The offensive genius of Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has not ebbed away after replacing former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson with John Morton. The Baltimore Ravens, who were on the wrong end of a back-and-forth 38-30 home defeat on Monday Night Football, found that out the hard way.
Perhaps the highlight of the game came when Detroit went for it on fourth down to take a commanding lead early in the fourth quarter. Goff handed the ball off to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the backfield, who option-pitched it to Jahmyr Gibbs. The subsequent touchdown put the Lions in front, and they would never relinquish the lead.
Eagle-eyed New Orleans Saints fans might remember that play from the Sean Payton days in 2019, when Campbell was on the staff as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach. Campbell has been waiting for years to uncork this vintage play, and the result was smooth going down for Lions fans.
Dan Campbell used a 2019 Saints play to help Lions beat Ravens on MNF
While the offense may not have the same degree of downfield explosiveness or ruthless efficiency that Johnson had when he was in town, Morton has done his best to install the Payton principles of completing a high percentage of passes, misdirecting the defense, and getting creative in tough situations.
Morton previously had Josh McCown putting up respectable starter numbers in his late 30s with the New York Jets as OC, and he seems to have found another talented pupil in Jared Goff who can run his offense with a degree of panache. Having Gibbs, David Montgomery, and St. Brown helps too.
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For all of Campbell's many good qualities as a coach, including his ability to remember specific plays from almost a decade ago, his best ability is to hire coaches who can do their job, delegate responsibility, and blend his own unique style into every gameplan.
After a very slow start in Week 1, Detroit looks to have blended many of the best aspects from the Johnson years with Morton's time in Denver and Campbell's old reliables from New Orleans. Baltimore was powerless to stop the result.