Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson staying with Detroit

Ben Johnson informed NFL clubs he is sticking around with the Lions for another season.

There was quite a bit of buzz going into this offseason about one of the best offensive minds in the league in Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson being available for head coaching duties. Today he may have squashed the dreams of multiple teams as he informed NFL clubs he will be sticking around in Detroit to run it back for the 2024 season.

Johnson has been one of the big reasons for an offensive revive in Detroit and has helped revive a somewhat stalled career of quarterback Jared Goff. Detroit was the third best scoring offense in the league and pushed themselves all the way to the NFC Championship game where they hung 31 points on one of the league’s best defenses in a losing effort.

With a bright future ahead of him and free Detroit pizzas for life, Johnson is going to remain one of the best in the business for the foreseeable future. With a championship ring just within reach for the Lions and company, Ben Johnson could be the thing that keeps them stable enough to be in the big game next year. Either way Johnson should end up as a head coach eventually, and will continue to build upon his impressive coaching resume.

4-Down Territory: Dan Campbell. Ravens’ offense, Kyle Shanahan, Worst of the Week

Dan Campbell, Lamar Jackson, Kyle Shanahan, and the Worst of the Week! All up in this week’s “4-Down Territory!”

Now that Super Bowl LVIII is set between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, it’s time once again for Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, and Kyle Madson of Niners Wire, to come to the table with their own unique brand of analysis in “4-Down Territory.”

This week, the guys have some serious questions to answer:

  1. Should Dan Campbell be pilloried for his fourth-down decisions?
  2. What have we learned about the Baltimore Ravens after their AFC Championship game loss?
  3. Why should Kyle Shanahan have more faith in a possible first Lombardi Trophy?
  4. What was our Worst of the Week?

You can watch this week’s “4-Down Territory” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “4-Down Territory” podcast on Spotify…

and on Apple Podcasts.

Why Lions OC Ben Johnson staying put could shake up the whole NFC in 2024

The Detroit Lions got a huge bit of great news when OC Ben Johnson decided to stay put. That’s bad news for the rest of the NFL.

The Detroit Lions, who saw their 2023 season end in heartbreaking fashion with a 34-31 divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers in which they led 24+7 at the end of the first half, got some very good news to cool that particular burn.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who has been of serious interest as a head coach for multiple NFL teams over the last two seasons, is staying put.

In 2023, the Lions ranked fifth in the NFL in Offensive DVOA (seventh passing, fourth rushing), up from seventh overall in 2022, and 29th in 2021. Johnson took over in 2022, so that tells you a lot.

Under Johnson in 2023, quarterback Jared Goff had his best season to date, completing 484 of 786 passes for a league-high 5,411 yards, 34 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a passer rating of 98.7. Running backs David Montgomery and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 2,287 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns on 469 carries. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta caught 107 passes on 147 targets for 1,065 yards and 11 touchdowns, and the receiver corps of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond, and the two backs as pass-catchers were as dynamic as any group in the league at times.

Factor in an offensive line that may have the NFL’s best right tackle in Penei Sewell and the NFL’s best center in Frank Ragnow, and it’s easy to see why Johnson wanted to come back for one more season and maybe win a Super Bowl this time around.

The Lions’ offense has been a fascinating study all season long, and here are some of the hallmarks that Johnson and his guys can expand on when next season comes around.

Dan Campbell’s fourth-down decisions aren’t why the Lions lost to the 49ers

Dan Campbell made two big fourth-down decisions against the 49ers. But the analytics aren’t why the Lions lost the NFC Championship game.

NFL broadcasters talk about “analytics” all the time without understanding what that word means at any level. Generally, it’s done in a dismissive tone and with a sense of disappointment in how the game has changed — i.e., the nerds have taken over, and football is worse for it.

Not that it matters, but NFL coaches have employed analytical thinking in their in-game decision-making processes for decades. Coaches may describe it as “going with my gut,” but they also use probability and tendency to try and make the best choices possible.

In the case of Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell and his team’s 34-31 NFC Championship loss to the San Francisco 49ers, it’s Campbell who will feel the sting of the analytical naysayers all offseason long. The Lions had a 24-7 halftime lead, which they proceeded to blow in the second half. Now, the Lions’ improbable Super Bowl journey is nothing but a broken dream.

Two play calls are front of mind for most who are looking to assign blame for Detroit’s collapse. With 7:03 left in the third quarter, the Lions had the ball at the San Francisco 28-yard line. Instead of having kicker Michael Badgley attempt a 46-yard field goal to go up 27-10, the Lions went for it. Jared Goff attempted a 12-yard curl route to receiver Josh Reynolds, but Goff was pressured and threw the ball short.

And with 7:38 left in the game, the Lions had the ball at the San Francisco 30-yard line. This time, the decision instead of a 48-yard field goal try was to have Goff hit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on a deep crosser. Again, Goff was hurried, and again, the play didn’t work.

Now, most models favored going for it in those situations, or at least called it a relative push.

“I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball,” Campbell said after the game. “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 it. I get that. But I don’t regret those decisions. And that’s hard. It’s hard because we didn’t come through. It wasn’t able to work out, but I don’t, I don’t. And I understand the scrutiny I’ll get. That’s part of the gig, man. But [it] just didn’t work out.”

My issue is not at all with the decision to go for it on those two plays. Badgley was an afterthought at kicker – he wasn’t active until Week 14 — and had attempted just one field goal of 40 or more yards this season. He made it in Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys, but let’s stop pretending that those field goals would have been automatic. And outdoors, Badgley hadn’t made a field goal of 40 or more yards since the 2020 season.

And for the season, the Lions had converted 21 of 40 fourth-down attempts. This is who Campbell is, and this is who the Lions are.

“I loved them,” Goff said of the fourth-down decisions. “We’ve got to convert.”

My issue is with the play calls the Lions chose in those circumstances. Detroit’s run game had been dragging Steve Wilks’ 49ers defense up and down the field. For the game, Detroit ran the ball 29 times for 182 yards (a 6.3-yard average) and three touchdowns. On both of those conversion attempts, the 49ers’ desire to get after Goff would have left open gaps for Detroit’s running backs. David Montgomery had explosive running plays in this game of 14, 15 and 16 yards, which is about as consistent as you can get. This 16-yard run with 9:15 left in the game would have been pretty nifty a couple of minutes later.

On each of those runs, Goff was under center. Goff has been the NFL’s best under-center play-action passer this season, and by far the most prolific. Why would both of those conversion attempts have Goff in pistol, and the fourth-quarter attempt with Goff in empty? At least give the 49ers’ defense the possibility of a run in those situations.

So, before we chalk this all up to the alleged evils of analytics in football, we should consider that Campbell’s gambles weren’t wrong at all. It was the play calls that killed his team.

49ers tie NFC Championship game 24-24, overcome 24-7 deficit

The 49ers overcame a 17-point deficit in eight third-quarter minutes to tie the NFC Championship game against the Detroit Lions.

The Detroit Lions came out opening up several cans of you-know-what against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, dashing out to a 24-7 lead at the half. But as much as Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers teams have not been known for their comebacks, something different was in the water in this game. Christian McCaffrey’s one-yard touchdown run with 3:12 left in the third quarter saw the score tied all of a sudden at 24-24.

How did this happen? The 49ers smartly got the ball into the hands of Deebo Samuel more often, and when Detroit safety Kerby Joseph was briefly injured, Brock Purdy hit Brandon Aiyuk on a 51-yard rebound catch that turned into an Aiyuk touchdown three plays later.

The two Brandon Aiyuk catches that saved the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes

This was after a failed fourth-and-2 conversion when Lions head coach Dan Campbell got too cute, and when running back Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled the ball at his own 25-yard line, that set up McCaffrey’s touchdown run.

Now, we’ll see what the Lions are made of, and if Shanahan can overcome his unfortunate late-game history.

The two Brandon Aiyuk catches that saved the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes

Brandon Aiyuk’s two huge third-quarter catches saved the 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes… for the moment.

Things looked pretty dismal for the San Francisco 49ers with 6:29 left in the third quarter of their NFC Championship game against the Detroit Lions. The home team was down 24-10, and they weren’t doing much.

The Lions had just lost safety Kerby Joseph to an injury, and it was apparently the time for quarterback Brock Purdy to throw deep to Brandon Aiyuk, who’s probably been the 49ers’ best downfield receiver all season long.

It worked out for a 51-yard gain, but not in the way you’d expect. Cornerback Kindle Vildor did a nice job of defending the pass, but Aiyuk caught it off the rebound, and nearly scored a touchdown.

Three plays later, Aiyuk scored the touchdown on a six-yard pass that closed San Francisco’s deficit to 24-17.

For the first time, it’s anybody’s ballgame.

Lions with 86 rushing yards, two touchdowns in massive first quarter vs. 49ers

The Lions are running all over the 49ers’ defense, and that should not come as a surprise.

The San Francisco 49ers have a great overall defense, but the Detroit Lions clearly believed that they could run the ball on that defense, and through the first quarter of the NFC Championship game, that was proven out to a ridiculous degree. The Lions had nine rushing attempts in that first 15 minutes for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

This should not come as a surprise. The Lions came into this game ranked seventh in rushing success rate, while San Francisco’s defense ranked 16th. Detroit had explosive plays on 12% of their runs, while the 49ers ranked 16th in explosive runs allowed. Perhaps most importantly, the Lions ranked ninth in yard per attempt outside the tackles (3.9), and the 49ers ranked 24th in yards per carry allowed outside the tackles.

That’s going to be crucial for the terms of this discussion.

There was receiver Jameson Williams’ 42-yard touchdown run with 13:18 left in the first quarter…

…and the Lions just pushing everybody out of the way on David Montgomery’s one-yard touchdown with 2:34 left in the first quarter.

Not to mention Jahmyr Gibbs’ ridiculous jump cut here.

Ben Johnson’s run game has been one of the NFL’s most creative and efficient all season long, so it makes sense that the Lions are dragging the 49ers around on the ground early on.

Legendary game manager Alex Smith says Brock Purdy is not in the game manager’s club

Legendary game manager Alex Smith insists that Brock Purdy is more than just one of those system quarterbacks.

Those who believe that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is nothing but a product of Kyle Shanahan’s offense and the targets around him were given some ammunition in San Francisco’s 24-21 divisional round win over the Green Bay Packers. It was a rainy game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and Purdy completed 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 86.7. Not a bad day at all on the stat sheet, but Purdy missed multiple throws, and could have been quite a bit better.

This led to all kinds of discouse all week as to whether Purdy is the type of quarterback who can elevate his team. There’s been more than enough evidence of that this season, but you know how narratives can be.

So, on ESPN Sunday morning, former NFL quarterback Alex Smith — whose face might be in the dictionary when you look up “game manager” — made it abundantly clear that Purdy is more than just that.

There is no rain scheduled for the Bay Area today, so it’s more likely that we’ll see all sides of Brock Purdy in the NFC Championship game against the Detroit Lions.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing the NFL’s conference championship games

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get you ready for Ravens-Chiefs, and 49ers-Lions. It’s conference championship time!

And then, there were four! It’s time for the conference championship round of the NFL playoffs, deciding which teams will play in Super Bowl LVIII. Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most interesting matchups.

Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens

  • How will Lamar Jackson deal with Steve Spagnuolo’s unconventional blitzes?
  • Can Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco take over this game, and will “pin/pull” continue to be a thing?
  • Will Mike Macdonald’s Ravens defense cause Patrick Mahomes to hesitate in his process with all those coverage disguises?
  • How will Baltimore counter the Chiefs’ effective use of heavy personnel in the run and pass games?

Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers

  • Jared Goff has become much more than just a game manager, so how will Steve Wilks’ 49ers defense deal with that?
  • Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has done a brilliant job coaching up a cornerback-light roster. But will that turn into a pumpkin against Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense?
  • Is Brock Purdy’s bad game against the Packers in the divisional round indicative of vulnerabilities that can be exploited here?
  •  Will the Lions’ rookies on both sides of the ball be the ultimate difference in this game?

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” previewing both conference championship games in detail, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

and on Apple Podcasts.

How the Ravens, Chiefs, Lions, and 49ers get big plays out of heavy personnel

The Ravens, Chiefs, Lions, and 49ers all get more explosive plays out of heavy personnel than you might think, and here’s how they do it.

We tend to think of the modern NFL passing game as heavily dependent on multi-receiver sets, spread out to foil opposing defenses. But more and more, modern offensive coordinators are finding ways to use heavier personnel and some old-school ideas to score points.

All four of the remaining teams in the playoff picture — the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers — have patented ways to break defenses in half with more tight ends, fullbacks, and extra offensive linemen than you might imagine.

You’ll see a lot of these concepts in Sunday’s conference championship games, and here they are. In case you’re not familiar with how numbers and personnel packages, here’s how that works.

  • 10 Personnel = 1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WRs
  • 11 Personnel = 1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs
  • 12 Personnel = 1 RB, 2 TEs, 2 WRs
  • 13 Personnel = 1 RB, 3 TEs, 1 WR
  • 21 Personnel = 2 RBs, 1 TE, 2 WRs
  • 22 Personnel = 2 RBs, 2 TEs, 1 WR

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys talked a lot about how all four teams will use their own ideas to set themselves up for possible Super Bowl berths.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” previewing both conference championship games in detail, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

and on Apple Podcasts.