Buffalo Bills capitalize on Dan Campbell's boneheaded decision

The Buffalo Bills capitalized on Dan Campbell's boneheaded onside kick decision.

Evan Massey | 4 Hours Ago

Dec 15, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell walks the sidelines during the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field. / David Reginek-Imagn Images

In this story:

Buffalo Bills | News, Scores, Schedules & Standings

The Buffalo Bills came into today's matchup against the Detroit Lions looking to prove a point. That is exactly what they have done.

Also, they came into this game knowing that they were going against the gutsiest and most aggressive head coach in the NFL. Dan Campbell is well known for making extremely aggressive decisions.

That is exactly what he did early in the fourth quarter against the Bills.

After scoring a touchdown to cut the Buffalo lead to 38-28 with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Campbell made one of his worst boneheaded decisions. He decided to try an onside kick for absolutely no reason.

What happened due to that decision was fitting for how bad the call actually was. Not only did the Bills recover the onside kick, they returned it all the way to the Lions' five-yard line.

Take a look at the play for yourself, along with a brutal caption from NFL analyst Trey Wingo:

Why…why? This makes absolutely no sense and why Dan Campbell needs to know when to not do stuff like this pic.twitter.com/c3O8gMC0V0
— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 16, 2024

Making that kind of a decision in that situation is unacceptable. Campbell single-handedly made it almost impossible for his team to make a comeback.

Campbell has lived and died based on his aggressiveness. This is the kind of situation where it didn't pay off.

Last week against the Green Bay Packers, Campbell made some very gutsy calls that paid off. However, this kind of thing is becoming a major concern and is something that could haunt Detroit come playoff time.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Thankfully, Buffalo has made a major statement today. They came in and handled business. Once again, it's time for the national media to start covering them like they're a Super Bowl favorite instead of hanging onto all of the concerns from their Week 14 loss.

This game could not have gone better for the Bills. Being able to capitalize on Campbell's boneheaded choice made things even sweeter.

As for the Lions, they badly need Campbell to make better decisions about when to be aggressive and when to understand that being more cautious is the better option.

Obviously, the game is not over, but this was one horrendous call by Campbell that could cost Detroit the game.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell reacts to a play against Buffalo Bills during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —