Dan Campbell believing in the Lions isn't what cost his team a trip to the Super Bowl

Find somebody who trusts you like Dan Campbell trusts his team.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to The Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you.

Let’s talk about the Lions, man. Because how do you not feel bad for Lions fans today?

I mean, seriously. Up 24-7 on the 49ers at the half and then San Francisco rattles off 27 straight points in the second half to ultimately win the game. That’s a tough way to go out, no matter who you are. But if you’re a fan who has never seen your favorite team go to the Super Bowl? After being so close? Yeah, man. I feel for you.

A lot of folks are blaming Dan Campbell for the loss this morning. And, well, yeah. I understand why.

Two critical fourth-down decisions in 49ers territory came in the second half. The Lions could’ve just kicked field goals on both. Instead, Campbell did what Campbell does and went for it on fourth down both times. Detroit also failed both times.

As Robert Zeglinski writes here, it was probably the more prudent decision to kick the field goal — especially in that second instance after the team completely squandered its 17-point lead. Now, everybody is roasting Campbell for his decision-making in that spot. Folks think he should’ve taken the points.

And, look, maybe they’re right. Maybe if the Lions have at least three more points on the board, the 49ers’ momentum is stifled. I’m not sure. Ultimately, we’ll never know.

But what we do know is this: Dan Campbell has been coaching this way all season long. Detroit had the second-most fourth-down conversions in the NFL this season. It’s part of Campbell’s philosophy. That’s how Detroit got here. You don’t just abandon that because things get a little tight.

Ultimately, those fourth downs aren’t what lost Detroit this game. It was the failure in execution from the Lions down the stretch that mattered most. Receivers dropped multiple passes that would’ve led to first downs and touchdowns. Jahmyr Gibbs’ fumble giving San Francisco a short field changed the game, too.

The Lions had a golden opportunity here and just simply lost the game. There are multiple things to point to as far as reasons why, but passing up on-field goals should be at the bottom of that list.

This stinks because, as Campbell pointed out, the whole “we’ll be back” thing doesn’t always come to fruition. Getting this far is hard. Detroit knows that — the team’s last championship game came in 1957. Nothing is guaranteed.

But, regardless of this result, the Lions Renaissance is here and it’s awesome. Never change, Dan Campbell.

 

---

Football Jordan strikes again

Speaking of devastating losses, Baltimore probably feels a bit worse than Detroit does today. Lamar Jackson’s first trip to the Super Bowl was right there, man. Patrick Mahomes just stood in the way.

The Ravens didn’t do anything wrong, our Robert Zeglinski says. Football Jordan just did what Football Jordan does. He was perfect.

“In arguably the toughest test of his already legendary career, Mahomes was perfect. He completed 13 of his first 14 passes. He kept the Ravens’ ferocious pass rush at bay by spamming low-risk but efficient short passes out to Kelce and the least-talented skill group he’s seen since becoming a starter in 2017. In a game manager performance where he didn’t eclipse 250 yards passing, Mahomes was the composed maestro, the man who wouldn’t dare give the other team an inch, let alone make any backbreaking mistake to capitalize on and flip the result on its head.

In this performance, Mahomes somehow took another step as a bona fide future First-Ballot Hall of Famer. This was him learning what it means to play within himself and steal away a road game to earn a fourth Super Bowl trip in six seasons. Sometimes, all this silly football hoopla amounts to is staying composed while letting the other team step on an unfathomable supply of rakes in defeat. It’s just that simple.”

It’s rare in football that you ever see one single player on one side of the ball so perfectly control a game. There are 22 men on the field at all times. That’s a hard thing to do. But Mahomes seems to be able to get it done every single time.

Folks are going to talk about Lamar Jackson a ton today. They’re going to question his “legacy” as a 27-year-old MVP. It’s all going to be ridiculous. I wouldn’t buy into a lick of it if I were you.

What we really need to be discussing is Patrick Mahomes’ greatness. Because we’ve never seen anything like this before.

---

Michigan finds its guy — again

Jim Harbaugh is bolting for the Bolts in Los Angeles, so Michigan needed a new head coach once again. But the Wolverines have found the guy — he was there all along. Of course, it’s Sherrone Moore.

Michigan announced Moore’s hire over the weekend. He got the Harbaugh stamp of approval, too. “The only person I would want to do the job,” Harbaugh said. “I have 100% conviction that he will make us all very proud!!!”

I think this is what most people expected Michigan to do here. Of course, we’ve seen him in action. Moore took over for Harbaugh when he was suspended for four games earlier this season. Michigan went undefeated. Heck of a job interview, if I do say so myself.

This job will be a bit different, though. He coached Jim Harbaugh’s team during that suspension. Now, it’ll be his job to build his own. He’ll have to recruit and work the transfer portal. But Michigan seems to believe he’s up to it. So does Harbaugh himself.

We’ll see if their belief is warranted.

READ MORE: Five things to know about Sherrone Moore

---

Quick hits: The Chiefs always forget … We’ll miss you, Greg Olsen … and more

— Christian D’Andrea has a brilliant breakdown of why the Chiefs’ short memories have them in the Super Bowl again this year.

— Can we PLEASE get Greg Olsen on the Super Bowl call? This dude is the best in the business right now. Robert Zeglinski has more.

— You’re going to see a ton of Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl. You probably won’t be able to bet on it, though. Charles Curtis has more on why.

— Here’s Prince Grimes with the opening lines for the Super Bowl.

— Speaking of betting, here’s Prince again with this hilarious story on how far the NFL is keeping the Super Bowl teams away from the Vegas strip.

— I still cannot believe that Brandon Aiyuk caught this. Robert Zeglinski has more.

That’s all, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you! Let’s do this again tomorrow. Until then, peace!

-Sykes