Campbell Addresses Clock Management Criticism in Preseason Opener

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell addressed his decision-making late in the game against the Buffalo Bills.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell faced a fair amount of backlash, following his team’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills.

Late in the game, with the Lions' offense driving, Campbell elected to call pass plays that resulted in incompletions. This ultimately led to a field goal, giving Detroit a two-point lead. 

However, the decision gave Buffalo plenty of time to ultimately drive down the field and win the game.

Many weighed in on his decision-making following the game.

“I know it’s preseason, but Dan Campbell’s management of the clock at the end of the game cost his team the game,” tweeted former NFL executive Michael Lombardi. “Horrible decisions, which allowed the Bills time to move the ball downfield and win the game.”

Looking back, Campbell said he would’ve handled the clock differently, had it been a regular season game.

“Ordinarily, we would’ve milked those timeouts out of our opponents,” Campbell said. “It was kind of, one of those, where it was my first inclination, and I was like, hey, man, (David) Blough’s going pretty good here, we’re moving the ball a little bit. Let’s see if we can find a way to get in the end zone.”

Campbell said much of the decision dealt with how the offense had moved the ball, as well as the opportunity to get Blough more chances to throw the ball in a red-zone situation.

“Certainly, you’d rather not get a throw where it goes out of bounds, even if you are trying to be more aggressive,” Campbell said. “But, that’s on me, not them. And, I’m trying to get a look at these guys. All of us.”

With how it turned out, Campbell was still able to get a look at his defense in a high-pressure situation at the end of the game.

“And then the benefit is, you don’t get it, and your defense is in a two-minute, which is what happened at the end,” Campbell said. “Again, you get another look at some of those guys in a high-pressure situation, those young players.”

Putting players in positions to succeed

The Bills scored their first touchdown on a rollout pass from Davis Webb to a wide-open Devin Singletary. It was a simple bootleg concept, with Webb rolling to his right and floating a pass to Singletary.

Looking back on that, Campbell said the result came from a busted coverage on the Lions’ end.

In that situation, either a linebacker (man coverage) or cornerback (zone coverage) is responsible for the running back, should the back run a route.

On this play, the cornerback (Ifeatu Melifonwu) covered with the outside receiver, and both linebackers shadowed the fullback running across the field, leaving Singletary wide open.

“It was a busted coverage, is what it was,” Campbell said. “That was a player that knows better, and he’s normally on it and he missed it. (Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) talks about that, and it’s like, man, you have one breakdown, and those things happen.” 

Notes

• Running back D'Andre Swift will not practice Monday, but should return for Tuesday's practice. 

• Levi Onwuzurike will be at practice on Monday, but will only participate on a limited basis.

• Offensive lineman Logan Stenberg is starting to turn the corner, according to Campbell. The second-year lineman has put together multiple good practices. Campbell also noted that Stenberg was able to force Trey Flowers off his feet in one-on-one pass-rush drills and performed well in the Lions' preseason opener.

• Campbell noted that the coaching staff will game plan more for the Pittsburgh Steelers than it did for the Bills.

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