Detroit Lions‘ Two Challenged Plays Spark Confusion, Reveal Rule Nuance & Coach’s Admission of Error
DETROIT – Two challenges initiated by Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell during their recent game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers raised eyebrows and highlighted a specific NFL rule regarding successful challenges. Despite neither challenge resulting in the overturning of the original call on the field,both were officially deemed “successful” by the league.
The first challenge centered on the spot of the ball following a Buccaneers’ run. While the initial ruling stood, NFL Rule 15, Section 6, Article 1 defines a challenge as successful “if any reviewable aspect of the play is changed.” This means even if the original call isn’t overturned,a review altering something about the play counts as a successful challenge.
The second challenge proved more perplexing. The Lions challenged a strip-sack of buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, claiming the runner was down by contact short of the line to gain. However, the recovery by Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs occurred five yards short of the line to gain, with the play initially ruled as third-and-5 for Tampa Bay.
Campbell later admitted the challenge stemmed from a misjudgment. He explained he hoped a review would reveal Mayfield was down before the fumble, thereby negating the 2-yard gain from the fumble recovery and applying the full yardage loss from the sack. However, the ball was demonstrably out before Mayfield hit the ground.
“That was just a bad challenge. That was a total mess-up on my part,” Campbell stated. “that was me thinking that he was down at the fumble site, and that’s more grasping for straws. I shouldn’t have done that.(if) you were totally like, ‘What the hell was he doing?’ You’d be correct.”
Speculation arose that Campbell may have been attempting to provide his defense with a break during a lengthy 18-play Buccaneers drive,but the coach did not confirm this.