In the end Campbell made the right critical calls and Sean didn’t. After being aggressive in the first half SM did two VERY questionable calls: taking a FG with the ball inside the Lion’s 10 yard line and then punting to the Lions late. Why take the ball out of Matt’s hands on BOTH those drives?
You are down 4. Yes a FG gets you a FG away from a win but a TD gives you the lead AND you put the pressure on Goff. Something SM doesn’t think Jared can handle. If the Rams don’t score a TD the Lions are pinned deep with plenty of game time left.
If I was a Rams fan I’d be pissed. Let Matt win the game for you.
Concerning the late punt…gambling on a 3 and out V. converting with your O seemed like bad math to me. If you need a 3 and out stop GO FOR THE 1ST DOWN with your O. If you fail you still need a three and out.
Thank you McVay for shitting the bed late. Weird choices that took the pressure off our suspect D, took the ball out if Matt’s hands and let the Lions win the game on O. That was a series of mistakes that gave us the game.
In terms of two halves, outside of the lion D bending but not breaking, SM was actually overall outcoaching the Lions coaches and his players outplaying the Lions in the second half whereas it was the opposite in the first half. I think the Lions had a 3 and out prior to him making the decision he does. He also watched us kick a 54 yard FG as the only points we did score in the second half which i’m sure he realized was something we don’t usually do. He put trust in his team to come thru just like MCDC does and it just didn’t work out. They just put their trust in different places.
If I were him I would have went for it instead of kicking the field goal, simply because I know I’m playing the Lions. Even if he doesn’t get it, he will most likely get a call that gets him the 1st down. By kicking the field goal they eliminated that possibility. McCarthy would have went for it when he was with the Packers. And they would be so certain they are getting the call that some of the players won’t even finish the play. They will just look up and wait for the flag to fly.
I was watching something or listening to something that actually had statistics that proved that experience actually means NOTHING. More experienced teams either barely won more or were under .500 - I can’t remember the stat, but it was basically “Yeah, playoff experience means nothing”.
Gotta disagree with you here. McVay’s team NEVER had the lead. Period. The Lions D held the Rams to two field goals in the second half too!
Neither QB turned the ball over and there were no fumbles.
Campbell did what was necessary scoring TDs in the first half (one on 4th down) and the Rams could not score a TD when one TD likely wins the game.
In terms of coaching Dan COULD have elected a 4th and 4 allowing a long FG but instead pushed the Rams to 3rd and 14 and his D made a play. That was a ballsy decision. Good coaching decision by Dan. Playing to win.
If you can remember what you saw/heard I’d love to know. It’s a bit of fiction that pundits and fans alike like to offer that I’ve seen no evidence of.
Thanks. I will say this: often enough, the more experienced team is often the better team. In which case they’re likely to win because they’re better, not because they’re more experienced.
Let me put it to you like this. I would bet you 100% MCDC knows that his offense went cold in the second half and realizes that all things considered his ability to win games against everybody else left in the league goes up if the play calling and execution on that side of the ball is cleaned up.
The Lions literally scored 21 points in the first half and only 3 in the entire second half. How is that great coaching and team execution? You think MCDC only wanted to score 3? The rams adjusted at half and shut us down. That’s called out coaching / execution on that side of the ball.
What the Lions did do though was outcoach or execute defensively enough to force the Rams to only score 6! Maybe that was factoring into McVay’s decision to settle for the FG, get a 3 and out on the previous drive and move the ball at will enough to kick a FG and win it?
Look nothing was more priceless than seeing McVay put his hand to his head and panic when it looks like we knocked Stafford out of the game and or the expression on his face after he lost and having to eat crow when Goff beat his ass. But the dude is a good coach that’s won a SB and was gracious in his post game interview.
Nobody is taking anything away from MCDC or the Lions. The Lions were coached to play good enough complimentary football yesterday for 4 quarters to win a great game. We’re going to the next round they aren’t. Onwards!
