Detroit Lions HC Dan Campbell reacted to the Giants’ polarizing 4th-down decision in Week 12, noting that stopping New York from scoring a touchdown kept the Lions within one score and gave them a chance to tie and eventually win in OT
n his second game as New York Giants interim head coach, Mike Kafta faced a critical decision with 2:59 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Giants faced a fourth-and-six from the 6-yard line against Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions.
Kafta elected to go for the touchdown. Giants quarterback Jameis Winston threw an incomplete pass intended for tight end Theo Johnson.
The Lions faced a long field, but after the stop, they needed just a field goal to tie. Detroit’s offense delivered and then scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to knock off the Giants 34-27.
During his postgame press conference Sunday, Campbell seemed to indirectly defend Kafta’s decision and present an argument for why going on fourth-and-goal from the 6 was the wrong choice.
“We couldn’t give up a touchdown, you know, for sure. As long as we could keep in within one score, you’re good to go,” Campbell said in response to the Giants foregoing the field goal attempt. “But yeah, I’ll take anything that I can get.
“Any fourth down stop, I’m going to feel good. You’re going to feel relieved and feel better. Because certainly, you don’t have to go the distance anymore.
“You’re trying to, to win the game, but you’re just trying to get in position where you can at least tie it and finish it in overtime.”
Social Media Reacts to Giants Fourth-Down Decision
The analytics probably suggest to go on fourth down as the Giants did. But some social media users strongly disagreed with the decision.
“The Giants might have just blew this game by not kicking the field goal …,” wrote a fan on X.
“The Giants should have kicked the field goal,” wrote another social media user. “Mike Kafta has botched those last few plays.
“Make the Lions score a TD without their timeouts.”
Several social media users suggested New York’s poor record played a role in the aggressive fourth down decision.
“Giants clearly tanking,” wrote on fan. “You don’t go for it on fourth down there if you want to win.”
“I want an investigation into why the Giants didn’t kick the field goal in the 20 up by 3 with 2-mins left,” wrote an Eagles fan.
“The Giants are so unserious,” wrote yet another social media user. “Why not kick a field goal and make the Lions score a touchdown to beat you.”
As Campbell indicated, the Lions were going to feel good about forcing the Giants into a field goal attempt too. But as Campbell also implied, needing a touchdown is a lot more difficult than being in a situation where a field goal forces overtime.
Perhaps, though, it would have made more sense to go on fourth down if the Giants were just a couple yards from the end zone. A fourth-down try from the 6-yard line isn’t going to have a high success rate.
Dan Campbell, Lions Escape Giants in Week 12
The Lions took advantage of the fourth-down stop. Their offense drove 53 yards in 2:26 to kick the game-tying field goal.
Then in overtime, running back Jahmyr Gibbs continued to shine. He ran for a 69-yard touchdown to give the Lions their first lead of the day.
Gibbs rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns, averaging an incredible 14.6 yards per attempt. Gibbs also caught 11 passes for 45 yards and another score.
Maybe the Lions win in regulation if they had to score a touchdown while down six. But it’s clear Kafta’s decision, and Detroit fourth-down defense played a significant role in the Lions comeback.
Tyler Shough’s Superdome Start Ends in Defeat as Falcons Overwhelm Saints
Kirk Cousins passed for 199 yards and two touchdowns in his second start this season, and the Atlanta Falcons ended a five-game skid with a 24-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Taking over under center because of Michael Penix Jr.’s season-ending knee injury, Cousins completed 16 of 23 passes, highlighted by his 49-yard scoring pass deep down the middle to former Tulane standout Darnell Mooney in the fourth quarter.
The play gave Atlanta (4-7) a 24-10 lead with 11:04 left — a comfortable cushion on a day when the Falcons prevented the hapless Saints (2-9) from scoring an offensive touchdown.
New Orleans’ only TD came on Justin Reid’s 49-yard interception return in the second quarter on a pass that was tipped by Kool-Aid McKinstry. Reid’s first TD since his rookie season in 2018 briefly pulled the Saints within 10-7.
Saints rookie Tyler Shough, making his third start and first in the Superdome, completed 30 of 43 passes for 243 yards, but was often under pressure and was sacked five times. The lone interception he threw on a deep pass in the final seconds was inconsequential, but his botched handoff to Alvin Kamara in the first quarter was recovered by Dee Alford and led to the game’s opening points on Zane Gonzalez’s 56-yard field goal.
David Sills, a 29-year-old who has spent much of his career on practice squads, scored his first career touchdown on a 9-yard pass from Cousins, giving the Falcons a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.
New Orleans’ Blake Grupe missed two field goals inside of 50 yards in the first half. The first, from 38 yards, came after Mason Tipton had returned a kickoff 75 yards to the Atlanta 16. The second, from 47 yards, sailed wide right with 56 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Superdome filled with boos after the second miss, and there was audible grumbling in the stands after Cousins quickly drove the Falcons for Gonzalez’s third field goal of the game to make it 16-7 at halftime.
The Saints had a chance to close within a field goal early in the fourth quarter, but on third-and-goal, a direct snap to Taysom Hill was high, forcing Hill to run the ball down and throw it away. He was flagged for intentional grounding, and the Saints settled for a field goal to trim Atlanta’s lead to 16-10.
The Falcons rushed for 121 yards, 70 by Bijan Robinson, who also had 37 yards receiving on two catches. Mooney finished with 74 yards on three catches.
Chris Olave caught nine passes for 70 yards for the Saints.
Injuries
Falcons: Safety Xavier Watts appeared shaken up after making a touchdown-saving tackle on Shough near the goal line early in the fourth quarter. But he returned in time to make a late interception.
Saints: Kamara left with a knee injury after being pulled down awkwardly along the sidelined by Atlanta linebacker and former Saints teammate Kaden Ellis in the first quarter.
