Tom Brady shared his take on the Lions’ fourth down gambles in the NFC Championship loss
Brady also referenced another Lions play-calling decision during the fourth quarter as "just a flat-out error."
Tom Brady played in 14 conference championship games during his NFL career, giving him an unusually good perspective on a recent playoff controversy.
During Sunday’s NFC Championship, the Lions (led by head coach Dan Campbell) decided to go for it on multiple fourth downs during the second half of an eventual 34-31 loss. The aggressive strategy, which was in-keeping with Campbell’s approach throughout the season, drew criticism after Detroit’s defeat.
Brady, now retired and observing the games from afar, weighed in on Detroit’s strategic decisions during a recent episode of his weekly podcast, “Let’s Go!” The seven-time Super Bowl champion agreed with co-host Jim Gray that Detroit made the wrong decision to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking field goals.
“My opinion differed on all those plays too,” said Brady. He started with a different example, however, citing the Lions’ decision to run the ball near the goal-line late in the game while trailing by 10 points. After Detroit was stopped short of the end zone, Campbell was forced to use a precious timeout (which meant that the Lions later lacked the ability to stop the clock and get the ball back).
“The handoff there late in the game, that was the one I didn’t understand,” Brady noted. “Unless you saw some incredible look to walk the ball in, you just can’t take the chance that you’re gonna be stopped short and keep the clock running. You just can’t get the ball back. So that was the one I just said, ‘I don’t know what they’re doing.’ I thought it was just a flat-out error.”
Campbell, in his postgame explanation, said that the Lions went with a running play because San Francisco’s defense was “in a four-down front and I believed we’d walk right in.”
“So, hindsight, throw it four times,” added the third year coach. “But I believed in that moment it was going to be a walk-and-run, and it didn’t work out. So, I gambled and lost.”
On the failed fourth downs (both of which could have led to field goal attempts that were statistically likely), Brady referenced how Campbell’s aggressive mentality throughout the season backfired in the crucial postseason moment.
“You know obviously, when you’re aggressive and it doesn’t work, it comes back to bite you,” said Brady. “It came back to bite them yesterday. Again, I would’ve taken the points.”
“I’ve been in those situations,” Brady reminded listeners. “I look at them and say, ‘OK, this is the opportunity to continue to keep the pressure on the 49ers to make great plays and you’re in a great position.'”
Instead, Detroit failed to convert, handing the ball (and the momentum) back to the 49ers.
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