Dan Campbell responds perfectly to idea the Lions wasted a trick play vs. Bears

In a vacuum, it felt like an odd spot to pull out a trick play. Early in the third quarter against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the Detroit Lions authored a play we now is called "Stumble Bum." Quarterback Jared Goff stumbled, and running back Jahmyr Gibbs fell to sell that a fumble had occurred. It hadn't, and Goff hit an open Sam LaPorta for a touchdown.

The touchdown made the score 34-14, and effectively put the game away as the Bears were never able to sustain any traction. Along the same line as people who have taken some level of offense to the Lions' beating feeble opponents like a good team should, criticism basically saying "why would you waste a trick play in a game against the Bears?" has come out.

Earlier this season, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson dismissed any concern about putting too many trick plays on tape. He clearly has a deep well of ideas, and sometime he simply gets them from watching tape of a game the upcoming opponent played against a different division rival. And at times, as made clear by Goff in the case of the "Stumble Bum", it seems players have to reel in his ideas a little bit.

Dan Campbell has perfect response to idea Lions wasted a trick play vs. Bears

Despite it being Christmas Eve, Campbell made his usual Tuesday morning appearance on 97.1 The Ticket's "Costa and Jansen with Heather."

Campbell had the expected response to any criticism about "wasting" trick plays in "meaningless" games.

"There's these things you come up with because you see something you like versus that opponent that you know this week, it's absolutely the conditions are right. They're perfect." Campbell said. "So when you have those up, and that's why you put them in the game plan, if you have the opportunity to call them, you got to call them, because there is no guarantee it's going to work next week. You don't hold anything back if it's meant for that opponent. You got to find a way to use it." 

What a novel concept. Seeing something to exploit in a specific opponent, coming up with something unique you think can do it, calling it during a game when the situation fits, then executing it. Somehow that kind of context isn't often missed when other teams do it, but when the Lions do a trick play against the Bears it's "wasted" in a game that doesn't "mean anything".