The Detroit Lions had a clear strategy going into their Week 14 matchup against the Chicago Bears, especially when it came to handling rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams has a tendency to scramble toward the sideline, and Lions head coach Dan Campbell took note of this in his pregame film sessions.
Dan Campbell's Pre-Game Strategy
Campbell specifically pointed out to his team that when Williams scrambled near the sideline, the defenders should treat him as a runner and bring him to the turf if necessary. This preemptive instruction was shared with the officials as well, ensuring that the referees were aware of the expected approach when Williams was near the boundary.
Jack Campbell's Clean Hit on Williams
During the game, Lions linebacker Jack Campbell followed through on this directive with a clean hit on Williams. As Williams approached the sideline, he stepped out of bounds before returning to the field. Campbell met him with a legal hit to the thigh using his shoulder pad, as the rookie quarterback was still considered a runner in that situation.
Amon-Ra St. Brown Discusses the Hit
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown discussed this key defensive point of emphasis on the latest episode of the “St. Brown Bros” podcast. “The craziest part is before the game, in our team meeting, Dan was talking to us and was showing us clips of Caleb going out of bounds, going back in, going back out,” St. Brown said as quoted by SI. “He said, ‘No you don’t.' The beginning of it was, ‘No you don't,' and then it was clips of him doing that. (Campbell) said, ‘I already warned the refs, the refs already know.'”
No Flag, No Problem
When the hit happened in the game, St. Brown noted that he immediately knew there would be no penalty. “Jack hit his ass, everyone was like, ‘Yeah.' All the Bears were like, ‘What the? That's a flag.' We're like, ‘Bro, he literally went out and came back in and took it.'”
This well-prepared strategy from Campbell and the Lions defense worked to perfection, as the clean hit on Williams helped keep the pressure on the Bears’ offense and added to the Lions' dominant performance. The strategic foresight displayed by Campbell and the execution on the field showed the Lions' commitment to preparing for every detail, even those as small as a rookie quarterback's tendencies near the sideline.
