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Tom Brady has weighed in on the Detroit Lions' NFC Championship game collapse, placing much of the blame on the coaching decisions of Dan Campbell.
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The Lions, under Campbell's aggressive strategy, took a 24-7 lead into halftime but ultimately squandered a 17-point advantage, allowing the San Francisco 49ers to stage a comeback with 27 unanswered points.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, expressed reservations about Campbell's assertive coaching style, particularly on crucial fourth-down plays. On the "Let's Go!" podcast with Jim Gray, Brady criticized Campbell's decisions throughout the game, although, he was quick to point out that they were consistent with the risky approach the Lions had adopted all season.
"I'll say it's ultimately a team sport and the coach makes these decisions and you gotta go execute. My opinion differed on all those plays, too," Brady told the Let's Go podcast.
Gray, too, questioned Campbell's handling of situational football, emphasizing the coach's failure to kick two crucial field goals that could have tied the game and extended the lead by 17 points.
What else did Tom Brady say?
In Brady's analysis, one pivotal late-game decision, opting for a handoff instead of attempting a field goal, stood out as a significant error.
"I definitely thought the handoff there late in the game, that was the one that I didn't understand because unless you saw some incredible look to walk the ball in, you just can't take the chance that you're gonna be stopped short and keep the clock running, cause you just can't get the ball back," he added.
"That was the one that I just said, I don't know what they're doing.
"I thought it was just a flat-out error."
The Lions' penchant for going for it on fourth down, a 34 percent rate throughout the season, was noted by OutKick's Chad Withrow. Brady, drawing on his experience, acknowledged the potential of maintaining pressure on opponents with aggressive plays but also highlighted the consequences when such strategies fail.
A specific decision to by a 48-yard field goal attempt by Michael Badgley and instead go for a fourth-down play kept Detroit at a double-digit deficit, ultimately sealing their fate. The Lions' dreams of completing an improbable 12-5 season were dashed, leaving a sense of devastating heartbreak.