Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is known for his bold and brash style, but his gambling mentality came back to bite him early during a huge NFC North showdown against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings. Facing a fourth-and-7 from their own 33-yard line on their first possession, the Lions tried a fake punt … and it went horribly wrong.
Detroit gained just a single yard on the fake attempt, setting Minnesota up in great field position. The Vikings immediately cashed in with a 34-yard touchdown scamper by Aaron Jones for an early 7-0 lead.
This certainly wasn’t the start Campbell and the Lions were hoping for in this big matchup. Minnesota has since added a field goal to make it 10-0 in the early going, so Detroit will be playing even more from behind after that failed fake punt gamble.
It’s hard to be too critical of Campbell given what he has done with this Lions team over the past several years, and they’ve looked like a legit Super Bowl contender to start this season. And if that fake punt worked, Campbell would probably be getting praised for the ballsy call in such a big game.
But instead, the second-guessing has commenced after the major failure. There’s a lot of game left, though, and Detroit’s high-powered offense has plenty of time to get back in this one. It will be a tough challenge against Brian Flores’ Vikings defense, which has been instrumental in their 5-0 start.
Keep an eye on this game for the rest of this early Sunday window, as there will surely be plenty more fireworks to come. First place in the NFC North is on the line.
