Did the Vikings get hoodwinked by one LUDICROUS Dan Campbell coaching decision???
AJ Mansour
|
Remember that seemingly inexplicable decision that Dan Campbell and the Lions made to go for it on 4th and 1 from their own 21-yard line with a two point lead in the 4th quarter? The T.V. broadcast, radio broadcast and most assuredly Twitter immediately began to question and critique the decision. On the surface, if they didn’t convert the Lions were potentially handing the game away as the Vikings would have already been in field goal range with the ability to take a one-point lead.
But the Lions did it anyway, and failed to convert. Then they won the game… Wait, wut? Something there doesn’t compute, or at least it shouldn’t.
You’re telling me that the Vikings got the ball back at the Lions 21-yard line, with 4-minutes to play, with the Lions having only 1 timeout, and the Lions being the Lions…and Minnesota lost the game? That’s right.
As discussed this morning on The Power Trip Morning Show (KFAN), after turning the ball over to the Vikings, the Lions went full strategic mode. While they didn’t part the seas and let the Vikings roll right on into the end zone, they didn’t exactly seem to mind if the Vikings found their way into the endzone as it was better than the alternative. And the fact that the Vikings didn’t opt for that alternative option, might have been Minnesota’s most egregious mistake of the day.
You see, since the score at the time was 23-21 in favor of Detroit, the Vikings had an opportunity if they wanted to run the clock on the Lions all the way down and then kick a game winning field goal as the clock expired. Instead, they went a little more aggressive and scored the touchdown which did them no good whatsoever.
The Lions seemed to know that after making the overly aggressive play to go for it on 4th down, their only option to win was to get the ball back. So the Vikings score and go up by 4 points, big deal. Even if Minnesota had converted the 2-point conversion (yeah right), it still would have been only a 6-point, one possession game. It’s a long-shot, but it’s at least a shot at driving the field and winning the game, which is exactly what they ended up doing.
I don’t want to give Dan Campbell TOO MUCH credit here though, as it seemed like going for it on 4th down was a desperate decision by a desperate, and more specifically winless team. That’s not the kind of decision that you make if your team is fighting for the playoffs and every game still counts greatly. But when you’re 0-10-1 on the season, you throw discretion to the wind more freely and make those sorts of decisions.
What I think is more disappointing is that Mike Zimmer and the Vikings didn’t think it out this way, especially given the events of the past two weeks.
It was two weeks ago that the Vikings were driving down the field against the Green Bay Packers and with nearly a minute and a half left made the conscious decision to cool their jets and opt for a field goal rather than a touchdown in an effort to not give the ball back to Aaron Rodgers, because if Rodgers doesn’t get the ball back he can’t drive the field and win the game. It’s as simple as that, and the Vikings made the decision to kneel down three times to set the table for the win.
Then, again just last week the Lions faced a similar situation up against the Bears on Thanksgiving Day. The Bears were driving the field, down by 1 point and entered the Lions redzone with more than 2 minutes to play. They likely couldn’t have found their way in the endzone, but they opted to run the ball and wind the clock down to give Cairo Santos a shot at a game-winning field goal.
So that’s two times in the last two weeks where examples of the right strategy played out, one with the Vikings and one against the Lions which was surely on the tape that the Vikings watched in preparation for this week’s game. Yet, the Vikings scored the touchdown, gave the ball back to the Lions and lost the game.
When you’re playing for the playoffs and for many of them playing for their future with the team, all of it all matters. They didn’t treat Jared Goff and the Lions with the same caution they did Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and it bit them in the butt.
So no, Dan Campbell didn’t plan it this way, rather he sort of lucked his way into this opportunity for a win, but it all could have been avoided had the Vikings handled it a bit more wisely.
Aj Mansour is a member of The Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN and works for iHeartMedia and the Vikings Radio Network. He’s also a senior writer for VikingsTerritory.com. Be sure to follow him on social media for the latest Vikings news and big opinions – @AjKFAN
You must be logged in to post a comment.