Lions head coach Dan Campbell has earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s most aggressive coaches on fourth downs, a reputation that he bolstered on Sunday with a surprising fourth down attempt at his own 24-yard line late in the fourth quarter against the Packers. But it’s one of Campbell’s former assistants who is going for it on fourth down more than any other coach in the NFL.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson has had his team go for it on fourth down 17 times this season, the most in the NFL. Campbell’s Lions, on the other hand, have gone for it on fourth down 13 times, tied for the sixth-most in the NFL.
The Lions have punted twice more than the Bears have, while the Bears have attempted five more field goals than the Lions have. The two teams are similar in all three categories of decisions a coach can make on fourth down, but it’s noteworthy that it’s Johnson who has gone for it the most in the league so far this season.
Before Campbell’s surprising decision on Sunday against the Packers, the most controversial fourth down decision of this NFL season may have been the first fourth down decision Johnson made this season, when the Bears went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 21-yard line against the Panthers in Week 1. Caleb Williams was stopped for no gain, but the Bears still won the game, and afterward Johnson said the call was part of his overall aggressive approach to trying to field the highest-scoring offense in the NFL.
Confidence in their offense is one thing Campbell and Johnson have in common. They’d rather have the game in the hands of their playmakers than on the feet of their kickers.