didn’t know his offensive coordinator wanted to run this play.
"We're in that situation & I'm so focused on the wave that I can't hear.. I look up & we're throwing it to Penei Sewell & I go what the fuck are we doing" ~Dan Campbell
😂😂😂 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/R4BXzus2Hn
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 13, 2022
It just felt like this is the right time. Here’s another thing that happened. We’re in that situation and the fans are doing the wave around the stadium. So I’m just watching and I hear Ben Johnson say ‘Hey Coach, do you want to blah blah blah.’ I’m so focused on the wave that I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s fine.’ Then I look up and we’re throwing it to Penei and I’m like, ‘What the f*** are we doing.’ But it worked out great.
Dan Campbell is right about it working out and now the Lions have managed to work their way back into the playoff conversation.
With the team once again playing meaningful games, their fans will hopefully refrain from doing the wave while their team has the ball.