The Detroit Lions will have taken a few lessons on board before they take in the 49srs in an epic championship showdown, and time management is one of them.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell knows the Buccaneers could have put his team under more pressure as he mistimed the three decisions to take the knee to see out the game.
The Lions ultimately won the game 31-23, but there was just enough time to force an error, in three successive victory formations.
“We didn’t handle that whole thing well on our end,” Campbell told beat writers.
“We should have bled it more than we did. Look, I’ll be the first to admit that, and that’s on me. But yeah, we knew he had a timeout left. I could tell he wasn’t going to call it. That’s how it ended.”
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is facing stinging criticism for not making the Lions bleed and force them to make a punt or field goal attempt.
The Bucs misread the time with Bowles believing they had 12 seconds remaining when there was actually 30 seconds. Enough time to force a mistake, earn a touchdown and go for the 2 extra points to tie the game.
The Lions will do well to learn the lesson against San Francisco.
