DETROIT — In his comments following a 48-42 loss to Buffalo on Sunday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged that his decision to attempt an onside kick while trailing by 10 points and a full 12 minutes remaining in the game did not work out.
Some had deemed the move to be risky, reckless and analytically unsound. It happens often with Campbell, who is known for an aggressiveness that, somehow, often finds himself at odds with old-school, conservative football minds and modern numbers crunchers.
His critics found “I told you so” solace in his admission, although it wasn’t his strategy he was saying was regrettable, just the outcome of the play — Buffalo’s Mack Hollins grabbing the bouncing ball on the fly and returning it 38 yards to the Lions' 5-yard line.