The Detroit Lions got a big win over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night and you couldn't have asked for a better offensive or special teams game for this team. Everything seemed to go their way.
Still, there was a question of why the Lions didn't accept a face mask penalty at the end of the first half and let Jake Bates try to kick a long one. Lions head coach Dan Campbell explained why on Tuesday.
“Yeah, was trying to get him there, I was. We could’ve gotten three more yards. That’s probably a little much. If I thought we could’ve gotten to the minus-45, it might’ve been worth it just to see him swing at one. But yeah, I would’ve liked to see that too. I told (Lions Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Fipp today, I was like, ‘Man, it would’ve been nice just to get in – just to let him swing at one.’ But we couldn’t quite get there. Yeah, it was just too far. And I think even there, man, he’s – yeah, it was too far for a Hail Mary and even there, if it’s a little low, that thing gets blocked and that’s too much of a risk.”
Hard to argue with Campbell's approach there. It would have been a 73-yard try for Bates had they accepted the penalty and gave it a shot. There's the block, but even if the block doesn't happen and it's short, the Seahawks likely would have had a man back there to return and that's another avenue for something to crazy to happen.
Bates might have the leg to get it done. He nailed a 70-yarder in practice for the Michigan Panthers this past spring.
When we said @jakebates30 makes 70 yarders in practice… we meant it pic.twitter.com/XhVCfeMuGe
— Michigan Panthers (@USFLPanthers) May 22, 2024
There's a big difference between kicking against air in a no pressure situation and kicking against a special teams unit during a game. I would have loved to see Bates try for it too, but Campbell is right. The risk is too high, even for a guy that loves the risk.
