Lions’ Alex Anzalone defends Dan Campbell’s fourth-down decisions in loss to 49ers

Dan Campbell’s fourth-down decisions in the second half of the Lions’ NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers were met with a lot of scrutiny publicly, but his players were apparently on board.

Lions LB Alex Anzalone defended his head coach’s calls in a letter addressed to Detroit fans on The Players’ Tribune.

“We were all behind Dan on the fourth-down call,” Anzalone wrote. “Let’s get that out of the way first. If you could rewind time, we’d all do it again. A hundred times out of a hundred. The offense. The defense. Everybody. If you have been following this team’s journey for the last three years, then you know how we play football. You know the mentality that got us here.”

While there were two fourth-down plays in the second half that Detroit didn’t convert, Anzalone seemed to address Campbell’s decision to go for it on fourth down in the third quarter. Instead of kicking a 45-yard field goal that could have given the Lions a 27-10 lead midway through the third quarter, they opted to go for it on fourth-and-2. Jared Goff’s pass to Josh Reynolds fell through the receiver’s hands on the play, leaving the team empty-handed.

Anzalone wrote that the Lions were “always going for the kill,” adding that Campbell’s fourth-down decision-making “took us from 0–10–1 to the NFC Championship Game in just a few seasons.”

“It was the right decision — and I’m not talking about the right decision for analytics or talk radio or whatever,” Anzalone wrote. “It was the right call for us, especially in that moment. When you’re in that situation, 20 games into an NFL season, it’s not like a video game. You’re not playing Madden. You had guys out there playing with bum ankles. Guys playing with MCL sprains. Guys taking nerve injections and toradol. Guys who could barely get out of bed that morning.

“It’s a battle of wills at that point in the season. You’re just running on pure belief and adrenaline. I feel like if you shy away from your identity in that moment, then you’re betraying the very thing that got you there.”

Anzalone later added that he was actually more surprised by the Lions’ decision to kick a field goal from the 49ers’ 3-yard line in the final seconds of the first half, which gave Detroit a 24-7 lead, than he was by the fourth-down decisions in the second half.

Campbell’s other controversial fourth-down decision came roughly halfway through the fourth quarter. The Lions, who had already blown a 17-point lead by that point, opted to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the 49ers’ 30-yard line instead of kicking a 47-yard field goal that could have tied the game at 27-27. That play was also unsuccessful as Goff’s pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown fell incomplete.

That was the last time the Lions had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the game.

Is Dan Campbell receiving too much hate for NFC Championship loss?

Campbell has been known to be aggressive in his fourth-down decision-making since he became the Lions’ head coach in 2021. He seemed to take it to a higher level this season, though, opting to go for it on fourth down 34% of the time during the regular season.

Campbell defended his fourth-down decisions immediately after the loss.

“It’s easy hindsight. I get it. I get that, but I don’t regret those decisions, and it’s hard,” he told reporters at the time. “It’s hard because we didn’t come through, and it wasn’t able to work out, but I don’t. And I understand the scrutiny I’ll get — that’s part of the gig — but it just didn’t work out.”

Campbell already seems to have turned the page to next season. Anzalone wrote that Campbell told him to watch Super Bowl LVIII and to use it as “motivation.” Now, Anzalone is confident that 2024 will be the year the Lions finally lift the Lombardi Trophy.

“This year, it sucks,” Anzalone wrote. “Next year, it’s us.”