FIRST DOWN: FOURTH DOWN CALLS

There may not be another head coach in the world who would choose 4^Th & 1 with 43 seconds left in a tied game at the opponent’s 21-yard line instead of attempting a field goal to take the lead, but that’s exactly what Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell did on Thursday night.

“I just felt like we had to finish it on offense,” Campbell said. “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 (Montgomery), and they came through for us.”

“That’s a heck of a decision by (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.” “

David Montgomery managed to get the first down despite quarterback Jared Goff stumbling while passing the football, setting up Jake Bates’ 35-yard walk-off field goal for a 34-31 victory that gave the Lions theirs 11th straight victory earned victory, a 12-1 record and a playoff spot.

The Lions converted four of their five fourth downs in the game, including two 4th & goals from the 2 and 3 yard lines, respectively. Wide receiver Tim Patrick and running back Jahmyr Gibbs were the recipients of these crucial conversions.

“We went into this game knowing we were going to do it a little more than usual,” Goff said after the game about going all out in the fourth period. “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.”

It definitely did. The only thing the Lions didn’t convert was a 4th & 1 at their own 31, where Gibbs was stopped for a 1-yard loss.

The Lions are now hitting 15 of 22 on fourth down this season.