Lions ‘all-in’ on Campbell’s gamble in walk-off win vs. Packers

DETROIT — Dan Campbell didn’t bat an eye.

Facing fourth and eight from Green Bay’s 21-yard line with 43 seconds left and the score tied at 31, the Detroit Lions head coach decided to go for it.

The gamble paid off as Lions running back David Montgomery plowed up the field for 7 yards. The conversion helped set up a walk-off kick for Jake Bates, who hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give Detroit a 34-31 victory against the Packers on Thursday. With the win, the Lions also clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season, which has not happened in Detroit since 1994-95.

“I just felt like we had to finish it on offense,” Campbell said. “I didn’t want to give that ball back and I believed we could get it and I believed we could convert. I trusted the O-Line and I trusted David and they came through for us.

“That’s a hell of a call by Ben,” he said, referring to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. “I knew how I wanted to play this game. The team knew it and everything in me told me we had to finish this and we did.”

For Bates, who was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November, it was his third game-winning kick of the season. His others came on a 52-yard boot at Houston in Week 10 and a 44-yard conversion in Week 7 at Minnesota.

But Bates stayed cool after Thursday night’s win, even with the Lions riding an 11-game winning streak, their longest in franchise history.

“I try to stay as even-keeled as I can and just be the same person every day. Fipp likes to say, ‘Never ride the roller coaster,'” Bates said, referring to Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. “So don’t ride the highs, don’t ride the lows, and just stay right here.”

The Lions had four fourth-down conversions against Green Bay, their most in a game this season and tied for their most in a game in the last 40 seasons, according to ESPN Research.

They became the second team in the last 45 seasons to go for it on fourth down inside the opposing team’s 25-yard line, with the score tied in the final minute, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Cincinnati Bengals also did it in Week 17 of the 2021 season against the Kansas City Chiefs, picking up a first down on a defensive penalty and eventually kicking a game-winning field goal.

Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown praised Campbell’s supreme confidence in those moments.

“We knew we were going to go for it on fourth down the whole game,” St. Brown. “That was the plan, but I didn’t know we were going to go for it at the end there. It surprised me a little too. But like I said, we’re used to it now. If he says go for it, we’re all in. I wasn’t in the game where they got it, but I was confident in the guys on the field.”

Detroit has secured a 12-win season for just the third time in franchise history, joining the 1991 and 2023 teams. But even with a 6-1 record in their last seven games against Green Bay, Campbell said he respects how competitive the NFC North is as the Lions push for a chance to win the conference’s No. 1 seed.

“Our division is pretty darn good,” Campbell said. “I mean, it’s really good. It’s the best division in football in my opinion. We’ve got top-tier talent, we’ve got top-tier coaching and players and the whole deal. The competition is really elite. So I think it’s just another reason why you have to do whatever it takes to win this division because if you do that and you are able to play at home it will go a long way with the teams we have .”