The Lions shocked fans everywhere on Sunday with an incredibly gutsy play call in the final minutes against the Vikings. Turns out, they also shocked their own head coach.
Coming out of the two-minute warning, Detroit held a 31-23 lead over Minnesota. Facing a third and 7 at the Vikings' 41, Jared Goff dropped back and tossed it right to 6-foot-5, 335-pound offensive tackle Penei Sewell, who made the grab and dived forward to pick up a crucial first down.
It went a long way toward securing the stunning upset win, as Detroit bled most of the clock and eventually kicked a field goal with 17 seconds left to ice the game.
No. 58 reports as an eligible receiver. No. 58 is an eligible receiver.@peneisewell58 #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/DiihvbkkeS
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 11, 2022
MORE: NFL picks, predictions for Week 15: Lions stay hot with win over Jets
It was a beautifully designed play, and it worked to perfection. But Detroit coach Dan Campbell apparently didn't even know it was going to happen until he watched it unfold in real time.
"That was something that's been a long time coming," Campbell said on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. "We've been talking about Penei for a long time, like, 'Man, we've got to throw this guy a ball.' He's too good of an athlete."
"Here's another thing that happened," he continued. "We're in that situation and the fans are doing the wave around the stadium. So I'm just watching, and I hear [offensive coordinator] Ben Johnson's like, 'Hey coach, do you want to [unintelligble]. I'm so focused on the wave, I said 'Yeah, that's fine.' Then I look up and we're throwing it to Penei, and I'm like, 'What the f— are we doing?'"
"We're in that situation & I'm so focused on the wave that I can't hear.. I look up & we're throwing it to Penei Sewell & I go what the fuck are we doing" ~Dan Campbell
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 13, 2022
😂😂😂 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/R4BXzus2Hn
MORE: How Dan Campbell's creative play-calling pushed the Lions to victory
It might be slightly concerning for Lions fans to hear their head coach signed off on such a bold play call without knowing exactly what was coming, but it worked out pretty darn well on Sunday. It also sounds like Campbell was confident in the play working as intended, even if he didn't realize it was the play that was called at that moment.
"We knew it would be wide open," he said. "We worked the heck out of it. We've seen him [Sewell] run the reps, we've seen him flip his hips, he's got soft hands. The only thing I was worried about that I wanted to make sure Goff got to him, was make sure you stay in bounds."
It went off without a hitch against the Vikings. And who knows, maybe we'll see it again in the future. Maybe Campbell will even know it's coming next time around.
It was the fifth win in six games for the Lions (6-7), who now sit just a game and a half behind the Giants in the final NFC wild card playoff spot. They'll take on the Jets at MetLife Stadium in Week 15.
