We’ll say this about Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell: He is not afraid to test his more interesting instincts. And recently, Campbell’s instincts have been on point far more often than not. With their 34-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Campbell’s team has won five of its last six games — and at 6-7, they’re not out of the NFC playoff hunt.
With two minutes left in the game, the Lions had third-and-7 at the Minnesota 41-yard line. They needed a first down to clinch the contest. So, of course, they sent 330-pound offensive tackle Penei Sewell in motion from right to left, and then, Jared Goff hit Sewell for nine yards and the successful conversion. And it was an outstanding, diving catch!
#Lions with another trick play, going to OT Penei Sewell to ice the game on a 3rd down conversion!
The 10-2 #Vikings will lose to the 5-7 #Lions pic.twitter.com/K6JkWWi8h4
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 11, 2022
The Lions sent Penei Sewell in motion across the formation for a wide open third down conversion.
The Lions had an 85.0% chance of gaining the first down when Jared Goff released the ball, based on completion probability and expected YAC.#MINvsDET | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/Iyp7SzA7E0
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 11, 2022
Forget probability. If you throw to the big dude, your potential success rate is at least 500%. That’s the rule we just made up, and we’re sticking to it.
The Lions declared Sewell eligible and ran him in motion a few plays earlier, but the result was a one-yard run by Jamaal Williams. So the Vikings can’t say they didn’t see this coming.
We’d love to see more of this down the stretch. Which cornerback in the NFL wants to deal with Sewell out there on the wing?
