Lions' Penei Sewell Defends Dan Campbell amid Criticism: 'Got His Back Until the End'

Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell has come to Dan Campbell's defense amid criticism for his decisions during the NFC Championship Game loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Speaking to ESPN's Eric Woodyard, Sewell said disagrees with any criticism aimed at Campbell.

"I don't agree with any criticism towards Coach. I've got his back until the end," he explained. "If he tells me to jump off a cliff with him, I'm right next to him," Sewell said of Campbell. "I'm so serious. So, whatever he says, whatever he calls, we've just got to execute. So, that's on us really. That's my guy."

The Lions had a 24-7 halftime lead against the 49ers, but San Francisco scored 27 unanswered points to start the second half.

That run was aided when the Lions failed to convert on two fourth-down attempts deep in San Francisco territory. Detroit was able to get a touchdown on its final offensive possession to cut the deficit to 34-31, but George Kittle recovered the onside kick attempt to preserve the 49ers' victory.

The response from some fans and analysts is that Campbell's aggressiveness cost the Lions, even though this has been his approach since he became their head coach. It was a strategy that got them to the NFC Championship Game.

The Lions went 2-for-2 on fourth-down attempts in the first two playoff games, with both conversions resulting in touchdowns. They beat the Los Angeles Rams by one point and Tampa Bay Buccaneers by eight points.

If anything, the problem with the Lions' fourth-down attempts against the 49ers boiled down to poor execution. Josh Reynolds dropped a pass from Jared Goff that was thrown a little behind him, but it's a play that should have been made.

The 49ers' defensive line pressured Goff on the second attempt that forced a bad throw. There was also a drive in between there when Reynolds dropped a wide-open catch on 3rd-and-9 that would have gone for a big gain.

Any of the complaints about Campbell's decision-making also ignored how bad Lions kicker Michael Badgley has been on attempts from at least 40 yards in his career.

This isn't to say Campbell was perfect in the game. One of his two worst decisions was kicking a field goal at the end of the first half. The Lions got down to the 49ers' three-yard line with a 21-7 lead and were moving the ball with ease, but he elected to take three points near the end of the second quarter instead of going for it on 4th-and-goal.

The other bad decision was handing the ball off to Montgomery at the 49ers' one-yard line with just over one minute remaining and trailing by 10 points. San Francisco stopped the play, forcing Campbell to use his first timeout.

Even though the Lions got a touchdown on the next play, they weren't able to get the ball back after the onside kick because they couldn't stop the clock.

Overall, though, the reason Detroit made it to the NFC Championship Game for the first time in 32 years is because Campbell understands how to handle fourth-down decisions as well as any coach in the NFL.