Dan Campbell gets flamed by fans for 2-point conversion call in loss to Cowboys: "Biggest clown on national television"

Dan Campbell has been a crucial component in the Detroit Lions' recent turnaround, since he first arrived as the new head coach in 2021.

Around the halfway point in his sophomore season at the helm, they turned a 1-6 start into an 8-2 run, narrowly missing the playoffs via tiebreak. In 2023, they have reaped the fruits with their first divisional title since the days of Barry Sanders.

However, it has not come without some low points. On Saturday at the Dallas Cowboys, the Lions managed to score a last-gasp touchdown to come within one point, but lost after James Mitchell botched the two-point pass, which they had attempted thrice in succession.

Once the final bell sounded, Campbell became the target of mockery and criticism as he wasn't content with settling for a safer kick that have would forced overtime, providing another more reliable chance to win.

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How Dan Campbell, Lions’ failed two-point play came to be

While a more sensible coach might have gone for a kick instead, that was not in Dan Campbell’s mind for some understandable reasons.

The Detroit Lions had already clinched their first division title in three decades, and any more minutes of play might have only exposed his top players to injury. However, it was his initial execution of a two-point play that did him in.

The initial play had been designed for Taylor Decker, who would report as eligible while his fellow offensive tackle Dan Skipper acted as decoy. However, a flag was thrown, and the former was ruled to have failed to do his duty properly.

That upset the head coach, who insisted that he had consulted with officials:

“I explained everything, pregame, to a T.”

On the next attempt, linebacker Micah Parsons was ruled offside in what would have been a game-sealing interception, giving the Lions the aforementioned third chance. After that failed, they attempted an onside kick, but CeeDee Lamb, who had earlier surpassed Michael Irvin for most receiving yards and receptions by a Cowboy, recovered it, ending the game.