Passionate Go for it on fourth down Followers, behold your King, Dan Campbell.

The aggressive Detroit Lions coach took it to a new level in a 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, consistently trying on fourth down in high-leverage situations. The most controversial decision came in a tie game with 43 seconds left and the Lions within field goal range. Campbell avoided a potential 38-yard field goal opportunity and took advantage of fourth-and-1. With most spectators stunned by the election in a tie, Detroit converted a David Montgomery run and set up an eventual Jake Bates winner that secured a playoff spot.

“I just felt like we had to finish it on offense,” Campbell said of his decision to the team’s official website. “I didn’t want to give the ball back and I believed we could get it. I believed we could convert him, and I trust that O-line, I trust David, and they came through for us. That’s a heck of a decision.” (Offensive Coordinator) Ben (Johnson). I knew how I wanted to play this game, the team knew it and everything in me said, ‘Let’s finish this,’ and so we did.”

They did so with a decision so aggressive that even the analysis said they should kick the field goal.

However, the analyzes do not take into account Detroit’s decimated defense, which has essentially lost its entire first seven players. Detroit has 13 defensemen on IR and DJ Reader, Joshua Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike were ruled out before the game. Then star DT Alim McNeill (head) exited Thursday night and Brian Branch limped off in the previous defensive series.

The Lions’ defense only forced one punt in the second half and allowed three touchdowns and one FG.

It was a bold decision by Campbell, but a poignant one for the Lions coach.

Detroit converted four of five fourth downs in Week 14 – the third game with more than 4 conversions with 77 total fourth down conversions since 2021 (the most in the NFL).

Twice on Thursday, the Lions scored touchdowns in the red zone on these plays. The flip side of the coin was that they were stuffed at their own 30-yard line, allowing the Packers an easy touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

“We went into this game knowing we were going to do it a little bit more than usual,” Jared Goff said as he went all out in the fourth. “Dan mentioned this earlier in the week. He really wanted to rely on our offense to make some impact and be aggressive in the fourth period when the opportunity presented itself.”

Context is crucial when it comes to fourth downs. Given the state of his defense, Campbell knew he needed touchdowns to win. While the failed fourth down at the 30 gave the Packers a short field, the calculation – right or wrong – was likely that the Packers could have driven to the score regardless of where they got the ball from. In this game, Detroit needed the offense to win.

Even Matt LaFleur wasn’t surprised by Detroit’s aggressive approach on fourth downs.

“Maybe a little bit of that at the end of the game,” LaFleur said. “But that’s what Dan has done throughout his career. It doesn’t necessarily surprise me, but that gave us a chance there. Hats off to them. They executed, we didn’t.”

The Lions ran the ball and had Jordan Love watching from the sideline to end the game. Had Detroit not been executed, Campbell would have been harshly criticized Friday morning.