Lions' fourth-down call wasn't just gutsy — it's how they have to live now

Following the Lions’ dramatic 34-31 last-second win over the Packers, head coach Dan Campbell stated his philosophy for his gutsy fourth-and-1 call:

“Let’s finish this.”

Detroit converted the fourth down despite a slip on the handoff from Jared Goff and kicked the winning field goal from 35 yards out. Kicking earlier from 38 yards out would have left Green Bay nearly 40 seconds to work with.

The Dan Campbell Lions have consistently been one of the most aggressive teams in the league in terms of going for it on fourth down and trying to impose their will on opposing defenses — and it’s a philosophy that’s going to come in handy as the Lions try to win the Super Bowl with mounting injuries on defense. This isn’t the time for them to stray from the path of aggression. It’s going to continue to be a big weapon for them moving forward.

All things considered, the Lions' defense performed admirably on Thursday night. They held Josh Jacobs to 66 yards on the ground (albeit, he scored three touchdowns as well) and were put into a tough situation on one drive after a failed fourth-down attempt left the Packers just outside the red zone. Packers quarterback Jordan Love still had an excellent game, but the Lions' defense was down three defensive linemen before losing star defensive tackle Alim McNeill to a concussion. They were already coming into the game without Aidan Hutchinson, Alex Anzalone, Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Malcolm Rodriguez, John Cominsky and Marcus Davenport, all of whom are on injured reserve. Every NFL team is going to be banged up to a degree by Week 14, but Detroit's defense truly has been decimated by injuries.

Luckily, the offense is more than good enough to still give them a chance to win the Super Bowl as they try to tape together a workable defense for the playoffs. Even on a night where they were missing stud left tackle Taylor Decker, they had more than enough juice to put up 34 points on the Packers. Their offensive line is just too dominant, the running backs are elite, Goff is getting the ball out on time and Ben Johnson is a mastermind pulling the strings as the play-caller. Wouldn’t the Lions be unwise not to keep the gas pressed and let this unit take over?

Going for it repeatedly on fourth down is inherently aggressive — hell, even fourth down models had going for it in that scenario as too risky a move to play over a field goal. However, being in charge of a unit like the Lions’ offense makes that an easier call to make. Who better to trust on fourth-and-1 than Penei Sewell and David Montgomery? If they’re going to play this brand of football, at least they have the personnel to make it totally defensible.

The best way to protect a beleaguered, injured defense is to make sure that the offense holds the ball and converts on their drives. Going for it on fourth down has to be a part of that.

The Lions are certainly at a disadvantage with their injuries on defense, but hopefully some of those guys can get healthy in a hurry and they’ll potentially have an extra week of rest given that they have control of the top seed in the NFC at this moment. They converted 80% of their fourth-down attempts against Green Bay and they needed every single one of those to put that game on ice. It’s already what they do, but this style of play, aggression and overall belief in the talent makes it a shield to protect their defense.

Playing against Buffalo next week will likely provide more necessity for aggression, but that’s just standard operation for the new-age Lions.