Dan Campbell's decision-making costs Lions in major way

The incompletion gave the ball to the Niners, who quickly connected with two passes to get them inside the 5, including one on a ball that bounced off Kindle Vildor’s helmet.

The 49ers scored a few plays later to make it 24-17. The Lions lost a fumble by Jahmyr Gibbs on their next offensive play, giving the ball to San Francisco in Detroit territory. The Niners quickly scored again to tie the game.

The 49ers ended up adding another field goal and touchdown to win, 34-31.

Some people have defended Campbell’s call by noting he has been aggressive all season and stuck to what had worked for the team. That doesn’t explain why he went conservative before halftime and took the points to increase the team’s lead to 17 points.

Why was going up by 17 before the half good enough for Campbell at the time but not good enough in the third quarter?

Yes, the distances of the two field goals were much different – but attempting the field goal in that third-quarter situation was the correct move. Had the Lions made it, their lead would have remained 17 points and they would have maintained serious distance between them and the Niners with 22 minutes remaining. Instead, they went for it and put the game in the balance when they didn’t need to. The failed conversion gave San Francisco all the life they needed to come back. It swung the momentum and completely ignited San Francisco. There was no need for Detroit to open the door to that possibility at that moment in the game.

The Lions ended up blowing a 17-point halftime lead and the team’s long-suffering fans have reason to be sore over a decision that let the Niners back into the game.