Sirius show discussed the top teams going for it on 4th down earlier this week and it was interesting to listen too. The top ten teams in 4th down attempts, 9 missed the playoffs, we know who the exception is. Their point is similar to this article in that Detroit goes for it because they can and they are good at it. Other teams go for it because they are losing and have too.
# How Dan Campbell’s fourth-down aggression has affected Lions’ opponents
Full article at Link.
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Detroit’s 2024 foes averaged 21.8 fourth-down attempts this season, but the Lions’ defense faced 29 tries on fourth down.
Put simply: About every other Lions game featured an opponent uncharacteristically going for it fourth down, based on their season-long tendencies. Maybe not the biggest impact, but those are often the margins between a win and a loss; one play can swing a game any given week.
Part of the reason some feel the need to keep up with the Lions is because Detroit is so prolific at converting on fourth down itself. The Lions offense is tied for the league’s sixth-best conversion rate (66.7%), and they own the fourth-most tries (33). Every other team in the top 10 of attempts missed the playoffs — i.e. they went for it because they were losing.
The Lions, however, go for it because they can.
“I do think our guys, for the most part, look at it as it’s just the next down, as opposed to this is do-or-die; this is the last chance … that’s not how they look at it,” Campbell said of his offense. "They look at it as, ‘Well, this is the next down. That was third down, this was fourth down. What’s the difference?’ …
