LANDOVER, Md. — The call sheet wasn’t out of the ordinary. The glasses, however, were a dead giveaway.
On Sunday, all eyes were on Dan Campbell. His eyes, though, were behind a pair of reading glasses worn for the first time this season, deadlocked on the offensive call sheet. You’d see him reach for his belt pack, perhaps chattier than usual as the offense marched down the field early in the opening frame. Then you’d see John Morton, Campbell’s offensive coordinator, a bit less talkative in the booth.
It was part of an effort to get a struggling Lions’ offense back on track. Campbell said he had “a million ideas” on how to do it.
His main one? Taking over the reins from Morton as Detroit’s offensive play caller, in perhaps a season-defining move.
“I just wanted to change it up a little bit,” Campbell said, after Detroit’s 44-22 win over the Commanders. “Let’s just see if maybe a different play caller can maybe get us a little rhythm. That’s all.”
As much as Campbell wants to downplay this change, it’s undoubtedly the biggest storyline of the season for the Lions. Campbell knows this team better than anyone. One of his best attributes is not only his feel for what it needs, but when it needs it.
This isn’t a move Campbell would’ve made unless he thought it was necessary. He isn’t known as a meddler. During practice, you can usually find him observing — not hovering over — his coaches and players. He wants them to coach with confidence, the same way he wants his players to play with it. And it’s not like things had reached dire circumstances. The Lions entered Week 10 ranked second in points per game at 29.9.
But Campbell knows what this is supposed to look like. His fingerprints are all over this offense. From the two-back system he brought in from New Orleans, the strategic selection of tight end Sam LaPorta over other tight ends in the 2023 draft, the high play-action/under-center rates to Detroit’s propensity to go for it on fourth down. Not to mention, Campbell loved calling plays so much in 2021 that he considered maintaining those duties in 2022 — the year Ben Johnson took over.
“I still have this eagerness to want to call it myself,” Campbell said in the week leading up to the 2022 season opener.
This is Campbell’s offense. Anyone other than him on the headset is simply borrowing it.
For the first eight games, that was Morton. A longtime, trusted confidant of Campbell’s, Morton was hired here for his familiarity with this offense and with Campbell. He’s learned from Jon Gruden, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton — on staff with Campbell in New Orleans. He was Detroit’s senior offensive assistant in 2022, when Johnson wore the headset. Per a league source, Johnson reached out to Morton to gauge his interest in joining him in Chicago as Bears OC this offseason.
Campbell ultimately landed Morton. And while he considered calling plays himself again at the time of his hiring, Campbell opted to give Morton the keys Johnson left behind.
However, an offense with some of the NFL’s best talent had been struggling to meet expectations. The Lions ranked 16th in explosive play rate, 25th in third-down efficiency and 27th in offense rushing success rate entering Week 10 — all categories they ranked among the top 5 in a year ago.
So, Campbell stepped in to provide a change — making the decision to take over this past Monday.
“He knows, man,” Jared Goff said. “I’ve been saying it for years. He’s not just this ‘rah-rah’ guy. He’s extremely smart and has a very good feel for people and players and obviously our team.”
“I have a good feel of our plays, and I know what we’re capable of,” Campbell said. “I know what they’re capable of. That’s the best way to say it.”
Jameson Williams (six catches, 119 yards, TD) had his first 100-yard receiving game Sunday since Week 2. (Junfu Han / Imagn Images)
You felt it on the Lions’ opening drive. A beautiful mix — five runs, five passes. They weren’t in a rush. They weren’t out of sync. It felt like they had full control and command of what they were doing. Goff hit Jahmyr Gibbs in stride on a Texas route for a 14-yard touchdown to cap off a 10-play, 78-yard scoring drive.
But of course, opening scripts are known for success. What did the Lions do from there?
Whatever they wanted.
The Lions scored on every offensive possession except their last — a kneeldown with the reserves in. They scored 44 points. They totaled 546 yards of offense. They showed excellent balance by throwing for 320 yards and rushing for 226. Goff threw three touchdowns and zero interceptions, spreading the wealth to Jameson Williams (119 yards and a touchdown), Amon-Ra St. Brown (58 yards and a touchdown), Sam LaPorta (53 yards) and Kalif Raymond (49 yards). Gibbs scored three times, totaling 172 scrimmage yards. David Montgomery was worked in early and finished with a respectable 71 yards. The offensive line paved the way for them and didn’t allow a sack.
In many ways, it was Detroit’s best offensive performance of the season. But how it did it is worth a deeper look.
Here are some of the subtle differences (per TruMedia):
- The Lions ranked second among all teams in play-action rate in Week 10 at 26.5. They entered the week 18th at 15 percent. When the Lions have a play-action rate above 20 percent, they’re 3-0 this season, averaging 44.3 points per game.
- Detroit’s explosive play rate (runs of at least 12 yards or completions of at least 16) of 16.2 percent ranked fourth among teams and was its second-highest rate of the season.
- A whopping 32.4 percent of the Lions’ 68 plays Sunday went for 10 or more yards — their highest rate of the season and the highest rate in Week 10.
- Detroit recorded a season-best offensive success rate of 56.5 percent vs. the Commanders.
- The Lions recorded an EPA/play of 0.46 vs. the Commanders — the highest mark in a single game by a team this season.
- The Lions’ pressure rate of 25.7 percent was the second-lowest allowed of any team so far in Week 10, and Goff wasn’t sacked.
- Only 9.1 percent of Detroit’s rushing attempts went for zero or negative yards — second-lowest of the season. The Lions’ EPA per rush of 0.27 was its second-highest of the season.
- The Lions converted 50 percent of their third-down attempts — tied for their highest mark of the season (Week 3 vs. Baltimore).
- Detroit’s 12 personnel rate of 18.5 percent was its second-lowest of the season (16.2 percent).
- Only 35.3 percent of Detroit’s plays were out of shotgun — second-lowest of the season.
- Detroit’s offense finished with zero penalties for just the sixth time in the Campbell era (playoffs included).
In a game where Detroit’s offense had everything working, it’s hard not to look at Campbell’s impact. Yes, this was an easier defensive matchup than facing a Brian Flores-led Minnesota defense. Yes, the Lions typically play their best after losses. But Campbell was pressing the right buttons, and put his players in positions to succeed all afternoon.
“I think it’s knowing when to go and when to pull and push and pull and push and pull,” Goff said, when asked about offensive rhythm with Campbell in his ear. “To be honest, it’s one of his best traits as a leader, across leadership and play calling. Knowing, kind of, when the shot feels right and when the run feels right and when to switch the run and when to do that. It’s really hard and I think it’s a lot of feel, it really is just a lot of feel. You can’t really teach it, you can’t really learn it and he did a great job with that.”
“I think things went pretty smoothly today,” Lions center Graham Glasgow said. “I don’t wanna say anything too bad. I think everybody had a good day. Things were good.”
Based on Campbell’s comments, it sounds like he’ll continue to call plays. Perhaps for the rest of the season. Campbell said he was initially hesitant to make the move, knowing the time that role will require of him. He said it’s going to be an adjustment — but he feels good with where the offense is. He said he likes the setup of the staff, the players are in a good place and he thinks the Lions can grow from here.
This was not a decision Campbell took lightly. He said he knows it probably doesn’t feel good to lose play-calling duties, and knowing his relationship with Morton, there are few who wanted this to work more than Campbell. But the Lions are in the middle of a tight division race, working to position themselves for a deep postseason run. There was a sense of urgency this week, as we inch closer to December.
This is what Campbell felt was best for the team. He’s usually right.
He certainly was Sunday.
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