Dan Campbell stands behind decisions on unsuccessful 4th down conversions

The San Francisco 49ers pulled off a 17-point comeback to defeat the Detroit Lions 34-31 on Sunday in the NFC Championship game to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl, where they’ll take on the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl LIV four years ago.

The 49ers second-half heroics were a sight to see, but it’s hard to talk about their victory without mentioning some of the blunders of the Lions, which included their inability to convert on a pair of crucial fourth-down attempts in the second half.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell is known for his aggressive coaching style, which ended up being his Achilles heel in the NFC title game. But after the loss, Campbell revealed that he had no regrets about his fourth-down decision-making in Sunday’s game.

“I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball,” Campbell said. “They were bleeding the clock out, that’s what they do, and I wanted to get the upper hand back.”

“And it’s easy hindsight and I get that, but I don’t regret those decisions and that’s hard,” Campbell admitted. “It’s hard because we didn’t come through. It wasn’t able to work out. But I don’t, and I understand the scrutiny I’ll get,” Campbell said. “That’s part of the gig, man.”

Detroit got out to a red-hot start at the beginning of the game, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions and keeping their foot on the gas to get out to a 24-7 lead at halftime after entering Sunday’s matchup as 7.5-point underdogs.

San Francisco answered with a field goal on their first possession to open up the second half, which the Lions responded to with a 47-yard drive that took them to the 49ers’ 28-yard line. Instead of kicking a field goal to potentially re-extend their lead to 17 points and make the game a three-possession contest, Campbell decided to go for it on fourth and two. Which the Lions’ did not convert after a dropped pass by Lions’ wide receiver Josh Reynolds.

One Jahmyr Gibbs fumble and two touchdowns later, the 49ers tied the game at 24-24 with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter. San Francisco followed that with a field goal after a Detroit three-and-out to take their first lead of the ballgame in the fourth quarter at 27-24.

On the following drive, Campbell and the Lions got a chance at redemption, finding themselves with yet another fourth-down on the San Fransisco 30-yard line with a chance to tie the game with 7:32 remaining in the contest.

Instead, they yet again went for it on fourth and three, and yet again they failed to convert. Giving the 49ers the ball back where they’d score their 27th straight unanswered point to put an end to the Lions’ memorable and historic playoff run that may be remembered for the wrong reasons following Dan Campbell’s decision-making.