Dan Campbell on missed call: NFL apology means nothing
Dan Campbell brought a new attitude to the Detroit Lions when he became their head coach this off-season. However, the same terrible luck that’s been part of the team’s history stuck around.
With the game on the line, the Lions had a chance to end the game with a stop on fourth and long. However, Campbell’s team left the door open — allowing Lamar Jackson to complete a long pass to Sammy Watkins.
Afterwards, Jackson lined up for a time-wasting play to run the clock down. However, the clock struck zero prior to his snap of the football.
The referees missed it — and Justin Tucker made NFL history with a game-winning 66-yard field goal. As for Campbell, he’s simply been reduced to shock and awe — turning into anger and regret.
“There’s nothing I can say to that, because it’s the same thing,” Campbell said, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Tomorrow, you’ll get an apology, and it doesn’t mean anything.
“That’s life, and that’s the hand we were dealt. We still had an opportunity to — that was fourth-and-long (a few plays earlier), a long way to go, and we gave it up.”
Evidently, Campbell knows that the Lions had a chance to end the game on fourth-and-long. However, it doesn’t excuse his team getting absolutely hosed by the officials later in the drive.
Now, the Lions fall to a disappointing 0-3 in Campbell’s first season. While his team has shown fight, it hasn’t been able to hammer out a victory just yet.
Next week, the Lions travel to Chicago to take on a reeling Bears team. It could be the best shot Dan Campbell has at a win this season — we’ll see if he can get it.
Tucker: ‘That one was something else.’
While Campbell suffered the agony of defeat, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker went through the elation of victory. Coupled with that, he planted his name squarely in NFL history. Tucker set the record for longest field-goal of all-time in style.
After the game, Tucker was left speechless following the moment.
“That one was something else,” Tucker told CBS’ A.J. Ross during his postgame interview. “I don’t really have the words to do justice to the moment.”
After thanking his teammates who set up the moment, Tucker continued by giving praise to the man above.
“All I can say is trust, trust God, trust this team,” stated Tucker after defeating Campbell’s team. “We’ve got something special. We’ve known that, we’ve been knowing that and I’m just so happy to be able to come through for my guys.”
With the record-setting kick, Justin Tucker did more than just break an NFL record for distance — he solidified himself as the most clutch kicker in NFL history. Now, the former Texas Longhorns kicker boasts a perfect 16-of-16 track record on field goals in the final minute of regulation.