At the end of the game, the Lions had a 4th and two, at the LAC 26. Kicking a 43 yard field goal there would have put them in the lead, and probably would have been what most coaches would have done.
Campbell opted to go for it, and they gained 6 yards and a first down. If you’re Riley Patterson, it would be natural to be feeling like they went for it to avoid putting the game in your hands, or because they wanted to get the ball closer to make the kick easier.
But then, instead of running the ball up the middle (again, like most coaches would have done), they went three straight kneel downs. This actually lost them yards, and put Patterson into the position of kicking a clutch 40 yd game-winning field goal with time expiring. A 40-yard field goal isn’t exactly a record-breaking kick, but it’s not a chip shot either.
It’s also not much different from a 43 yard field goal. You could make the argument that Campbell’s decision actually went and made the kick harder for Patterson. But by kneeling the ball down (and going backwards) three straight times, he sent a message. He was saying “this isn’t about you. I completely trust you to make this kick. Be the hero and win this game for us.”
There’s no question that fans don’t have a ton of trust in Patterson, and for young guy, it would be very easy for him to start doubting himself, too.
But Campbell never did. He had faith in Patterson, and coached like it. And Patterson nailed the kick.
A+ coaching
I think it’s more “our defense can’t stop anything tonight” and less “I don’t want Patterson kicking a 43 yarder”
Giving Herbert the ball down 3 against last night’s defense and 1:30 left to work with is significantly worse than not giving it back to him at all
And a timeout to boot.
Dan called an excellent game last night and I agreed with all of his decisions to go for it (even if we hadn’t converted). There is 0 doubt in my mind that any other coach the Lions have had in our history would’ve lost that game given the same scenario. First of all, we would’ve lost the lead earlier in the game because we wouldn’t have been as aggressive and we would’ve settled for a field goal earlier, and two, I guarantee any other SOL coach would’ve handed the ball back to Herbert with a minute and a half left and predictably given that win away. Dan deserves big time praise for the win last night (and AG none) because we simply would’ve lost had he not made all of those calls.