Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, known for his straightforward nature, did not hesitate to accept responsibility for his team’s 20-16 defeat against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After the game, Campbell openly acknowledged his role in the loss, particularly regarding a missed chance to score before halftime.

With 18 seconds remaining in the second quarter and the Lions at Tampa Bay’s 17-yard line, Detroit faced a 2nd-and-10. Quarterback Jared Goff completed an eight-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, bringing the ball to the nine-yard line.

The team hurried to spike the ball, but the field goal unit also rushed onto the field, leading to a penalty for too many men on the field.

Without any remaining timeouts, the penalty resulted in a 10-second runoff, ending the half.Campbell reflected on the critical moment, stating, “I asked for improvement from last week.

That was the story. And we did improve. And the coach cost them. Their head coach cost them. Critical error at the end of the half, 100% on me.”

He elaborated that had the Lions successfully kicked the field goal, it would have reduced Tampa Bay’s lead from seven to four points, potentially altering the game’s outcome.

Instead of needing a touchdown late in the game, the Lions could have been in a position to attempt a game-winning field goal.

Campbell admitted, “There was no way to justify this. It’s a massive error on my part and no one else’s. It was just between hurry-up field goal and clocking it and it was 100% my fault.”

His candidness about the mistake was met with respect from players like Goff, D.J. Reader, and Aidan Hutchinson.

Goff expressed, “I know he did take accountability for that, but we had plenty of opportunities to overcome that and make the plays to win the game and I know he’s going to be hard on himself. As players, we got to be better, I got to be better.

I have got to pick him up, I have got to pick up other guys, the other guys got to pick up me, that’s how we win.”

Although the Lions managed to gain more total yards (463 to 216) and first downs (26 to 14) than the Buccaneers, they struggled in the red zone, converting only one of seven opportunities.

Campbell also stood by his quarterback, acknowledging Goff’s subpar performance but remaining confident in his ability to rebound. He stated,

“He’ll rebound. Has he played better? Yeah, he’s played better.

But I just know him, and he never stays down. He’s going to be in immediately. He’s going to look at it tonight.

He’s going to come in tomorrow and take ownership and he’s just going to be better.

That’s the way he’s wired and it’s what makes him who he is.”