Dan Campbell is not afraid of taking risks. His kneecap-biting mentality as a playcaller just set an NFL record.
When Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a touchdown in the second quarter of Sunday’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers on 4th-and-goal, the Lions set the NFL record for the most attempts and successful conversions on fourth downs in a season. It was the Lions’ 40th attempt of the season, breaking the record set by the 1995 New England Patriots.
Interestingly, that Patriots team was coached by Bill Parcells, who coached Campbell with the Cowboys during the Lions’ head man’s playing career. Campbell brought up his aggressive nature in a recent press conference.
“When you feel like you have trust in your players or in the play or where the game’s at, I don’t know, it feels right,” Campbell said. “And so, I want to do it. I think you’ve got to feel good about your players and the plan, and if you do, I think you go for it. And I want to send a message that we’re playing to win and we’re not playing to lose and there’s a time to be conservative and there’s a time to be aggressive. And so, it’s just I think a little more in my nature to roll the dice if you will. But I still feel like it’s a calculated risk.”
It was also the 20th successful conversion, another record.