Lions’ NFL Playoffs: Dan Campbell acknowledges his error, saying, “I gambled and lost.”

In the NFC Championship Game, head coach of the Detroit Lions Dan Campbell said he “gambled and lost” when he decided to run the ball on third down toward the end of the fourth quarter.

Running back David Montgomery was the recipient of a pass from Campbell on a third-and-goal play from the San Francisco 49ers’ 1-yard line. Montgomery lost two yards, but Detroit’s need to use a timeout was more expensive.

Head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions said he “gambled and lost” in the NFC Championship Game when he chose to run the ball on third down near the end of the fourth quarter.

During a third-and-goal play from the San Francisco 49ers’ 1-yard line, Campbell found running back David Montgomery with a pass. Although Montgomery lost two yards, Detroit paid a higher price for having to call a timeout.

With the benefit of hindsight, he continued, he would “throw it four times”.

“But I believed in that moment it was going to be a walk-and-run, and it didn’t work out,” he stated. “So, I gambled and lost.”

Detroit ran out of timeouts to recover the ball, even though Jared Goff connected with Jameson Williams for a three-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 31. The 49ers won the game by running off the last 56 seconds after recovering the onside kick.

There was a lot of criticism directed at Campbell during and following the game. He declined two easy field goal attempts and went for it on a fourth down in the second half, in addition to the running play on that pivotal third down. Considering the final score, leaving those points on the board proved to be crucial.

But when it came to his fourth-down decisions, Campbell didn’t reflect on them afterwards.