Dan Campbell Does Not Regret Decisions against Patriots

Dan Campbell says he does not regret decisions he made in the Lions' 29-0 loss to the New England Patriots.

Following the team’s first shutout loss since 2019, the Detroit Lions are heading into a bye week that is bound to be filled with reflection. 

Currently, the team is off to a disappointing 1-4 start, with three consecutive losses.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell, a known risk-taker, made plenty of questionable decisions in the team’s 29-0 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday. Among those risks were six different fourth-down conversion attempts, all of which went to no avail.

After evaluating the film, Campbell said Monday that he doesn’t regret any of the decisions he made in Sunday’s game.

“No, I don’t,” Campbell remarked. “I don’t. Just with where it went. Look, I wanted to be patient in that game, but I also know this, shoot, the first fourth-and-1, that was less than half a yard and we’re running behind Sewell. And, it was Logan (Stenberg), and we’re giving it to Jamaal (Williams). I didn’t second guess that one bit. I would take that every day of the week and we got stuffed on it. And then, just knowing where we’re at on the other fourth downs, where it was playing out, I feel like that’s what we needed to do.”

One failed attempt is being magnified, with a strip-sack on fourth-and-9 in the second quarter resulting in a touchdown for the Patriots’ Kyle Dugger. The play occurred at New England’s 32-yard-line, meaning it would’ve been a 49-yard field-goal attempt for Lions kicker Michael Badgley.

The Lions were trailing, 6-0, at the time, meaning a successful field goal would’ve brought the team within three.

“There’s a line that, okay, we were very comfortable with field goal (or) we were not comfortable with field goal,” Campbell said. “And now, you have a decision, just, do you go for it or do you take a couple of delay penalties and kick one up in the air, you know, punt one up in there. And, once we got late in that game, I thought those were all very manageable, the fourth-and-2’s, the fourth-and-4’s, a fourth-and-5 or fourth-and-goal at the 5, because I loved what Ben had in. I loved the plays that we had, I liked the design. I knew who we were throwing them to, and it just didn’t work out. That’s kind of where that game ended up going.”

The Patriots scored 23 of their 29 points off Lions’ giveaways, ranging from the team’s six failed fourth downs to its two turnovers.

© Bob Breidenbach / USA TODAY NETWORK

Roster assessment heading into the break

With the team dealing with a disappointing start, Campbell will spend the bye week thinking about how the team can improve, heading into a Week 7 showdown with the Dallas Cowboys.

After an offseason filled with optimism about the direction of the franchise, the start to the season has been abysmal. For the head coach, the coming weeks will revolve around keeping morale and spirits high, as the team tries to salvage its season.

“I think everybody’s in the same boat here,” Campbell said, when asked about the mood of the roster. “Everybody’s upset, everybody’s frustrated, nobody likes losing here. I think everybody knows we’re better than 1-4, but we haven’t shown that collectively. In pieces we have, but I also know what kind of group of guys we have in this locker room. (General manager) Brad (Holmes) and I have built it that way. 

"So, these guys aren’t gonna lay down, they’re not gonna give up. It’s a good group of guys, and we’ve got to regroup," Campbell continued. "We’ve got the bye to do that, make adjustments, figure out what we can do better or how do we use our personnel. You know, what do we do to maximize the personnel? Do we need to make a shift in some of the things that we do defensively or offensively? Do we need to calm things down even more? You know, I’m looking at all of these things, and I’m looking at practice.”

Notes

1.) Cornerback Amani Oruwariye, a starter in three of Detroit’s first four games, was a healthy scratch in Sunday’s loss. Campbell said the benching “does not mean it’s over” for the fourth-year corner.

2.) Campbell said the team will be spending more practice time working on 1-on-1 situations, after struggles in recent weeks. 

“How do we practice?”, Campbell commented. “What do we need to do? We need to do more 1-on-1, I know that. To me, that really pops off the tape, 1-on-1, route running, coverage, 1-on-1 rush, all of it. That’s just one little thing. But, there will be other things that come with it. But, yeah, you look at all of it.”