It was early in the fourth quarter when the Detroit Lions faced a third-and-1 on their own 27-yard line against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday. The Lions led, 24-14.
Their best running back, D’Andre Swift, was hobbled, but he had just caught a 6-yard pass on first down and had run for 3 yards on second. If he wasn’t 100%, he was still effective.
Dan Campbell, the Lions’ head coach, assumed the Vikings would be geared to stop a run, and when the play came in to throw the ball down the field, hoped his offense might catch Minnesota napping — or stacked too closely to the line of scrimmage.